One of the first things my MOH said to me after I told her I was engaged was “I just made a Pinterest!!” I thought, Shit, now I have to make one. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the direction it has provided me.
If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what Pinterest is, it’s a social media site where you can search for things like recipes, workouts, and decorating, and if you see something you like, you “pin” it to your online board to add to your collection. The best way I can describe it is a Dream Board with links. Pinterest hasn’t been around for long so brides today are lucky to have this resource to go to for collective creative brainstorming.
When I first signed up and looked for wedding related images, my searches were very general and therefore I wasn’t getting the kind of results that I wanted. If you just search “wedding” you’re going to get all different kinds of wedding related items that are probably not what you are really searching for. Once I started searching for things like “black and white wedding” or “white rose centerpieces” I got more images that helped me put together an idea of what I want my wedding to look like.
Another of the ways I have used Pinterest is for my bridal shower. I made my bridal shower board available to be pinned on from my bridesmaids, and so they can see what I like and when they pin something that isn’t my style, I just delete the pin! This is how Rachelle and I decided on my shower invitations and I think it makes it a little easier on everyone to have a clear vision of each others ideas, although some things that we may like may not always be feasible.
Enter: The Pinterest Bride. I’ve seen so many boards with hundreds of photos that say “I am definitely doing this at my wedding.” Although I have found Pinterest to be very helpful for putting together ideas, especially for someone who is not especially creative such as myself, I have also noticed that most of the decorating photos are professional photos and many of them are taken at $100,000+ events. I feel like this raises expectations for the everyday bride, and when their event inevitably doesn’t look as grandiose as the weddings on Pinterest, they will be disappointed.
Secondly, because so many people are pinning photos of “Do It Yourself” decorations that look amazing and are no doubt a bitch to put together, this is going to put some serious pressure on brides who are having a mostly DIY wedding. I tend to think DIY brides are a little nuts…there is enough to do already when planning a wedding without individually putting together every piece of it. Please consider that most of those super cute DIY items you’re seeing have not been prepared by the bride but by an event coordinator who pays someone to do it as part of the decor.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE DELETE THE MESSAGE FROM THE PINNER BEFORE YOU. When you are pinning an item, the message from the last person who pinned the image remains there until you delete it or write your own. It’s so weird when I see “My daughter Celeste really likes this cake!” when you most definitely do not have kids. Use the message box to write the reason for pinning the photo or to write a little note to yourself about it.
Pinterest has been the perfect addition for those planning a wedding to gain inspiration, but being inspired does not mean that your event needs to look exactly like the one in the photo. Remember to keep your expectations realistic. My advice is to think about what exactly it is that you like about the photos you’ve pinned and then share them with your floral or event designer and let them take care of the details. It’s their job to make your vision come to life within your budget, and having photos to see what your style looks like will help them bring your event together perfectly.
The Life & Times of a Realist Bride 