This post is from Natalie Bradley, a wedding stylist I follow --
I wanted to share it for the great information she provides!
* * * * * * *
The planning secret she shares is . . . . . . .
It’s all about
coming up with a theme and adding lots of details to your event!
So today, let’s take it
another step forward because this truly is the biggest secret to creating a
custom event that guests will remember for years to come. Plus this step in the
planning process is so very essential to keep you from wasting money. Because
when your ideas are a bit scattered, you never know what to buy, where to buy,
and when to pass.
One of the first things to do is to find your inspiration and put it on paper. As much as I love Pinterest, when it comes to planning and
designing, it adds to the overwhelm if you don’t use it wisely. So for
those of you who have discovered Pinterest, it can be a wonderful resource to
add to the mix, but make sure you follow this step-by-step process to take
your celebration to magazine-worthy levels.
There are literally
endless possibilities for your planning inspiration, which is even more reason
to get your ideas organized. Otherwise
they’ll stay as great ideas without any actual realization. The biggest
problem I see is interesting. It’s not a lack for inspiration, but rather too many great
ideas that are all over the place. When this happens, your event feels chaotic
and seemingly disorganized for guests, hence mediocre parties that cost way too
much being created all the time
My suggestion that eliminates
a lot of stress around this and helps you get mentally organized with your
design at the same time is to have a “tear-out session”. Get a stack of your favorite magazines. They can be local,
bridal, foodie, fashion, design, lifestyle, or even catalogues. It really does not matter as long as you have a stack of publications that you love in front of
you. (Again, you can also do this on Pinterest but make sure to print out your
board later.)
The key to doing this for it to truly work for you is to not think about any of your images while tearing from the magazine.
If you like it, simply rip out the page and add it to your inspiration stack.
Don’t analyze it. Don’t judge your choices. Just tear. You can assemble images
of food, flowers, decor, paint colors, furniture, atmosphere, or even attire.
Now once you have finished
ripping out (and printing your pins from Pinterest), go back to the stack and
examine each page more closely. Look at what strikes
you from each picture. Is it the color scheme, the lighting, tablescapes,
linens, chairs, or the overall mood? Make notes accordingly on each page (I
prefer stickies personally) about what you love so you can come back for final
editing.
Look for commonalities that are not always obvious at first. So with your images spread around you with notes on each page,
look for recurring elements. For example, you may have chosen invitations,
tables, vases, decor and platters that are all square. Or you may have a need
for sparkle, glitter and glamour in every single picture. What are your
unifying elements that start appearing from your pages?
There’s always something, so don’t panic or make this more
complicated than it needs to be. Even clients who think they have no theme
always do! It can be very subtle, like a shape, color scheme, texture or
lighting. Or it can be over-the top, including a branded image for your event,
custom event furniture and other details to reflect your beautiful inspiration.
Everything is perfect; there is no right or wrong to having your theme set.
The final step is to edit down your inspiration stack. You want to pare this down to a few images; usually about ten to fifteen pictures are perfect. This will become your soirée’s inspiration board.
The final step is to edit down your inspiration stack. You want to pare this down to a few images; usually about ten to fifteen pictures are perfect. This will become your soirée’s inspiration board.
another fabulous inspiration board example from
www.eleganceandenchantment.com/
Put all your inspirations on a poster board or bulletin board devoted to your event. Most people don’t want to get as tech savvy or polished as these beautiful inspiration boards when planning smaller events, but that’s okay. Poster board or bulletin boards would just fine too! (Think photo collage circa eighth grade and you’re golden.) You have a theme and you’re well on your way!
Because you have done that
work, your theme simply becomes the realization of all these great ideas! It enables you to translate your vision into a reality within
your event. A celebration with a clear theme flows effortlessly and beautifully
from one element to the next. Every single detail of your gathering should
reflect your theme. This is what the pros do and this is what will make your
event memorable.
© 2003-2013 Soirée!
Ltd./Natalie Bradley Events
Southern Event Planner
& Designer Natalie Bradley publishes the “Soirée Secrets” blog filled with
secrets, tips and how-to's for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive
inspiration, tips and tricks at http://NatalieBradley.com. Soirée
by Natalie Bradley Events is an event planning and design company based in
Athens, serving Northeast Georgia, the Carolinas and select destination
locations.