decisions, decisions

Wedding planning today is nothing like it was 10 years ago. Future brides have got a million different channels of inspiration available to them - whether it's gorgeous wedding blogs like Style Me Pretty or TV channels who feature wedding programs all day (We TV) - weddings have become serious business.

I came upon this post on Elizabeth Anne Designs the other day, and it really hit the nail on the head for me. I consider myself to be quite the creative type, but unfortunately this also means that I am extremely indecisive about my overall vision for the wedding. Here's what I've done to help my process along:

I've hired a lovely DOC to help me out with small things and she has been fabulous in helping me stay on the right course to a cohesive, beautiful event. One thing that helped me immensely in narrowing down my vision was to revisit my venue at the suggestion of my DOC. I immediately saw that my muted color palette was not going to work for my venue, which is full of galvanized metal and wood detailing. I realized I really needed to use bright colors to pop out against the modern industrial setting. I also figured out that although I lean towards really whimsical weddings (Once Wed style), my venue almost demands a modern, minimalist approach. This isn't to say I can't incorporate a bit of whimsy into the event, but those lovely flower garlands that I was thinking of making really won't look right at our venue.

I made a list of key elements that I absolutely must include when thinking about 'branding' my wedding. The list includes modern calligraphy from our calligrapher (Mara at Neither Snow), using fabric (hand printed and store bought) in various aspects of the wedding, and keeping everything clean and simple while putting unexpected pops of color throughout.

I still waver on most design decisions, but this has helped tremendously. What are you doing to help narrow down your choices?