While chances are that you’ve heard of Pinterest, one of the many popular social media platforms crippling our afternoon productivity, you may not be an avid user yet. Totally understandable – Unlike Facebook or Instagram, most users don’t use the platform for its ‘news feed’ or to share updates with friends. It is, however, THE BEST platform for researching, curating and housing creative inspiration.
As a lifestyle writer, I use the platform on a daily basis. And for a couple about to embark on planning a wedding – Pinterest is the gold standard for inspiration and takes over for the barrage of typical wedding clutter from collections of bridal magazines, scrapbooks and catalogues of vendors and venues.
Sure, if you’re new to the platform it could feel a little overwhelming – but no more overwhelming than that beast of wedding planning ahead for you. In fact, Pinterest is arguably the best tool to keep you organized and to help you pare down ideas, so that planning feels seamless and you feel in charge. Let’s do this. Wondering how? Scroll on for 6 features that make Pinterest key for planning your special day.
Your inspirational catch-all:
In the early stages of wedding planning, often your theme hasn’t quite taken shape yet. Maybe you have lots of ideas that you might like… things you’ve seen at other weddings, aesthetic characteristics that align to your personal style – modern, vintage, eclectic – but you don’t want to feel limited. Perhaps you’re not sure how all of your likes are going to come together in one big picture. During the inspiration phase – don’t limit yourself.
Pin anything that feels right from Pinterest searches, the Pinterest feed and other sites that you like – or even other images you’ve saved (you can upload them!) The important thing is to strike a balance between finding ideas – and cataloguing or revising them on a regular basis, so you’re keeping organized along with the evolution of your vision.
It’s easy to organize, edit and store info:
On Pinterest, you can create boards around any theme and ‘pin’ the same image to multiple boards. Depending on how your ideas start to take shape, you may create category-themed boards like: hair, decor and dress ideas – or you may create stylistic themed boards like vintage, dark wedding or rockabilly. In reality, you can do both… and this is actually the recommend route at the inception of your theme.
Once you begin to become clearer, you can delete pins or entire boards and move things around. Generally all pins are linked to a URL and corresponding web page where further information or shopping links live—like the venue contact info or a link to your dream dress.
It’s important to take advantage of the comment section, which allows you to add your own notes… because once you get into the haze of inspiration-hunting, you may forget exactly what you liked about a certain idea—particularly if you’re planning to merge part of that idea with a completely different idea on a different board… see what I mean?
It can operate as your communication centre:
Another cool feature about Pinterest is that you can share your board with other people in your wedding party, like your mom and your maid of honour; they can also comment on your pins.
This is especially nice, because (real-talk) people are busy, and even though your bridal party most certainly cares about your special day, they may not be available to chat about your newest idea right when you’re in the mood. No fear though, they’ll get a handy notification to check out your latest comment.
It helps with your to-do list:
Pinterest is full, full, FULL of DIYs for weddings and parties. If you’re crafty (who am I kidding, of course you are!) and looking to save a bit of cash, turn to Pinterest for help to knock a few to-dos off your list. You’ll find inspiration on wedding backdrops, party favours, DIY décor and cool ideas for food and beverage display.
Plus, as you get hooked on exploring all of these DIY ideas, you’ll be much less likely to forget an important detail at the last minute; Pinterest helps keep your crafting time-line top of mind, so there’s no last minute pressure.
It can double as your stand-in gift registry:
As you’re doing all this pinning and perusing of lust-worthy wedding details, your mind may wonder over to gifts – right? Use Pinterest, like many brides before you, to help build out your registry. Whether you’re brainstorming ideas before you go out and build an actual registry at a retailer, or you use it as a stand-in for the traditional method, the format is perfect.
You can capture and organize your ‘wants’ and share them with your friends, complete with the shop-able link.
You can keep your actual vision totally secret:
Yes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but who wants to be robbed of their totally unique wedding vision? Ugh.
Well, scour Pinterest for idea inspo, research and organizing, but when it comes down to final details and the big picture that’s emerging, keep that board secret! Use the private function for your ultimate wedding board so even your closest confidants will be a little surprised on your special day. Have fun pinning!
Are you a huge fan of Pinterest? Connect with us and check out more wedding content @beMakeful
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