I recently got married. It was one of the twelve weddings my husband and I will attend this year. So, much like when I design, I asked myself “How can I make this thing stand out?” I realized that there’s a key to making things your own: attention to small details.
Planning a wedding and designing are not so different. It all starts with an idea, an overall vision. For me, it was deciding that I wanted a rustic-themed wedding. From there it was time to build the foundation. Like a wireframe for a website, I needed a base to start to work the fine details into. I booked our venue at a beautiful renovated barn in the open fields of Pennsylvania. With tall stone walls and dark wood floors, this would serve as a perfect backdrop for our big day.
Once the layout is established, it’s time to start adding some of the details that are going to make this unique. While designing, I always start by finding inspiration and gathering swipe images. As you may have guessed, Pinterest was my go-to site for wedding inspiration. I started pinning ideas that I thought were different and would work with our theme. Next is a period of trial and error. As I start to get into a project, it’s really a matter of seeing what works and what doesn’t by playing around with different elements to see what functions and looks the best. All of the elements are important because they affect the overall look, whether it is a pattern in the background of a website or picking out the cake stand for your wedding cake. Every detail enhances the larger picture.
Now begins the fun part. Once I have the overall look and feel in a place that I feel good about, I think of how I can take it to the next level. This is where the small details come into play. For my wedding, it was hand-making our invitations. It was baking and decorating my cake and cupcakes. It was ordering my tablecloths and napkins in our colors. It was hand-painting signs and custom designing beer openers, pins, CD’s, and matchbooks for our guests. All of these things and more came together to make our wedding uniquely ours.
I can honestly say I had a blast planning my wedding. Maybe it’s because I am a designer and I love seeing my work come together into something I love and am proud of. All I know is, my attention to detail is what made our wedding stand out and trust me, it was worth it.