How to create an effective Pinterest board for your wedding?

Recently I have this bride reaching for my wedding advices: Thư is preparing for her wedding next year in Vietnam, when contacting decoration providers, giving them description of the wedding's outlook, she didn’t receive any solid responses from any party. A little worried and unhappy, Thư came to me to ask if I can recommend to you other vendors so she can continue her search work. I can barely give out any new name, because she was in touch with almost top searches in Saigon already. But after half hour with her on the phone, I know the challenge is not coming from the vendors she mentioned.

Her Pinterest account has 5 boards for wedding, containing a thousand pins. There’s this board called Wedding toast with more than 400 pins “these are all the things that catch my eyes, yet no one can tell me what I like and how much it costs?” Thư doesn't have a specific location or number of guests, but she wants to know so badly how much a Pinterest wedding will cost. This pretty much reminds me of the perfect house I Pinterest-built for myself, complete from storage room idea to living room and bedroom. I didn’t either have a house or intention or financial ability to buy one, so the whole idea is just to draw out my interests and needs. (A friend who was repairing her house told me that only the marble tiles in the two toilets I just drew in my head would cost me $2000) The fact that using Pinterest to plan a wedding through photos is the same as building a house through photos, which makes it impossible for the owner to objectively estimate the actual cost, not to mention having realistic process insights.

So what are my advices to Thư as well as brides to be who are using Pinterest or other online inspiration platforms for their weddings?

First, be certain of the venue and number of guests attending. It helps your team estimate how much and how much the decoration must cover. How many halls are there? How many yards? How long is the corridor? How many door gifts do we need to prepare?

Secondly, is to use Pinterest effectively following the steps below. The goal is to create a unique collection of photos with consistent, thematic interrelated photos, so that anyone can catch a glimpse of the style you are aiming for.

Step 1: JUST PIN!

- Create a wedding board master to avoid confusion with other topics on your Pinterest. You can set the public to get more interaction from new service providers.

- Give it a name so you can always find it, for example Ha & Manh Wedding, Hoa & Duy Wedding ..

- Pin everything you can, everything you find eye-catching and want to include in your wedding

The rule is that there are no rules, you can go as far as many as possible, explore until the very end of the Pinterest universe so that when you turn around, you don't have to worry about missing anything. The healthy length of time for this slippery trip is from 1 to 3 months, this is also the reason why the sooner you prepare for the wedding, the better. 

Step 2: EDIT & TRIM

- After you have a lot of photos on your master board, you need to split the pictures into sections and give them specific name:

• Venues + locations
• Invitation ideas
• Flowers + floral design
• Signature cocktail recipes
• Bouquets + boutonnieres
• Cakes + desserts
• Favors
• Photography tips
• etc…

- Now in each section, delete the ones you like the least, the least relevant, the repeated … in order to keep only 3-5 items per category. If you have had an actual location and number of guests, you will find it easier to eliminate the unfit 

Rule: This is when you have to seriously ask yourself why I want to keep this photo? What details in the picture do I like? You will gradually notice a repetitive detail, a pattern whether it is the color scheme, a flower arrangement, a gown shape… that is a good sign, that repeating detail is your vibe. 

Step 3: BE CREATIVE!

- Share the final results with your favorite decoration team and wait for their quote. If you can afford it, that's good. If not, then it’s time to negotiate and find a way to keep the essential and compromise the rest

- If you have a wedding planner, work with them at early stage. They can help you determine between the actual affordability and the desired wedding images.

- Trust your service providers and allow a space for them to be creative, juggle with new materials instead of recreating online images. 

Rule: Do not change the idea board or refer to other styles because that means you are planning a whole brand new wedding.

In the end, Pinterest is to inspire, not pressure. If you are looking at beautiful shimmering pictures to dream about your wedding day, do not forget that behind those moments is a lot of time and effort required. What you need to ensure the smooth experience of the family, of the bride and groom, and the guests alongside with flawless pictures is recruiting the most attentive & thoughtful vendors to your team. And giving them a well-managed visual request will make both sides understand each other faster and work more efficiently throughout the planning process.