Can I let you into a secret? When I started planning my wedding, I wasn't even engaged. In fact, it was about six months before my boyfriend asked me to marry him. I was so excited about the concept of planning a wedding - all the creative fun of it - that I had a secret file of ideas on my computer. That quickly turned into a less secret file when I started Before the Big Day wedding blog {three months before my engagement}, and by the time my boyfriend finally put a ring on it, I was stuffed to the brim with wedding ideas and inspiration. But what if you're not like me, and you're newly engaged, and you haven't got the slightest idea of where you're going to find your wedding mojo, and get inspired? Or, if you're more like me, and have too many ideas, and you're not sure which is really 'you'? Hopefully these five wedding tips will help you on your way, out of the wedding maze, and into the land of {almost} perfect wedding planning.
{Photo Credit} Ice-Cream Parlous Bistro Table & Chairs Set by The Atomic Attic
1. Find pictures that inspire you. They don't all have to be wedding pictures - for example this picture of two chairs and and a table got my creative juices flowing this morning. There's something about them that promises a future life together as a couple, sharing rose al fresco, and enjoying romantic trips to Parisian bistros. They'd start me thinking of a vintage French-themed wedding, maybe in the South of France, where you serve harvest-festival-style buffet tables of charcuterie, creamy cheeses and baguette. Your waiters could wear Breton-style t-shirts, and your wedding invitations could be reminiscent of bistro-style daily menus, with the table plan written in white ink on a vintage mirror. Wedding favours would be macarons, and you could have a photobooth stuffed to the brim with French-themed fancy dress; berets, strings of garlic, sophisticated moustaches and feather boas. Do you see what I mean? All that from just one picture!
{Photo Credit} M&J Photography - see the whole wedding..
2. Save the pictures that inspire you via Pinterest. If you haven't signed up yet, you really should! It's the best way to create mood boards for your different wedding ideas. My advice is to create one for every theme you're considering, and then one each for key extra items e.g. Favourite Wedding Dresses, Favourite Groom Looks, Bridesmaids Ideas. Take a look at my Pinterest boards to give you an idea. Once you've opened your Pinterest account, and added the Pin It function to your web browser, you can save every scrap of wedding inspiration in one place.
3. Have you discovered Etsy yet? It's a-mazing! Basically it's an online marketplace, where the most creative people in the world sell handmade or vintage items. It is chock-a-block packed with wedding ideas and inspiration, and I'd really recommend signing up for their weekly wedding emails, and reading the Etsy Wedding Blog. Folksy is another similar website which is quite a bit smaller, but more UK-based. I recently found these gorgeous botanical banners on Folksy, which completely inspired my friend's up-coming spring garden wedding.
{Photo Credit} Peony & Thistle bunting
4. Trawl the wedding blogs. I suppose I'm bound to think this, but honestly the wedding blogs are the best place for free wedding inspiration. Personally I recommend checking out the Real Weddings section of any wedding blog. That's where you can beg, borrow and steal other brides' wedding ideas, and keep up on all the latest wedding trends. My favourite UK wedding blogs include Rock My Wedding, Rock n' Roll Bride, Love My Dress and OMG I'm Getting Married.
{Photo Credit} Caught the Light - see more pictures of my wedding
5. Find wedding inspiration from your life as a couple. Think back through your courtship, your first date, your first holiday together, where you got engaged, where you live, your hobbies, what you love doing together, eating together, watching on TV. Do you both love travel? Live in London? Love Chinese food? Did you both grow up in the countryside? Did you meet thanks to a shared love of music? All of these little details about the two of you as a pair, can grow into a big wedding inspiration idea. For example, on a trip to New York, a lady in a shop gave me a tiny vintage key. It happened to be one of the best days of our holiday, and the key always seemed a romantic talisman of that day. Two years later we celebrated our Secret Garden themed wedding, with a vintage key motif!
{Photo Credit} Ice-Cream Parlous Bistro Table & Chairs Set by The Atomic Attic
1. Find pictures that inspire you. They don't all have to be wedding pictures - for example this picture of two chairs and and a table got my creative juices flowing this morning. There's something about them that promises a future life together as a couple, sharing rose al fresco, and enjoying romantic trips to Parisian bistros. They'd start me thinking of a vintage French-themed wedding, maybe in the South of France, where you serve harvest-festival-style buffet tables of charcuterie, creamy cheeses and baguette. Your waiters could wear Breton-style t-shirts, and your wedding invitations could be reminiscent of bistro-style daily menus, with the table plan written in white ink on a vintage mirror. Wedding favours would be macarons, and you could have a photobooth stuffed to the brim with French-themed fancy dress; berets, strings of garlic, sophisticated moustaches and feather boas. Do you see what I mean? All that from just one picture!
{Photo Credit} M&J Photography - see the whole wedding..
2. Save the pictures that inspire you via Pinterest. If you haven't signed up yet, you really should! It's the best way to create mood boards for your different wedding ideas. My advice is to create one for every theme you're considering, and then one each for key extra items e.g. Favourite Wedding Dresses, Favourite Groom Looks, Bridesmaids Ideas. Take a look at my Pinterest boards to give you an idea. Once you've opened your Pinterest account, and added the Pin It function to your web browser, you can save every scrap of wedding inspiration in one place.
3. Have you discovered Etsy yet? It's a-mazing! Basically it's an online marketplace, where the most creative people in the world sell handmade or vintage items. It is chock-a-block packed with wedding ideas and inspiration, and I'd really recommend signing up for their weekly wedding emails, and reading the Etsy Wedding Blog. Folksy is another similar website which is quite a bit smaller, but more UK-based. I recently found these gorgeous botanical banners on Folksy, which completely inspired my friend's up-coming spring garden wedding.
{Photo Credit} Peony & Thistle bunting
4. Trawl the wedding blogs. I suppose I'm bound to think this, but honestly the wedding blogs are the best place for free wedding inspiration. Personally I recommend checking out the Real Weddings section of any wedding blog. That's where you can beg, borrow and steal other brides' wedding ideas, and keep up on all the latest wedding trends. My favourite UK wedding blogs include Rock My Wedding, Rock n' Roll Bride, Love My Dress and OMG I'm Getting Married.
{Photo Credit} Caught the Light - see more pictures of my wedding
5. Find wedding inspiration from your life as a couple. Think back through your courtship, your first date, your first holiday together, where you got engaged, where you live, your hobbies, what you love doing together, eating together, watching on TV. Do you both love travel? Live in London? Love Chinese food? Did you both grow up in the countryside? Did you meet thanks to a shared love of music? All of these little details about the two of you as a pair, can grow into a big wedding inspiration idea. For example, on a trip to New York, a lady in a shop gave me a tiny vintage key. It happened to be one of the best days of our holiday, and the key always seemed a romantic talisman of that day. Two years later we celebrated our Secret Garden themed wedding, with a vintage key motif!
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