This week marks the two-digit countdown to our wedding and things are starting to get a bit scary real! Suddenly all those little things we thought we would leave for a while actually need doing and the dreaded bills are starting to fly in! My Pinterest dream is about to become a reality. But the question is will my wedding live up to the Pinterest dream I had hoped for, and is it possible for weddings to live up to the dream?
I’m not going to lie, I had a very full ‘wedding dreams’ Pinterest board way before I even had a ring on my finger and now as I sit scrolling through it I am curious to know how my ideas changed, if they changed and why they changed.
The ring
I always knew I wanted a ring that was a bit different. Those that know me know I don’t like to go with the trend and it was definitely the case with the ring. My pinned rings are very close to the truth of what I ended up with but that’s because Gideon and I played a lot of ‘let’s look in jewellery windows and pick rings we like’ so I am pretty sure he had a very good idea of what I wanted. That paired with me repeatedly telling my sister and mum what I wanted meant that my Pinterest ring dreams came true. Sapphire and diamond rings are all over my Pinterest board and it’s a Sapphire and Diamond stunner that lives on my hand.
The dress
As you know I have blogged about my wedding dress and shared with all of you the highs and lows of getting it. I think that one of the main problems with dress shopping is the Pinterest dream people are looking for.
As brides to be we all spend hours scouring the internet for the perfect dress and when reality sets in; my body (and I’m sure I am not the only one) did not fit the dress my Pinterest board had suggested and nor did my budget. The one down fall with Pinterest is that the wedding dresses don’t come with a price tag (maybe a new idea for the IT savvy out there!) so I might have been dreaming a bit out of my price range.
I think dress shopping on Pinterest does need to come with a warning. You can look and enjoy, peruse at your leisure but be realistic. Be true to yourself and remember the line that every bride says: ‘you never end up with the dress you think you will end up with.’ Bare all that in mind and you can pin those dresses to your heart’s content.
Decorations
I went a little bit pin heavy here. My dream has always been to have this whimsical, barn wedding where everyone is happy and merry and is transported to a world away from London. I have pretty much stuck to it. We are getting married in a barn with fairy lights (despite Gideon’s loud protests) and we are creating a relaxed wedding with as much dancing and fun as we can feasibly fit into the day.
What I would say is that once again Pinterest’s lack of a price tag meant I had no idea how much my vision was going to cost me. I thought hay bales and signs would be cheap but actually when you start adding up all the little things that you think would make it a perfect day suddenly the cost starts creeping up and Gideon is shouting at me that we are over budget again!
Niki & Will’s Jewish wedding in a barn (image: onelove)
Pinterest allows you to create a wedding where every single small detail is taken care of but actually in reality nobody would know if the small detail was there or not. Of course it would be lovely to have an entire sofa area made out of hay bales with cushions and rugs but actually people will be fine just sitting on chairs. And yes it would be lovely to have our guests sign 500 different pieces of wood and printing their finger on a poster that we might put up in our house one day. But actually, the reality is that people rarely write on those things because they are too drunk or they didn’t see it (speaking from experience at our engagement party). So it won’t be missed. So slowly I learnt that although the small details and decorations of my dream Pinterest wedding would be lovely they aren’t worth pushing the budget for (did you hear that Gideon? I really am trying!).
Some things however I did feel were important and if it weren’t for Pinterest I wouldn’t have thought of them. Adding the personal touch to our wedding is really important to us both and as I am not particularly creative there is no way I would have come up with all the ideas I now have if it wasn’t for Pinterest. Table decorations, cute signs, lovely table plan ideas, order of the day etc. do make the wedding special I just realised I have to make them myself if I want them to be a feature of our wedding.
Niki & Will’s Jewish wedding in a barn (image: onelove)
Hair and make up
I can honestly say I don’t wear makeup (unless it’s a special occasion) and I don’t do anything with my hair. Pinterest has saved me. It has opened my eyes up to a world of fancy hair and fancy make up and I really needed the help. Admittedly I have pinned things for people with hair about triple the length of mine but the general feel is whimsical and light and me. I have been able to take ideas and put together my perfect vision and for that it has been incredibly helpful. Obviously the people in the pictures don’t suffer from dry hair and a current colour situation due to years of colouring, but hey here’s hoping my wonderful hair and makeup lady (Laura Anne) will work wonders and make me look like my Pinterest bridal dream!
In Conclusion
So overall using Pinterest to plan your wedding has its pros and cons. As someone who had never planned a wedding or event before it opened my eyes up to things I wouldn’t know about or have even thought about. However, at the same time it does need to come with a warning. You can create your perfect wedding on Pinterest but in reality; budget, real people and real life do get in the way of the dream so be flexible with your thoughts and open minded about choices you make. I would say I have done pretty well at getting my Pinterest dream wedding with a few tweaks along the way. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding so we will have to wait (at time of writing) 99 days to find out if my dream comes true!
Fran will be marrying Gideon on 20th April 2017 at Lillibrooke Manor, Berkshire.
Razia Jukes will be photographing their wedding.
You can read all Fran’s wedding planning posts so far here.
Moodboard image: Kate Nielen Photography
Smashing The Glass on Pinterest
