How-To DESIGN My Wedding - Pt. 2

Now that we've covered "WHY you Need an Inspiration Board," I would like to go into further detail and show you "HOW" to use it.

I'm going to use a themed wedding for an example; because with a theme you can buy so many pieces to a puzzle, having wasted time and effort when none of them fit together. Essentially, you find yourself either frustrated or content with a mis-matched wedding. I would like to teach you how to avoid this problem completely.

1. FIND YOUR MATCH

So, for this case, we have a peacock wedding theme! A gorgeous theme and quite a favorite for flamboyant brides. With a peacock theme, you will have a gulf of variety in style, color, and setting. It takes attentiveness to your details to put the pieces together and match your inspiration board. Please write this down, "Just because it matches - doesn't mean it belongs with YOUR wedding!" This is key!

Here I have picked four different peacock invitations and although they're all beautiful cards, they each have their own unique personality and colors. One of these might fit perfectly with my inspiration board, or, none may fit at all.

2. START WITH YOUR BASE COLORS 

 

Whenever an artist goes to his easel, he NEVER begins with the the details - he begins with a blank canvas. 

It's important when you begin to piece your wedding together that you start with the base colors. Your dress will either be ivory or white and the tux could be navy, black, gray, brown, etc. You then build around these base colors, slowly adding your accent and main colors.

What could I use for my BASE colors?

• The Tux
• The Wedding Gown
• The Base Tablecloths (Navy or White)
• Plates
• Aisle Runner
• Groomsmen Shirts (if the bride is ivory - they should be ivory. If white, then white)
• Accent Flowers

Ivory and Navy Blue

 3. ADDING MAIN COLORS

There are two extremes when adding main colors - brides who take no risks and others that say, "Oh! I found something purple, so it MUST match my wedding!" Not necessarily. For the peacock wedding example, we have darker shades of plum, and in the rainbow we have gray shades of purple, pink shades, bluer shades, etc.

This is when your inspiration board becomes VERY important. Just because it's "purple," doesn't mean it matches your wedding hues. If in doubt, have your color chips on hand and see if the main colors flow in harmony together - if yes, then go for it! It actually looks richer to have different shades of main color blending together, then to be so "matchy-matchy." Ideally, be a balance of both matching and taking risks!

What could I use for my MAIN colors?

• Bridesmaid Dresses
• Flowers
• The Bridal Shoes
• The Bridal Headpiece/Veil
• Boutonnieres ribbon/flowers
• Linens
• Sashes

3. ADDING ACCENT COLORS 

You should use your accent colors in the special touches of your wedding. Your accent colors bring out your main and base colors. If a bride wanted an all red wedding, accents of yellow would bring out her reds. 

Brides sometimes think, "I want a blue wedding - so I will use ALL blue." Yes, you want your wedding to put your guests into a sea of tropical paradise, but you need other colors of the ocean to bring her blues OUT. When you go to the beach, what other colors catch your eye? The tan sand, the green palm trees, and... the girl in the yellow bathing suit? You need all these colors, because they bring out the blue for your eyes to soak in.

 Note how these colors work together in harmony for this boutonniere; they blend!

1. The MAIN color is in the ribbon and necktie (dark purples), 
2. the ACCENT colors are in the flowers (chartreuse, navy, and some green)
3. the BASE colors are in the suit and shirt (black and white)

4. USING MY THEME

Whenever people use a theme, they become literal and buy anything under the sun that remotely matches, because they're thinking, "I could use this - somehow!" In art, you learn that your piece shouldn't be literal, but implied to draw your audience in. When using your theme, you don't always have to go overboard to prove your point. The key? Simplicity. 

Keep your theme significant and note-worthy - rare. Allow your colors (not the actual peacock pattern) tell the rest of the story in the linens, the bridesmaid dresses, and other attributes in your wedding. If you go overboard, you end up with junk, to put it lightly. Quality over quantity. You will spend $300 on items you never use, when $300 would have better suited for extra flowers or nicer linens that enhance your theme better in the end.

This wedding is an excellent example! I encourage you to click this image and take a look at this peacock wedding on "Heart Love Weddings Blog."

5. PINTEREST

I would like to first say that I am an avid fan of Pinterest, but one thing does bother me when it comes to brides and their inspiration boards. Pinterest is not exactly an inspiration board - it's a bunch of collage images you like. Essentially, it defeats the purpose of an inspiration board, because you have 20 images to show a vendor and you say, "This is what I want my wedding to look like!" When all your vendor sees is 20 different images of wedding. It's confusing, because it describes too much.  

It's important in designing your wedding to have one sheet of images to show a vendor. If you notice, my inspiration boards usually never go beyond 6-7 images. I only need a few images for the inspiration's story to unfold. When you pull out your inspiration board, you don't want your vendor guessing, you want him to know, "I get it! I will make something to go along with your style, colors, and theme." It's easier to show him a one sheet of paper too, rather then making him wait to pull up your pinterest account.

7. TEXTURE

Not everyone puts texture into consideration when decorating their wedding, but it's one of the most essential details in designing your wedding. Unfortunately, with DIY/budget brides, linens do not get the attention they should; because it doesn't seem important to spend $700-$1,000 on linens. Let me explain why it should be.

Editorial photographers would understand why texture is worthy of attention; because texture tells a story. 

If I went into a bakery and my objective meant taking pictures to help advertise and show customers why to buy their pastries, I would take pictures of texture. I'd snap the baker with some flour on her cheek, the butter-cream icing swirled smoothly on a cupcake, the distressed brick walls, the customers laughing while sitting in black and white linen chairs, and the shabby chic crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. All of these add texture to tell my story. The same applies to an event.

When designing a banquet or wedding, the linens, plates, goblets, lighting, etc. all tell the story about your personalities and how you both met and fell in love with each other.

Burlap -  reminds you of home, a cottage, the country, and give you a laid back texture.

Image from Cloth Connection

Silk - gives you rich and fullness, drama, elegance, luster, and vibrant texture.

Image from Cloth Connection

Linen - brings quality, earth and nature textures, elegance, and could be used in a variety of styles.

Image from Cloth Connection

If spending over $700 makes your heart hurt, I would suggest going bare-minimum and renting white/ivory linens that go down to the floor, because they add elegance and hide cheap table legs. Consider the difference for yourself:

Last, but not least - STEER CLEAR OF "wedding" halls; because most of them lack texture in their character and offer little natural light (fluorescent light doesn't count). Walls, flooring, windows - these all add texture to your wedding. Choosing a venue with character is important to designing the wedding of your dreams and telling your story.

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