Wedding Planning: Instagram Vs. Pinterest

Okay, since I wrote such an unsavory Instagram blog post last time here, I thought I would talk about some things I really like about Instagram especially when used in conjunction with the holy grail of wedding planning apps, Pinterest. When I start working with a client on their wedding design, the very first thing I ask them is to send me their Pinterest board. It gives me a really good idea of their style, what colors they like, and what vibe they are going for. It’s a start!

Pinterest is great for creating, what most of us in the creative industry call, a mood board. There have been other websites, apps and tools that try their hand at offering other ways to do this, but trust me when I say that at the beginning of any creative project, making a Pinterest board is literally the first step we all do and nothing works better (at least at this point in time). It is so great that you can pin all your ideas in one spot, whether it be from something you found on Pinterest itself or pinned from another website. Plus you can collaborate with your friends, your family and ta-da - your wedding planner!

Here’s my issue with Pinterest.

By the time you pin something that you have found in the Pinterest stratosphere, it’s old news. I wish I could count how many times I have seen the same pins on multiple clients’ boards and how many times I have shown a bouquet (or insert whatever product here) to my florist (or insert whatever vendor here) and they say, “Yeah, we’ve seen that picture and done that one several times now.”

Well, BLAH!

Nobody wants their wedding looking like everyone else’s, but finding an original and fresh idea on Pinterest is like finding a needle in a haystack. By the time you see said pin, it has more than likely been regurgitated by thousands of other wedding couples. This is why you see the same trends at weddings, you know…those really precise ones like “unplugged” ceremony signs, wish jars, Ferrero Rocher escort cards…etc…you get the idea.

What is the solution, one might ask?

Instagram!

Now, listen, the best way to come up with ideas is to dream them up, get inspired from fashion, art, architecture, focus groups, your likes/dislikes, blah, blah, blah, yeah, yeah, but most people planning a wedding don’t have time for all that regarding every single category of their wedding. They need clear, concise, cohesive ideas and they need them quickly. That is where Instagram rules.

Instagram is mostly in real time (or soon after) and creative minds are posting things frantically all over the WORLD because you know, we all have this little tech obsession now and this is where artists and makers showcase their work. To find what is happening now, what is hot like this minute, what is on the cutting edge, Instagram is where it’s at.

Using the hashtag #weddingcake is going to instantly bring up tons of ideas, never seen before, right before your very eyes 👀 You’ll see wedding cakes created by the finest pastry chefs in the world to sweet little home bakers baking for their grandchild’s wedding…like TODAY! You can do this for any category: #weddinggown, #centerpiece, #bouquet, #weddingfood. You know all this, but did you know you can pin your new find on your Pinterest board and you totally should before you forget where you saw it (am I right? 2:00 a.m. inspiration folks raise your hand 🙋 ).

Simply click the three little dots in the upper, right hand corner of the image’s post and you can “copy image url” from there. Head over to your Pinterest board and ADD THAT LINK! Voila!

If you want to lock your ideas down, so your pin is not regurgitated by a bunch of other wedding couples planning their weddings before your wedding day, simply set your board to Secret mode. We do this for our styled shoots, too. I always unlock the board after the fact and pin our images from our styled shoot to the same board because afterwards, obviously I WANT to start the trend, yo 😀

Pro tip - Mix two or three concepts to create something truly unique. Maybe you found a wedding cake with one layer design you love, but you love another layer from this other cake over here. And also in your color palette…and wouldn’t THIS wedding cake topper from this other photo look amazing?! Use all those things to make it your very own style!

So, happy Pinning and Instagramming and be sure tag us on Instagram in the comments if you see something fabulous!