Taming Wedding Inspiration Overload

Looking at wedding eye candy is a great and fun way to explore the possibilities and become inspired when planning your wedding.  I fully support (and participate) in a good daily dose of wedding eye candy with my morning coffee!  The possibilities really do seem endless!  The internet is FULL of sites that allow you to "like","pin","fave it","+Pin","love","bundle"  and more.  With all of the emerging ways (and new ones that seem to pop up every day) to view and store the wedding inspiration, it is easy to lose site of your own wedding amongst the chaos.  Is scanning through thousands of gorgeous wedding photos online starting to make you feel overwhelmed? Unfocused? Confused? Well, let's try tame that inner inspiration junkie!

1. Focus your searches

Before you start furiously "pinning" and collecting photos and ideas for your wedding take a few minutes to give yourself a road map to follow during your searches.  Write down your top 5 "must haves" for your wedding and focus your searches on what really matters to you.   Let this list of 5 things bring you back to centre when you start to lose sight of the event that YOU are planning.

3.  Pick your theme and don’t collect images that don’t fit.

Picking a theme can help you search strategically using key words that apply to your wedding.  Ask yourself, does the really awesome picture of the “hanging lanterns in the forest” REALLY go with your theme?  If not… let it go!  You will find plenty of great ideas that DO work with your theme and budget!

2. Keep your inspiration organized.  

Picking just one platform in which you store all of your wedding stuff can help keep you organized when planning your wedding.  Having everything stored in ONE place allows you to focus in on your ideas and see them all together and see what works and what does not.  Whether you choose an online site inspiration site like pinterest, a wedding planning site, a folder on your desktop or a simple binder… just keep it ALL in one easy to access location.

4. Know your own DIY limits.

Yes, there are some AMAZING DYI projects out there that can really give your wedding great personal touches… but before you hit the craft store, consider the amount of time, energy and creativity that you have to bring to the project.  If the project doesn't mesh with what you have to give, choose to either hire someone who can do it for you, or pass on the project and choose something that better suits your needs and ability.

**bonus tip:  before buying all of your supplies in bulk for your wedding DIY project, buy just enough to try a prototype and make sure that it comes together the way you want it to!

5.  Keep your budget in mind:

If your budget is unlimited, then by all means, let’s pull out all the stops!  If not though, remember that you don't have to have EVERYTHING to have an awesome and memorable wedding!  Refer back to your list of must haves often and focus perfecting them first.  If you still have room in your budget after all of the must haves have been taken care of… let’s bring in the extras!

Happy planning!