I had gotten lost on pinterest looking up décor options more times than I can count. It seemed that every few weeks a whole new load of options was appearing. Having two years to plan made it really difficult because I kept wanting to add to my vision board collection.
By the time you are done collecting inspiration, you could easily end up with five different weddings! Not all of it will look best together. This is when you will want to turn to your trusted friend, mom, planner, or florist. Just like we have trouble proof reading our own writing, having someone look over your decor will help you get a fresh perspective on potentially clashing themes, colors, or flowers.
But, before you even get to the stage of needing a last opinion, you need to put together your inspiration board. Here are some tips to help you along the way.
Overall Theme and Ambiance
The most helpful way I avoided getting overwhelmed was sticking to my overall theme of a vintage Parisian garden. I realized that was the ambiance that I was wanting because of the over arching feel from my most common pinterest saves. I wanted this to look subtle, so my main interest was to accentuate the already beautiful ambiance of the venue I chose.
That is why when it came to our wedding, our flowers and décor were determined by the venue itself. We capitalized on the glass ceremony space, bringing the outdoors inside by building a pergola as a chuppah with copper wire garden style chairs for guests.
We continued with the themes of brining the outside in by including flowers and (fake) candles. The party room had high ceilings and arches so we created tall arch like centerpieces over some of the longer tables to help draw the eye up.
Color and Flowers
Think about the colors of the venue itself (flooring, walls, and ceiling), your favorite colors, the mood you want to set, and the season of the year. This helps tie together the overall look you are creating. For us, the color pallet was based on the venue itself so that nothing clashed. This left us with light blue and dusty pink. We also included some wood to enhance the outdoor feeling.
When is comes to the flowers themselves, they can change by season. While many are available all year round, not all are. This is when you want to consider your wedding season. The availability will help bring you some clarity and will make the décor more consistent with the theme.
DIY verse Vendor
When if comes to the day of, some people like to DIY. This can be a budget friendly option. I am that person who likes to have control and would have preferred to have done everything myself. But, given the guest size and complexity of the day, we opted to hire a florist that the venue and our planner had worked with numerous times before.
The Extras
Online you can find lists on lists of details to include. I went through and decided what I thought would enhance the décor and what I thought would clutter. For example, as pretty as a menu card is we opted to not use those and save on the cost. Instead, I spent money on pamphlets that explained the different traditions involved in the ceremony. We also didn’t offer take home gifts because we held an out of towner’s dinner the night before and brunch the following morning.
Choosing a Florist and Vendors
Now that you know what you want your day to look like, you want to find someone who is able to implement and make your day look exactly how you want! Every florist has their own flair and personality. Look at their work online and do a consultation on the phone. You want to make sure that you can work well together.
You also want to ask what they provide. Some florists will arrange for everything, providing the chairs, tables, linens, and candles. Others may provide only flowers or some combination. Depending on what they provide will impact how many people you or your planner will need to coordinate arrival and arrangement times for.
After all of this hard work, your day will eventually all come together! It will be so amazing to see it all in place. I do want to leave you with just one pieces of advice.
On the day of don’t pay attention to the detail. At that point, everything is out of your control. All that matters is that you live in the moment and remember what the day is about, that you get to marry your best friend. If the flowers aren’t the exact shade you picked or a table is in the wrong place, no one will notice but you. And if you take my advice, you wont even realize until the pictures come back.
I loved my wedding day. Everything came together. It wasn't exactly how I expected, but it was beautiful. I knew that if I started to nit-pick than I would drive myself crazy and ruin the day. Instead, by focusing on the specialty of the day I was able to just enjoy the day and appreciate all the work that went into making that magical day.
xoxo,
Shana Bryn
Photographer: Domino Arts
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