Here is part 3 of my wedding planning series; How to get creative while wedding planning. Wedding planning involves a huge amount of work. Some of it though can be a huge amount of fun and is perfect for those with a creative side. It’s also a great way to save some serious money!
Where have we got to in the planning series
Let’s have a little look back over the previous posts in this series and what we have covered so far. Firstly we covered those that are newly engaged and then the exciting side of wedding planning.
- Set a budget
- Pick a time of year to get married
- Decide on the type of wedding you want
- Pick a Venue
- Decide where you will hold your service
- Pin down a date
- Save the date
- Buy a wedding planner
- Guest list
- Pick your wedding party
- Decide on your theme
- Pick the colour scheme
- Visit a wedding fayre
As you can see, we’ve already covered quite a lot, but there is a lot more to think about. Typically by this point, most brides and grooms have 12 months or more to go before the big day. This allows plenty of time to make use of your time and get creative while wedding planning,
How to get creative while wedding planning
With all the previous steps in place, you’ve probably got a fairly good idea of how your wedding is going to look. You may well be brimming with inspiration. Now though is the time to put this all in to action. But where to start?
Create a vision board
These are hugely popular and rightly so. It is a great way to bring together all the things you’ve seen and loved so far. You can add magazine cut outs, colour swatches, images you’ve found online as well as any samples you may have got hold of.
It’s Pinterest in your hand, moveable and tangible. Bringing all your thoughts together in one place. Often seeing things together will help you to fall in love or eliminate them quickly.
You can create your vision board as simply or as elaborately as you like. A large board would work really well. I have even seen people using large photo frames and keeping it long after the wedding is over. Something like a large scrapbook would also work really well.
Bullet Journal
Much like a vison board, creating something smaller that is more portable is a great way to be creative. This means that whenever you are out, you’re wedding goals are right there with you.
Inspiration can hit at any time, this way you are always prepared. You can cross match colours and styles if you see something you think would be perfect for your wedding. It could mirror your vision board as well but on the go!
Create your own stationary
This is a popular way of keeping your costs low. I’d recommend researching a lot with this one though. Almost window shopping if you like!
You need to find a design that you like and that will work with all of your stationary if you are going with a theme for the all. Pricing up the cost to buy vs the cost to make yourself is really important.
But also being realistic about your time and skills is also key. I know I wouldn’t have the time or the skills to make them myself. But I know people that do. This means I can ask for help to create something I love.
You do not have to give yourself endless papercuts or risk other craft related injuries though. There are plenty of ways to create stationary that is a fair bit easier.
For example, I designed my Save the dates on Vista Print. They were exactly how I wanted them to look and were reasonably priced. I also created table numbers by buying a design on Etsy that I could edit and then printed via free prints. The whole lot cost me less than £10!
Flower arranging
Lots of people are now opting for artificial flowers in their bouquets. Decent artificial flowers are readily available and the quality is pretty good in most cases. It means that you can use flowers that fit with your theme without worrying about seasons etc and you’ll be left with something to keep forever.
If you’d rather have fresh flowers, you could always learn to arrange real flowers. You learn a new skill while working towards an important element of your wedding. Plus it could make a great day out for you and your bridal party.
Table decor
Often if you’ve booked a package with a venue, table decorations will be included in the price. For me though I knew I didn’t want the generic glass vase look. I knew exactly what I wanted, but there is endless inspiration available on the internet.
The brilliance of the table decorations is that you don’t need to be particularly creative or artistic. It can be handmade or it could be more about bringing items together that work well to create the look you want.
A lot of the time, you can buy the elements to create your centrepiece fairly cheaply. I actually found the complete centrepiece I wanted on Facebook market place. So not only did I save money, someone had done the hard work for me! Bonus!
I have created some additions so not completely cheated! But it was ideal for me and a great little find! Definitely worth looking online if you’re happy with second hand. Bear in mind of course…. Most second hand wedding items will have been used for 24 hours tops!
Name place cards and table plan
It has become popular to provide name tags for each guest. This of course ties in with your table plan and decor.
You can be quite inventive here, but remember tags are not an essential item. You’re seating plan will cover this but I do think the name place card is a nice touch. I have chosen to tie our name tags with our favours! Something that can be taken home and kept forever if they chose to.
At wedding’s I’ve attended, I have come home with word art that centred around my name and key words about the happy couple. Wine glass charms with my name on it, wooden tags with my name carved in and beautifully decorated wooden pegs. All of which I still have. Mementos from very special days.
Other ways to get creative
Here are some other things you could lend your creative skills to
- Your cake
- Bridal party gifts
- Wedding gifts
- Orders of service
- Personalised hangers/Dressing gowns
- Guest book
- Decor for sweet tables and any other special features you may have at your wedding
- Children’s activities
- Photobooth props
There are so many elements involved in a wedding that the possibilities are endless! You may be clever enough to make your own dress!
Did you get creative while planning your wedding? What was your favourite make?
These are such lovely ideas Claire! I have been married forever but would love to help a friend getting ready for the big day 💖
This brought back so many memories of our wedding party. Alan and I eloped to Florida but threw a party for around 40 friends and family when we got back. We did our own invitations, table decorations, flowers and it was so much fun. These are fab ideas, perfect for adding that really personal touch to what’s after all a very personal day xx
Wedding planning can be so stressful can’t it. A good list will always help you.
