This post begins the series of blogs about tasks you can complete at home to plan for your wedding that cost you almost nothing. These tasks are perfect for the position you may find yourself in this month. Perhaps the most fun part of planning your wedding will be coming up with a grand vision of how you want the day to look. When you first start the planning, your entire wedding is a blank slate. YOU have the power to make this day however you want. This is one of the few days in your life where you can get away with being as frivolous as you want. I know this can seem daunting or overwhelming so first I would encourage you to start with a simple task: picking out your wedding colors.
If you and your partner are both heavily involved in the planning process, it might make sense for you each to pick a color if you can’t both agree on colors. Some people take inspiration from the season they are having their wedding in (spring colors, winter colors, etc.), while others take inspiration from the location of the wedding (ocean/beach colors, greenery, etc). Once you decide on your colors or theme, you have the basis for your vision board. The vision board is a fun craft that you can do with your significant other to make sure that you are both on the same page for the wedding and how it should look. Feel free to get creative with it! It can be as simple as a poster with pictures from magazines glued onto it, or as intricate as containing samples of different wedding components. It helps to go to a store that sells paint and pick up a few paint swatches in your colors attach to the board for reference. These will be super helpful when it comes to picking out invitations, bridesmaid dresses, and other decor. If you want to advance your board even more, you can include linen samples, dress material samples, invitation samples, fake flowers, calligraphy samples, placecard samples, etc. The possibilities are endless! Check out my Pinterest for some fun color palettes and vision board ideas.
Some things to consider when thinking about your colors and vision board are:
What do you want the overall feel of your wedding to be? Do you want it to feel romantic and elegant? Lighthearted and whimsical? Cute and rustic? Your colors and decor will be what sets this tone. Keep this in mind when mapping out your grand vision for the wedding. For instance, a romantic and elegant wedding might have darker/bolder colors, dim lighting/candle decor, and maybe some dramatic draping. A light and whimsical wedding might include more pastel/lighter toned colors and a lot of florals. A rustic wedding will probably include different textures like lace, burlap, or wood. The feel you are going for should be really apparent and consistent throughout the details. It should also help determine what type of vendors you look for.
What do you want people to say/remember about your wedding? Do you want them to say it was instagram-worthy? That the food was amazing? The experience was exquisite? That they had fun? Your vendors will set this tone. If you want a gorgeous wedding, you will want to splurge on the florist and/or decorator. For amazing food, you will want to splurge on the caterer and baker. For an exquisite experience, you might want to look into experiential marketing companies. Experiential companies like Champagne Creative Group can offer all sorts of components to elevate your wedding- from human red carpets, to interactive painting walls, to themed characters or impersonators who will interact with your guests. For a fun wedding, you’ll want to look into hiring a good DJ/MC, a good bartender, and maybe even a fun photobooth.
Is there a component that is extremely important that you include in your wedding? Maybe a food that you and your significant other first bonded over, or an activity that you did on your first date, or maybe a favorite game that you both like to play? Find a fun way to assimilate that into your wedding.
Right now you have all of the time in the world to focus on planning out your wedding, so why not take advantage of it?
Stay tuned for the next blog post about the guest list and seating chart with some helpful FREE templates!
