I am over the moon excited to finally share more with you on our wedding vision! Today’s post is all about our wedding planning inspiration and resources that have helped us since we first got engaged. It has been quite the process, because if you know me, you know I never like to make a decision until I feel absolutely confident I have checked out all my options and have landed on the right choice, so we have searched high and low for the perfect venue that can make all of our wedding dreams come true (all while sticking somewhat close to home.) More to come here… Sign up for emails to the right (or below, if you’re on mobile) if you don’t want to miss the big venue announcement! But for now, today’s post is all about our wedding VISION.
Creating Our Wedding Vision
To put all of these beautiful pictures into words, we envision our wedding full of light, laughter, family, and friends, elevated by vintage details, soft and feminine decor, and grounded in a romantic ambiance. If I had to sum it all up, I’d break it down like this:
- Venue: loft, estate, garden or another unique space; open and airy, light and bright, a clean backdrop or something full of vintage character
- Color palette: blush, ivory, cream and natural hues of greenery mixed with gold accents
- Florals: peonies, garden roses, greenery
- Decor: Vintage, elegant, timeless, feminine, soft, airy
- Catering: Light, refreshing, elevated
But I know what you really want to see are visuals, so below I’ve pulled together imagery that reflects our vision and has given us so much planning inspiration. Head on over to my Collectively Kylie Pinterest page for even more of our wedding vision, or to my new wedding planning Pinterest page for detailed boards with everything from tablescapes to late-night snack inspo.
Setting Expectations
All that said, we are certainly level-setting our expectations that these shots really do serve as inspiration. The more we explored the pricing that went behind some of these incredibly beautiful venues and set-ups, the more we were really able to grasp what is actually realistic. So, I think it’s important to remember as you view stunning galleries of beautiful weddings across the world that some of these weddings cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that certainly isn’t doable for everyone. But nonetheless, gathering inspiration is such an important part of the process. Then you just have to take a step back, balance your collection of dreamy shots with some realistic expectations, and then get savvy about how you can bring your vision to life within your budget.
So, stay tuned as we work our way through the process of creating our vintage, French-inspired, feminine, light and airy wedding within our realistic budget. Can’t wait to share tips and tricks along the way as we learn what’s worth the cost and where we can find opportunities to save to meet our budget.
And don’t forget to scroll all the way to the bottom for some of the best wedding planning resources that have help us so much along the way.
Wedding Planning Inspiration
Photo credits (left to right, top to bottom): Photo credits (left to right, top to bottom): Shea Christine Photography, Emily Wren Photography, Belle Bella Shoes, Unknown, Samantha Davis, Emily Blumberg Photography, Melanie Duerkopp, Shanell Photography, Emily Wren Photography, Unknown, The Happy Bloom, Greg Finck, Whitney Heard Photography, Shanell Photography, Koman Photography, Unknown, Alicia Lacey Photography, Emily Wren Photography, Southern Vintage, Unknown, Sylvie Gil Photography, Shanell Photography, Unknown, Shanell Photography, Events by Robin, Gracefield Events, Heather Wall Photography, Ashley Rae Photographs, Jen Dillender Photography, Lauren Fair Photography
Best Wedding Planning Resources
While we are still in the early stages of the process, the below resources have been absolutely incredible as we developed our vision, went on the venue search, and started compiling vendor ideas.
Style Me Pretty: Best for real weddings, inspiration, advice, finding vendors, seeing all of the pieces come together
Wedding Wire: Best for venue and vendor research, planning advice, how-tos, community forums and more
Martha Stewart Weddings: Best for real weddings, planning advice and inspiration, how-tos for each step
Brides.com: Best for real weddings, advice, trend reports, fashion and beauty, shower and party inspiration
The Knot: Best for creating your own profile, saving favorites, exploring vendors, planning tools, registry, planning 101
Instagram: Best for EVERYTHING wedding planning related: inspiration, vendors, tips, etc! Instagram has been SUCH a tremendous resource for us. I found my favorite venues by searching through wedding photographers and looking at the spaces they’ve shot at in the past. For example, I searched #illinoisweddingphotographer, found a long list, and then looked at the tags in each of their pictures. Also sometimes a location hashtag like #illinoiswedding can be just as helpful! It’s all about the digging. I’ve also been saving tons of shots with vendors I gravitate towards, so when the time comes to make those choices, I’ve got a folder of options ready to go.
Wedding Spot: Best for venue research and saving down your favorites
Here Comes the Guide: Best for finding venues and vendors; you can also sort by budget, specializations, etc.
Venue Report: Best for, of course, venues! Venue Report offers a really great breakdown of their various venues and has great roundup articles
Do you have any other resources that were helpful to you as you planned your wedding? Drop them below!