Crafting A Wedding Board: A Guide To Creative Bliss

A wedding board is a fun and creative project that helps you to define your wedding style and serves as a springboard for your wedding plans. It is a curated collection of images, colours, and textures that represent your wedding vision and help you to communicate this vision to your vendors. You can create a physical wedding board using a cork board, poster board, glue, and magazines, or a digital board using platforms like Pinterest, Photoshop, or Canva. The process involves determining your goals, exploring your unique style, curating your images, and putting everything together. By creating a wedding board, you can ensure that your special day aligns with your dreams and aspirations.

Choose your canvas

Deciding on a canvas for your wedding board is an important step in the process. The type of canvas you choose will depend on your personal preference and the type of materials you want to use. Here are some options to consider:

Traditional Canvas

The traditional format for a vision board typically involves using a poster board or another type of canvas such as a cork board. This option allows you to manually cut out and attach your inspiration to the board, giving you a physical representation of your ideas. You can get creative and add stickers, glitter, or other decorative elements to make it more personalised. This format is popular as it allows you to look at physical representations of your dress, florals, and decor in one place, helping you to envision the look and feel of your wedding.

Digital Canvas

A digital canvas offers flexibility, as you can keep your board on your phone, computer, or even print it out. There are various applications and programs available to create a digital vision board, such as Canva, Photoshop, or Pinterest. This option is convenient if you have a lot of digital inspiration saved on your device, and it also makes it easy to share your board with others.

Physical or Digital?

The choice between a physical or digital canvas ultimately depends on your preferences and what works best for you. If you enjoy crafts and working with your hands, a physical board might be more enjoyable. On the other hand, if you have a lot of digital inspiration or want to easily share your board with vendors and partners, a digital option might be more suitable.

Remember, the most important aspect is to choose a canvas that you will actually use and that inspires you. Whether it's a physical or digital board, ensure that it captures your goals and ideas in a format that you can easily refer to during the wedding planning process.

Determine your goals

Before you start putting your wedding vision board together, it's important to determine your goals. This will help you to create a cohesive board that truly reflects your vision for your big day. Here are some tips to help you define your goals and get started on your wedding vision board:

Discuss your dreams with your partner

Involve your partner in the process of creating your wedding vision board. Discuss your visions, non-negotiables, and what you both want for your special day. Think about the season you want to get married in, venue ideas, colours, and how you want your day to flow. Consider what makes you happy and what specific details you'd like to include. It's also helpful to come up with a list of words that describe your desired wedding vibe, such as intimate, adventurous, romantic, or laid-back.

Explore your unique style

Take some time to explore your unique style and that of your partner. Look at your home decor, the clothes and accessories you wear, and the typography you're drawn to. These elements can inspire your wedding design and help you choose images and colours for your vision board.

Define your goals

Now, it's time to define your goals for the vision board. Are you focused on colour direction, decorative style, or theme inspiration? If you have multiple goals, consider creating multiple vision boards or sub-topics to ensure your board remains cohesive.

Gather inspiration

Start gathering inspiration for your vision board by searching for quotes, images, and products that align with your goals. Look in magazines, newspapers, catalogues, and online sources like Google and Pinterest. Don't be afraid to jot down any inspiration that comes your way, as it will help create a more thorough and cohesive vision board.

Stay true to your vision

As you gather inspiration, stay true to your distinct vision and choose items that help build the picture you have in your mind. This will ensure your vision board effectively communicates your goals and desires for your wedding day.

Curate your images

Curating images for your wedding board is a fun and creative process. It's important to choose images that truly represent your style and the vision you have for your wedding day. Here are some tips to help you curate your images effectively:

Variety is Key:

Aim for a diverse selection of images that showcase different aspects of your wedding day, such as the venue, decor, fashion, and floral arrangements. Try to avoid selecting too many images of the same thing. For example, instead of having 10 pictures of wedding dresses, choose your favourite styles and add them to the board. This will help you and your vendors grasp the overall vibe and style you're aiming for.

Narrow Down Your Collection:

It's easy to get carried away and want to include every image you like. However, try to be selective and only choose the images that truly stand out to you. A good rule of thumb is to keep the number of images on your board to around 10. This will help create a focused and cohesive vision.

