Inspiration Boards

Abby Jean at Style Me Pretty has her clients create storyboards to illustrate their inspirations for their wedding; it helps her get a broader understanding of what they’re looking for. Check out the contest and article here. Here’s an example:

The inspiration board and discussion can help other wedding vendors, too. In my recent article on Preventing Vendorzilla, I discussed how your inspirations can help your wedding vendors have an aerial view of your wedding and how they can fit in. It can also help them to come up with ideas based on this broad picture. The reason why this approach to working with wedding vendors works so well is that a narrower view of handing your vendor specific tasks, items, etc. limits the view they have of your wedding. You have a grand vision; share it!

When I get a couple’s shot list questionnaire I also collect the photos that the couples I work with have seen online and like. They come from all over the place and while most capture various couples at various points during their wedding day, the photos always represent what kind of emotion and style the couple’s entire wedding day will have. When I met with a bride last December, she brought along her laptop so she could show me tons of photos she was inspired by. Here are a few:

There were dozens of photos of people laughing - it definitely gave me a good idea of what her wedding was going to be! Moreover, this particular bride had a special request for a specific photo:

My mother also wants a picture of me looking out of the car window. There’s a picture of my mom from her wedding and she wanted to recreate the same image.

The original photograph is of her mother and father on their wedding day. They’re sitting in their car, grinning, with all the windows rolled up. While they’re grinning at the photographer taking their picture, he also captures a very special moment - the reflection of her mother’s father gazing in at them, filled with love. Since we tried to take this recreated photo before the ceremony, we only had the bride sitting in her car - but man, am I proud.

I definitely want to emphasize that this is an ongoing process! A board of photos that you like will not only give your vendor specific ideas, but it also gives her or him a broader picture (no pun intended) of what you’re looking for. He or she might come up with more ideas - I’ve been known to send things I’ve seen online to clients to see if they like them!

Abby’s Input

Abby has been kind enough to add her tips on how to create your own board!

“I found that the most difficult part of planning my own wedding, was conveying my unique vision to a million different people…all of whom had a hand in what the end result would be. All of the elements needed to be cohesive, and yet how do you create that vision without sitting everyone down in the same room together. The solution for me, was to create an inspiration board. Something that helped me to understand my own vision, so that I could better articulate my ideas to my various vendors.

“The best way to create a board is to become a hoarder. That sounds extreme, yes, but it really will prove to be so helpful. Scour magazines (and not just wedding magazines…home design versions have beautiful ideas for color palettes and design styles), the internet, books. Go to fabric stores and collect swatches of your favorite colors and textures. Carry your camera around wherever you go so that if you see something inspiring, you can capture it. Once you have the materials, the actual board will come easily.

“There are a few things to remember though, when designing an inspiration board…

1. Don’t overwhelm your vision. Try to refine what you love into a small, distinctive set of ideas. This will make articulating your vision, much, much easier.
2. Stay consistent either on color, or on style. You need to have one of these elements threaded through each portion of your wedding, so that your event seems cohesive and balanced.
3. Try to include one or two photos of each major element…Fashion, Food, Flowers, Décor.

“Once you have designed your inspiration board, you might want to write an elevator speech…a brief description of how you see your wedding. For example…you might be having a “Casual and intimate backyard wedding, with an emphasis on family and friends, a color palette of varying shades of pink and accents of chic vintage elements.” Write your elevator speech on the back of your board, so that you can share it with each of your vendors.

“All in all, creating an inspiration board will help you to understand your vision, and give you an easy way to convey that vision to your vendors.”

Thanks, Abby, for contributing! You can find her current inspiration board contest here. Enjoy the beautiful work!