Wedding planning is all about details, details, details and what better way to organize your thoughts than by creating an inspiration board.  Designing an inspiration board is one of the best ways a bride can get her vision on paper and best convey to a wedding planner, florist or any vendor what she imagines for the big day.

Weddings are unique in that many brides love sharing with others what they researched and what the end product looked liked.  Inspiration boards are a great way to organize cut outs from magazines, and the many bookmarked pages from the computer, into one cohesive look that can be shared with family and friends.  “What is personally great about inspiration boards is that it’s a great way to learn about a couple’s personality.  It’s funny because couples learn about themselves too – often they think they want one thing but when we work on their inspiration boards, an entirely new and fabulous vision is created,” says Preeti Shah wedding planner and founder of Spotlight Style.  Inspiration boards can consist of colors, dresses, bouquets, favors, programs, place cards, mundap and flower arrangements—basically name it and you can include it. 

So where to start? CitySaheli has broken down the steps on how to get inspired and how to create an electronic version of your dream wedding.  CitySaheli was truly impressed with the inspiration boards created by loyal fan Mili Shah Brown for her dream affair.  Mili Shah Brown has shared her inspiration boards with us to help all our Sahelis get motivated.  We also asked her advice on where to find the perfect inspiration.

Part One- Get Inspired.

This is the part where you can go wild.  Pick up magazines and browse StyleMePretty and any other wedding blogs to get inspiration.  These boards are great if you are on a budget, the pics and images of what you would like are for free, so go crazy!  Great questions to keep in mind to help you narrow the scope of your inspiration are:

-          When did you meet?  Get engaged? Anything that you want to carry on to your big day?

-          Describe you and your hubby—what wedding style most suits you?

-          Think of your favorite childhood memories.

-          What are your favorite colors, activities, and destinations?

-          What is the mood of your wedding? Romantic, trendy, whimsical?

Part Two- Organize.

After you have collected your collage of photos, starting going through them to create a story. Focus on the pieces you really want to help symbolize your wedding.  Remove the clutter and focus on what is truly important to you.  Remember to look at your inspiration board not only as the bride, but as a guest too.  Planning a winter wonderland theme? Make sure someone who hasn’t helped you create your board sees the same vision.

Part Three- Create.

What tools can you use to create an inspiration board?  Aside from the usual cut, paste and glue, or creating a collage on poster board, many brides have gone electronic.  Here are some great tools we found.

Mosaic Maker – is an online service for creating photo mosaics.  Setup a free membership account and you’ll find it very user friendly.  You will be a master inspiration boardist in no time!

Polyvore.com – You may wonder why we are recommending this, but this online platform is perfect for creating an inspiration board.    Make sure you register for a free account.  Simply go to the create button and search.  You can also upload any photos to your montage.

Photoshop—Many of us have this program on our computers but are afraid to use it.  Weddingbee has a great tutorial on how to use Photoshop to create your own inspiration board. You can find that post here.

Mili Shah Brown recently got married and used her inspiration boards religiously.  CitySaheli asked her some questions to see where she found her inspiration and if these boards really helped her out.Stay tuned for next week’s articles where you will hear from Mili and see more of her boards.  Here is a glimpse of what Mili and Dan mapped out for their fanatastic reception!

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