In this blog, I will walk you through some of the design processes with critical vendors and share the tips I've experienced with my clients.

Designing anything can be overwhelming. Even as a wedding designer, I sometimes find it difficult to conceptualize how I want my decor to be. Tools like Instagram, Pinterest, Google, blogs, and magazines are helpful. However, when envisioning your wedding, you must consider all the different factors: type of venue, photographer, atmosphere, dress code, budget, and season you are in. Truthfully, I have a love-hate relationship with these sites. As much as I welcome the inspiration, and honestly, too much of anything can cause your head to spin. However, using them to dive into the process is very beneficial.

As a Wedding Planner, couples often ask me how to approach Wedding Design. The majority of clients that I onboard have already started their Pinterest boards or have uploaded tons of photos to their phones. They come to me because they need a planner AND guidance on transforming this inspiration into a vision and want an idea of what this all might cost. I then explain to them that Wedding Design is a process, an art, and like all things, we need to peel back the layers to discover what truly works.

Finding Your Inspiration

I start the process by gathering the many pins and photos clients have found and placing them all into a PowerPoint. They are then grouped by each element: personals, ceremony, cocktail, and reception. While doing this exercise, I have my clients do their training, a Design Questionnaire. This tool is helpful because it lets both partners feel involved in the process, enabling me to investigate their true style. Once that questionnaire is finished, we meet and discuss what spoke to them in the photos and what they don’t like, and we use the questionnaire to fill in any blanks. For instance, you love a mixture of rounds and rectangular tables. You genuinely love that farm table look, BUT you are hosting a black-tie affair. What about farm tables do you love? The shape, the rustic look? Again, diving into these questions allows me to brainstorm what we can potentially do based on the venue, budget, and other factors we have to work with. Are we going to recreate those pictures? No. But we will take elements from that inspiration and make it into something that speaks to you.

What does your venue provide?

Now that we understand your vision and budget, let’s discuss your venue, the flowers, and linens. Again, your venue plays a vital role in all of this. For one, they may have a preferred list of vendors that you need to choose from. They may provide linens or have upgraded options. They may also have an exclusive lighting company, making the lighting price nonnegotiable. These elements are essential to your overall design and BUDGET.

Florals, florals florals…

Once we know our parameters, we start talking to the florists. Since we already went through the exercise of gathering photos and figuring out what you like and don’t like, we can use this information to have a productive conversation with each florist so that they can give us a thorough proposal. Consultations with floral designers are the key to magic. Some florists will ask you to complete a work order of how many centerpieces, bouquets, boutonniere, and ceremony pieces you need. Designer florists want to know your vision to create an atmosphere for you and what your dress looks like so that your bouquet can be an accessory, and they also want to know your budget. This way, they can give you ideas, and you can decide what works. One of my favorite pieces to discuss with the florist is the escort card table! Some look at this as a table with many names telling guests where to sit. NOPE! This is your chance to be super creative - a statement - an art piece that speaks to your personality. Want ideas? Google it, Pinterest it, Instagram it - they will give you about a million!

Linens, chargers, and more

Once florist proposals come in, the budget can be updated. We start prioritizing what can genuinely make the vision vs what's nice to have. Linens are always first! Did you know that texture, fabric, natural light, the colors of the room, and the photographer's filter all play a role in how the linen will present itself in person and in your photos? Not all white linens are the same! That’s why we look at all different options with swatches, then bring in the actual linen and pair it with all the other elements. If you want to use a charger, we explore those. We gather all the elements, including the china, flatware, and glassware, and look at the whole picture.

Floral Sample!

Yes, you need to have one! During this meeting, we bring the linens and chargers and look at all the other accent pieces (floating candles, votives, tapers, bud vases, etc) into the mix, ensuring perfect harmony and contrast.

The overall design comes together by bringing each component in one by one. You learn what you love in person vs what looks good on paper. It’s a process; like all things in life, some choices are based on your circumstances. However, by following the process, you will feel confident in your decisions, and on the day of your wedding, I guarantee you will walk into the finished product feeling all the good things because your room looks fantastic and YOU JUST GOT MARRIED!

Read to get started? I would be honored to walk you through the process of Wedding Design and Wedding Planning. Let’s chat!