Brides and grooms today are lucky. It used to be that you’d pick up a few magazines at the corner store and dog-ear the pages with your favorite dress, cake, flower arrangement or potential location. Sure, as the wedding industry grew, so did the coverage of the details in these magazines. But today it’s as easy as typing “wedding” into the Pinterest search box and bam, there are all of the details you’d need to create a fabulous wedding, along with many subtle points that you may not have even considered. Gone are the days of lugging around the oversized three-ring notebook; now brides and grooms have a virtual space to gather all of their ideas and to arrange them in relevant categories.
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It’s hard to believe that the site was launched just four years ago, but in case you’ve been living under a rock or you’re one of those technically-challenged people, here’s the way it works: users save images, which are called pins (as in an old-fashion pin-board) on to virtual boards that can be sorted and organized based on their needs. Pins are collected through three basic channels 1) by browsing the home page to see what their “friends” or those users whose boards they follow have pinned, or 2) by “pinning” images from elsewhere on the internet by clicking on a “pin it” button, or 3) by doing a blind search on the homepage, using key words or clicking on topic like Art, Gardening or Sports, just to name a few.
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While perusing images for ideas for how to wear your hair or bridesmaid gift options, you’ll also be confronted with pins of “Ways to make your wedding so much easier,” “Cute ideas for a Kids’ table,” or “Questions to ask my wedding photographer.” There are also things like clever ways to name your tables and alternative ideas for the traditional guest book. I could go on and on – and you could keep on scrolling down and down. I’m sure it’s overwhelming and too much for some reticent brides, but for those who crave information, Pinterest is a goldmine and such an invaluable resource.
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When I asked our old babysitter, who is recently engaged, how she is planning for her wedding, she had this to say: “I haven’t really used any wedding magazines actually…maybe I will at some point, but Pinterest and wedding blogs are so easy.” She explained how she initially used the site to search for wedding dresses, then once she chose her colors she did some research to see how other people put the colors together visually – particularly for seeing combinations of bridesmaid dress colors, flowers and groomsmen suit colors, and eventually flower arrangements and centerpieces. She even found a few photos from real weddings with the combinations she was envisioning so she could see it all together. Lucky girl.
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On a nuanced level, a resource like Pinterest provides couples, who may not want to have a traditional wedding, with so many different options. Just type in “bohemian bride” or “adventurous wedding” and you’re confronted with so many visuals that prove some of your own ideas are not too outlandish or attainable. In fact, I envy people out there in the throes of weddings right now. It seems easier than ever to express your creativity or individuality (or both!) through your own wedding, as a member of the wedding, or even as a wedding guest.
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In talking with a local wedding florist, she shared that Pinterest has been invaluable in giving her a better understanding of her clients’ needs. While in the past, a bride may have had trouble describing the style she envisioned for her wedding flowers, now she can create a board for her florist to see exactly what she wants. Recently, Pinterest has allowed for the use of up to three secret boards so that the wedding and all of the details do not have to be revealed ahead of time to any guests who may be checking out the bride’s boards.
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Some of you savvier Pinterest users probably already follow a number of genre-specific users like the Ruffled Blog that features boards for Wedding Whimsy, for example, that just feed your imagination with ideas to inspire your own wedding. The possibilities are truly endless. Style Me Pretty features helpful boards like Wedding Signs; Doie Lounge has a board with over 100 pins for a Bohemian Chic Wedding as well as boards exclusively for Industrial Brides and Mountain Brides. You’d really be hard-pressed to have an uninspired wedding with a resource like this at your fingertips. For those who have already walked down the aisle, browsing wedding boards on Pinterest makes you want to do it all over again.
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Liz Mathews is a Connecticut based mother, teacher, and freelance writer who blogs on children’s books and related topics at La La La (http://lalalaliz.com/). Her work has appeared in Quality Women’s Fiction, Town and Country magazine, and Literary Mama.