Reflect Your Personality:

Your wedding board should reflect your personality and the things that matter most to you. If you're a fun-loving couple who loves to be the life of the party, add images that reflect this. On the other hand, if you're more laid-back and intimate gatherings are your style, reflect this in your image choices. Consider including pictures of your favourite vacations or dates to help capture the desired mood.

Think About What Inspires You:

When curating images, consider including things that inspire you. This could be quotes about love or marriage, pictures of wedding dresses that take your breath away, or colour schemes that you're drawn to. Adding inspirational elements to your board will help keep you motivated and excited during the planning process.

Utilise Different Sources:

There are numerous sources you can use to find images for your wedding board. Of course, there's Pinterest, which is a treasure trove of wedding inspiration. But don't forget about other sources such as wedding websites, magazines, newspapers, catalogues, and even your own camera roll. Look for images that resonate with you and add them to your collection.

Keep It Flexible:

Remember, your wedding board is a living, breathing document. It doesn't have to be set in stone from the start. Be open to making changes and evolving your board as you go. This is especially easy to do if you're using a digital format, but even physical boards can be adapted by using a corkboard and pins, allowing for easy adjustments.

Curating images for your wedding board is a highly personal process, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach. The most important thing is to choose images that speak to you and your partner and that help convey your unique vision for your special day.

Establish a game plan

Now that you've gathered a pile of inspiration, it's time to think about the format that makes the most sense to you. This will depend on the type of materials you've collected. If you've mostly been tearing pages out of magazines or printing images and quotes from the internet, a traditional format is probably best. If you've been saving images and ideas to your desktop, a digital board will be more suitable.

If you opt for a traditional board, you'll need a large poster board or corkboard, glue, and stickers (if you like). You can also add a frame if you want to hang your board on the wall. Cut out your favourite images and arrange them on the board, gluing them down once you're happy with the layout. If you're using a corkboard, you can use pins to fix your images in place, making it easy to change and evolve your board over time.

If you're creating a digital board, you'll need to choose an application or program that suits your goals. Canva is a popular choice, as it's free and easy to use. Simply drag and drop your images into the template, and add text or colours as desired. You can also use programs like Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator/InDesign if you're proficient. Digital boards can be kept on your phone or computer, or printed out.

Start creating your board

Now that you've gathered all your ideas, it's time to start creating your wedding board. This is the fun part—getting to craft your vision board!

First, you'll need to decide on the format of your board. You can either create a physical board or a digital board.

Physical Board

If you enjoy crafts and working with your hands, you can create a physical vision board. Head to your local craft store and grab a large piece of bristol board or poster board, glue or a glue stick, and stickers (if you like). You can also get a frame if you'd like to display your board.

Look through wedding magazines or search online for images that represent your wedding day. You can print images from your Pinterest board or Instagram, or cut out pictures from magazines. Your board could include photos of wedding dresses, flowers, colour schemes, quotes, textures, fabrics, and anything else that inspires you.

Cut out your favourite images and arrange them on your board, gluing them down. Alternatively, you could use a cork board and pins so that you can easily change and evolve your board over time.

Digital Board

If you prefer a digital format, there are several apps and online tools you can use, such as Canva or Google Docs. You can also use programs like Adobe Illustrator or InDesign if you're proficient in them.

To create a digital board, simply choose an application or program that suits your needs and upload images, quotes, products, colours, and other sources of inspiration.

Tips for Creating Your Board

• Keep your distinct vision in mind and choose items that help build that picture.
• Don't worry about picking ideas that "work" together—just choose things that feel like you and your partner.
• Take your time gathering inspiration from a range of sources. This will help you figure out what you truly want.
• Look for recurring elements or motifs in your collection and try to identify a common theme.
• Edit and curate your board by removing any duplicate or less favourite items. This will help ensure your board is well-curated and intentional.
• Place your board somewhere you can easily refer back to it, such as in a wedding planning binder or on your phone or computer wallpaper.
• Share your board with your vendors so they can understand your vision and ensure everything is cohesive.
• Remember that your board is meant to inspire you and guide your planning process, so don't worry about making it perfect.

Frequently asked questions