Pinterest: The Pros and Cons

Pros of Using Pinterest for Wedding Planning:

1. Inspiration Galore: Pinterest is a total goldmine for wedding inspiration. With a vast collection of pins on everything from extravagant floral mandaps to table centrepieces, you’ll find endless ideas to spark your creativity.
2. Organisation: Pinterest makes it easy to organise your ideas by creating boards and sections. This helps you keep all your wedding-related pins neatly categorised. You can create a board for all the different elements of your wedding i.e. mandaps, aisleway decor, reception centrepieces, civil ceremony bouquets etc.
3. Collaboration: I love this one. Pinterest allows you to invite family, friends, or your wedding planner to collaborate on your boards, making it a great tool for team planning. Our brides often share their pinterest boards with us – if you don’t have one, it’s something we create for all our mandap and decor brides.
4. Secret Boards: This is a very useful element – Pinterest allows you to create secret boards, ensuring you can keep some ideas private until the big day. You definitely don’t want your other half seeing your wedding dress inspo!
5. Budget-Friendly: You can discover DIY ideas and budget-friendly alternatives on Pinterest, which can help you save money and also help you to involve some of your wedding party.

Cons of Using Pinterest for Wedding Planning:

1. Overwhelm: The sheer volume of ideas on Pinterest can be overwhelming, making it challenging to narrow down your choices.
2. Expectations vs. Reality: Some Pinterest-perfect wedding ideas may not be feasible within your budget or may require more time and effort than you anticipated. I always say to brides, use Pinterest for inspiration but take the opportunity to speak to your vendors about how to turn it into a realistic concept
3. Trend-Driven: Pinterest trends change rapidly, which might lead to the fear of your wedding looking outdated if you follow a quickly passing trend.

Instagram: The Pros and Cons

Pros of Using Instagram for Wedding Planning:

1. Real-Life Inspiration: Instagram provides a platform for real brides and grooms to share their wedding experiences, offering authentic, unfiltered inspiration.
2. Vendor Discovery: You can find and connect with wedding vendors, photographers, and makeup artists through Instagram, potentially discovering hidden gems.
3. Story Highlights: Instagram’s “Story Highlights” feature lets you document your wedding planning journey, creating a digital diary that you can revisit later. It also gives you the opportunity to learn about your chosen vendors and see what they get up to.
4. Community Engagement: You can engage with a community of brides-to-be, share ideas, ask questions, and receive feedback.

Cons of Using Instagram for Wedding Planning:

1. Limited Organisation: Unlike Pinterest which presents in the form of boards, Instagram doesn’t have a visual board welcome page, making it harder to keep track of ideas. 
2. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Scrolling through Instagram can sometimes lead to the fear of missing out on the perfect wedding trends or ideas.
3. Commercialization: Instagram is heavily commercialised, with sponsored posts and ads, which can sometimes distract from your wedding planning focus.

If you haven’t yet started, following our step-by-step guide on how to set-up Pinterest for Wedding Planning:

Step 1: Create a Pinterest Account

• Visit the Pinterest website or download the Pinterest app from your device’s app store.
• Sign up for a Pinterest account using your email, or you can link it to your Google or Facebook account.

Step 2: Set Up Your Profile

• Once you’ve created an account, customise your profile. Add a profile picture and write a brief bio that mentions you’re a bride-to-be.
• Make sure your profile is public so that other users can see your pins and boards.

Step 3: Create a Wedding Planning Board

• After setting up your profile, create a dedicated wedding planning board. Click on the “Plus” icon or the “Create” button, then select “Board.”
• Name your board something like “My Dream Wedding” or “Wedding Inspiration.”

Step 4: Start Searching and Pinning

• Use Pinterest’s search bar to find wedding-related pins. You can search for specific wedding themes, colours, venues, dresses, decorations, and more.
• When you find something you like, click on the pin and then click the “Save” button to add it to your wedding planning board.

Step 5: Organise Your Pins

• As you accumulate pins, organise them into subcategories or sections within your wedding planning board. For example, you can have sections for “Mandaps,” “Centrepieces” “Floral Arrangements,” “Cakes,” and so on. This makes it easier to find inspiration when you need it.

Step 6: Collaborate and Share

• If you’re planning your wedding with a partner, family member, or a wedding planner, invite them to your wedding planning board so they can also add their ideas and suggestions.
• Collaborating allows you to make decisions together and ensure your wedding reflects both of your preferences.

Step 7: Explore and Stay Inspired

• Continuously explore Pinterest for fresh ideas and inspiration. As your wedding planning progresses, you can refine and narrow down your choices based on your preferences.
• Don’t forget to enjoy the process and stay flexible with your ideas as you refine your vision for the big day.

Whether you choose Pinterest, Instagram, or a combination of both, the key is to make your wedding planning journey as enjoyable and stress-free as possible. Use these platforms as tools to bring your dream wedding to life, and remember that your wedding should ultimately reflect your unique style and personality. Happy planning!

I hope this list of tips was helpful to you. 

All the best, 

Rina