Let's be honest, I am a bit obsessed with Pinterest. I love it!! For those of you who follow The Overwhelmed Bride's Pinterest, you know how much we are on there.
And despite the title of this article, I think Pinterest can be a fabulous tool when it comes to planning a wedding.
However, I urge you to use Pinterest with caution, as it can definitely bring on some negatives:
Information Overload
You login into your account...or rather, click on the Pinterest icon on your phone, search the "wedding" category, and voila! There are millions on millions of photos that you absolutely love! You've found 154 guest books that you totally have to do for your wedding, 334 centerpieces that are to die for, and 567 dresses that you just HAVE to try on!
Am I right or am I right?
As you can see, there is a huge information overload that is caused by the influx of stunning photos and amazing ideas, that is causing your brain to swirl in circles, resulting in what we call an Overwhelmed Bride.
So while pinning everything you love can be great, make sure you swiftly narrow down your options or you'll want to just call it quits!
The DIY Failure
Jenny on the Spot via Pinterest
First of all, DIYing a wedding can be extremely cost effective. And the key word there is "can." Oftentimes, we see so many fantastic ideas swimming around Pinterest, that we decide to DIY our entire wedding in hopes of saving ourselves a fortune and having enough left over to buy that gorgeous dream house we've been eying!
So if you've decided to move forward with the 57 DIY projects that will complete your wedding day, keep the following in mind:
1. You may end up spending even more than you would've spent hiring a professional or just purchasing the items so make sure you shop around.
2. More than likely, your project is not going to turn out nearly as perfect as when you saw it on Pinterest. Remember, many of these photos are made and taken by professionals!
3. DIYing an entire wedding may not be worth the time and headache. You have another job, friends, and most importantly, a fiance, who wants to spend time with you too throughout the engagement rather than sipping wine and crafting for months on months on months. So make sure you budget your time wisely!
That's not in the budget!
More often than not, the photos that get the most repins and, thus, end up on the most boards and in the main wedding category, are the weddings that we can only dream of having. We see a $10,000 gown and just have to have it, because that is our dream. We see a stunning flower wall of garden roses that I don't even have any idea what it would cost, but we love it! Yes, it is stunning. But is it realistic?
Yellow Trace via Pinterest
Belle the Magazine via Pinterest
So many of us plan our weddings through Pinterest. But when you have a $10,000 budget and the majority of your pins are photos from $100,000 weddings or inspiration photoshoots, the case of the Overwhelmed Bride is bound to happen as soon as you realize that your dreams are just not possible.
Using Pinterest Wisely
So despite all of the cautions I've outlined in this article, I urge you to use Pinterest. Yes, you heard it right - USE PINTEREST. Pinterest is amazing!
But use it with caution.
Find the bouquet you absolutely love because of the colors, and use it as inspiration for your own bouquet but realize, the flowers used may be slightly different. Find your dream gown and use the style you see as a reference when you walk into your first salon. And with all of that inspiration, you could even click through to find potential vendors for your own wedding day! You see, it's more than just the inspiration, it is a planning tool!
Just use it wisely.
