If you are planning your wedding, you may have found that inspiration comes easily. Many expectant brides have lots of ideas for their wedding day even well before they became engaged! I mean I have friends that had a scrapbook (because of the lack of Pinterest back then) with cut outs from Dolly and Girlfriend magazines of their dream wedding.
But some brides and grooms don’t really know where to start with getting inspiration for their wedding day. You might have a few rules in mind, such as nothing cheesy and nothing that everybody has seen a dozen times before, but still coming within your budget. But beyond these basics, when it comes to wedding inspiration, you might be lacking in ideas.
Here are our Only Dream Dresses’ Go-To Places for Wedding Inspiration to help you get started.
Only Dream Dresses’ Go-To Places for Wedding Inspiration
What did people do before the internet when it came to planning a wedding? Inspiration is just so simple now that you can pop onto Google and look up anything you need.
Because Google is constantly updating itself you can usually access the most current information and wedding day trends.
Websites that continually update their wedding blogs can also be relied on for great tips and wedding inspiration. Those ones with real-life wedding stories and endless photo galleries are also a great place to start getting ideas.
You might find that your biggest problem is actually knowing when to stop researching, put a halt to all new ideas, and start locking down some definite decisions.
A wedding is one of those lovely reasons that Pinterest exists. If you don’t have a project or dream to plan then the attraction of Pinterest might not have appealed to you before now, but the moment you start planning a wedding you will totally get this app.
You can search for literally anything and look through the virtual vision boards of every person on Pinterest for pictures and articles. The images are gorgeous and can give you a great source of visual inspiration especially for aspects of your day like your invitations, dress, hairstyle, photo opportunities, wedding favours, and décor tips.
Then save the images you like the most on your own virtual boards. You can create as many different kinds of boards as you like, helping you to categorise your ideas and keep them straight in your mind.
One of the best things about Pinterest is the easy access to so many DIY and homemade wedding ideas, which is so helpful if you’re on a budget. It’s also a great way to find ideas that no one has seen before and stay ahead of the trends.
You might find yourself on Pinterest so often that you run out of new things to research. This is a classic first-world problem and one of the nicest ones to have.
I have created my own Pinterest page….just for you. It is one of the most emerging wedding Pinterest pages at the moment and has daily wedding inspiration. If would like to save a few more pins come and check out our page here.
Wedding Apps
There are a number of wedding apps which are wonderful sources of inspiration as well as a really good way to keep all your ideas organised. You can store pictures and notes in the vision boards included and also track your plans and how much you are spending.
Some of our favourite apps include:
- Manage My Wedding
- The Knot
- WeddingWire
- Etsy for great DIY ideas
- Palette Cam is a lovely app for compiling inspirational photos and creating your own personal wedding colour palette.
As a picture-based platform, Instagram is also a great place to get tons of wedding inspiration all in the one place. Follow hashtags and profiles that interest you, and you will get plenty of ideas from venues, gown designers, photographers and more.
All good wedding vendors will have a polished and up to date Instagram profile, so this is a wonderful way to stay on trend and know who is new and emerging in the industry. Follow venues, event designers or wedding planners that you love to get lots of inspiration for your big day.
Even though we are a wedding dress store, our Instagram is full of wedding inspiration from other wedding vendors….so if you are in need of some more wedding inspo come and say hi here.
Wedding Magazines
In a modern digital world, many paper-based forms of media aren’t as popular anymore, but sublimely thick and glossy wedding mags are as special as ever.
There is just something so stunning about the images in these gorgeous books, and about the interaction of folding through page after beautiful page of gowns, flowers, and jewellery.
It may seem old school, but there is something so tangible about poring through bridal mags with your friends (perhaps sipping a champagne or two!) and cutting out pages for your vision board.
They can be expensive, but they are often lovingly passed from one friend to another, so if you have someone close to you who got married recently, chances are they have a big stash they would let you borrow or keep.
The Library
Ok, now we are kicking it completely old school – but your library is filled with books about wedding planning, budgeting, homemade crafts and so much more. Check out simple starter guides like Wedding Planning for Dummies, the Budget-Savvy Wedding Planner and Organizer or the Broke-Ass Bride’s Wedding Guide.
Your library will also have books about diet and exercise to get your best bod, books on fashion, make-up and hair, and how to make your own decorations, invitations, and wedding favours, a well as a lovely big stash of glossy wedding mags.
Tips to Help you Get Your Wedding Inspiration
Wedding inspiration can literally come from anywhere and anyone.
Start by talking to family, friends and especially married friends who have been through this before. Get advice on what they regret most or what not to do on your big day. Find out what books, websites or apps they used, as well as the vendors they recommend.
Do this in partnership with your partner, even if they don’t really know what they want or a bit lacking in the enthusiasm department.
Ultimately your wedding day should celebrate your love story and the two of you as a couple, so you don’t want to make all of the decisions alone. You don’t want your partner looking back through the photos and trying to figure out where their own personal stamp appears on the day.
Plus, there are so many decisions and details to work out that you really shouldn’t have to handle all this alone.
It is actually more fun if you plan this together, and an excellent way to get married life off on the right foot – hopefully this will be the first of many big things you plan together for your future! Good luck and happy planning.
Main photo by Tess Follett
