Wedding planning advice from a photographer! Part Two - Pinterest, Invites, and Vendors
Pinterest, Invites, and Vendors
Finding a Theme
While it's not crucial to have a theme for the wedding, having one can really tie everything together aesthetically and influence other decisions you'll make for the big day. A theme doesn't have to be overly defined; it could simply be centered around a specific color scheme, like blues, greens, and whites.
For example, we've opted for a color palette inspired by sunset shades—think warm oranges, reds, pinks, and the like. It suits our tropical wedding venue and aligns with our personal tastes. Whether you fancy a formal black-tie affair with pops of color or prefer a minimalist approach, it's your special day, so follow your heart.
When it comes to finding inspiration, social media platforms like Instagram are fantastic resources. You can browse, like, and save posts, and even create threads with your partner to share ideas and refine your style together. While Instagram is great, there's one ultimate source of inspiration, which we'll reveal below.
An essential resource that you NEED to acquaint yourself with is Pinterest. It serves as an invaluable platform for gathering images and ideas to inspire various aspects of your wedding day, from decorations and flowers to outfits, jewelry, and even vows.
Getting started is super simple; just create an account. The site already hosts a wealth of useful information, and you can easily integrate new findings from anywhere on the web. If you've explored our blog posts, you may have noticed a small red Pinterest button in the corner of certain images. Clicking it allows you to generate a pin to add to your inspiration boards.
These boards can be kept private or shared with others, including your partner or wedding planner. Pinterest offers numerous helpful integrations, making it a highly recommended resource to explore.
Invites
One thing we've always enjoyed from travelling is coming back with a small postcard or piece of art from each of our trips. Usually we try and make this in the form of a vintage postcard of some sort when we were thinking about aesthetics for our wedding stationary. This was obviously a front runner for design choice. Now as someone that has grown up playing on Photoshop illustrator premier pro and the rest of the Adobe suites, I immediately looked at the artwork on these postcards, overestimated my ability and figured I can do that.
I had a chat with Abigail and we agreed that we wanted to do something a little bit different for our wedding invites and settled in a multi layered design which I then worked on in illustrator.
We wanted to bring in design elements from vintage postcards some of the most iconic locations on the island, as well as a variety of information for our guests. As our plans weren’t finalised, we also wanted to give ourselves the freedom to update information and change details, so we included a QR code link to a wedding website.
There are a variety of suppliers that offer short short term wedding websites, but as I already have a website (you’re on it), I added a section with a private link that we are able to easily update with new plans, addresses, timings and additional details on dress codes.
Our Invites
(Some information obviously redacted below!)
After several weeks of back-and-forth with Abigail, fine-tuning designs and colors, we finally settled on one. I found a local printer in Loughborough who could produce a short run of prints on quality cardstock, which I then painstakingly handcut and glued for each invite. Fortunately we only needed to create around 10 invites, so the process was not too arduous. If we had many more guests I might have considered an alternative approach!!
Of course, not everyone may have the means or skills to do this, so if you're interested in bespoke artwork or designs for your invitations, I highly recommend reaching out to some wedding stationers. One of our personal favourites is ‘Lou Paper’ (partly because of her wonderful business name), although there are numerous others scattered across the UK.
Finding Other Vendors
The same advice applies to your other vendors, whether it's photography, catering, and so on. We opted to create boards on Pinterest, allowing us to refine our vision. Once we had a clear idea of what we were seeking, we could leisurely browse through Instagram or online platforms. If we stumbled upon a suitable candidate, we'd reach out to inquire about their services.
Building a personal connection with our own wedding couples has always been super important to us. So it was crucial that those we chose to work with for our day were equally invested in fostering this connection. We made it a point to initiate contact through personable emails or direct messages on Instagram as our first approach.
It never ceases to amaze me when individuals reach out with generic messages like 'I'm looking for a photographer’ with literally no more context or information. We love hearing people's stories and finding common ground, as we genuinely believe this approach enhances the service we provide and ensures a memorable experience for the couple.
If you’re also looking for suppliers at the moment, then don’t underestimate the value of that first contact and let people know what it is about their work that appeals to you - I guarantee that they’ll appreciate it - we’re all human at the end of the day!
Next time…
I have a chat with a Personal Trainer and Nutritionist about getting in shape for your wedding, the pros and cons of doing so, and a look into what I’m doing to try and look my best for the big day!