These are all great ideas! I am not getting married any time soon but I was quite excited to read this series! I think that invitations, name place card and decorations on the tables would be the thing that would excite me more to work on and add a personal touch, thank you for sharing x
I’ve always imagined how my wedding would pan out! from the planning to the real day. Love your points! a budget-friendly decoration with the reception and such is the goal. These are great tips. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.lifebeginsattwenty.com
I created a vision board and bought a wedding planner book that has pullouts for drawings, clip ins, business cards etc.
It really got my juices flowing!
Rosie
I completely agree with your idea of using a vision board. It’s so much fun plus it really does do what it says on the tin and helps you to visualise your big day in a really fun and creative way.
These are some really great ideas that you have shared. I love making lists! I can’t wait to have a wedding to plan ha ha!
My daughter and my BIL are planning there weddings, but both have been put on hold for now. Cannot wait to start helping them out
Yes ours was postponed and potentially could be again, we are just going to keep planning though and be positive. hope they can get planning soon x x
I learned so many new skills of the lead up to our wedding. Flower arranging, invitation making and making button holes. It is so good to get creative.
My friend was the same, she’d never been crafty before! But now it works in my favour because she has learned so much she can pretty much do it all!
These sound like some really fun ideas to help you get creative while wedding planning, I’m sure it can be so stressful that having some fun creatively helps ease it a bit.
I really am working hard on trying to avoid the stress… Fingers crossed!!
oh i really love these ideas !! nothing better than getting stuck in and being creative . i am sure this post will help many people too
Thank you Pati x
Making all our wedding invitations was such a lot of fun. I sat making them with my Mum which was so lovely. Like you, we made our Save the Date cards on VistaPrint!
My bridesmaids are both super crafty so I will be enlisting them for help x
What’s the purpose of a save the date card? Would you change the date if people reply that the date doesn’t work for them? Or is this just a weird way of inviting people to a wedding? I can see the merit in the bouquet being artificial, but what would you do with the rest of the flowers if they were all artificial? Is it possible to just rent them rather than buy?
It literally is just that, a pre-invite to get people to pencil the date in. If they can’t make it, they don’t come. We are only having bouquets in our wedding so they will be kept but yes, you can hire the other flowers that you may choose to use
I’ve never been married and honestly, a big wedding seems like such a stressful thing to plan. I’d definitely want to keep it small. Some great ideas here though.
It’s been more fun than stressful at the moment. The stress has come from having to postpone but planning is great x
When I planned my wedding I used to cut photos out of magazines and places them in my ‘wedding book’. If I was planning a wedding today, my first stop would be pinterest.
Oh Pinterest is just the BEST!
A vision board is such a wonderful idea to put together to plan a wedding! I never thought of that when it came to my wedding.
I find the visual so powerful and really pulls it all together x
We’ve just started planning our wedding after getting engaged last January and the pandemic putting a stop to us planning. I definitely want to get creative and do as much as we can ourselves to save money x
There are so many great things you can do for your wedding. I made the cutest little name cards for all of our guests.
I think the skys the limits when it comes to getting creative x
Oh how I miss wedding planning! It can be so much fun! I loved getting creative and these are all such wonderful ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Amanda, it is a lot of fun x
These are some great ideas you’ve got , love that they are all unique too
Thank you Kira x x
These are fantastic ideas thanks for sharing! Planning a wedding can definitely be super hard work so having a plan is a must I think. I created my own stationary too and whilst it was quite time consuming it saved me money and allowed me to create them exactly as I wanted so would definitely recommend too! x
I think it is definitely something we will be doing, Both my bridesmaids are ace at crafting so that will be a great help x
Cake toppers are a great way to get creative! We skipped for the traditional bride and groom and went for animated figures! I like to junk journal now so that would be fun too!
My partner wants 3d printed images of us. for now though we have a beauty and the beast disney character that he picked up. Beauty and the beast has always been significant to us x
So cute!!! Weddings just seem like so much fun 🥺
They really are a lot of fun x
I did a lot of creative little touches when we got married (10 years ago) it wasn’t such a thing then as it is now. But it really made the day special for us even if it got a little stressful towards the end.
That is my main worry which is why I have tried to be creative while cheating a little in some cases. I really didn’t want to overstretch myself x
Lovely post, Claire! I can imagine all the different elements of wedding planning are a great time to get creative. God, I would go MAD with vision boards haha! I do love a vision board!
Oh me to! I have all sort of bits on mine. I love visuals, they are so inspiring x
Personally I’m not really a wedding person but these are some really great practical and doable tips for those planning theirs!
Laura x
Thank you Laura x
Wow this is amazing. there is some really sound and sensible advice here. also some great ways to make some savings xx
SO many lovely tips here! There is always more of a personal touch in handmade wedding items x
These are some great ideas to plan your wedding. I love organisation, so when I get married I will definitely use vision boards etc. Thank you for sharing your creative ideas.
Lauren bournemouthgirl.com