6 Tips for Designing Your Own Wedding
What I learned crafting a visual identity for my own nuptials
One of the more awkward conversations I had to have with my (now) wife came in telling her I already owned our wedding domain name. There’s a certain thieving feeling that comes with telling your girlfriend she won’t be able to choose her own wedding hasthtag.
Being that I make my living designing experiences for brands, I always knew this would someday pose a very real problem. Luckily, her knack for planning and organization offset my craziness and, together we planned what turned out to be an amazing day.
Although this list could go on and on, I hope something here can help you on the start of your best journey yet.
Get the Essentials Done Early
It can be a real pain in the ass, especially when you’re still coming down from all of the hype that comes with being newly engaged, but one of the very first things you should consider tackling is the visual identity. The coming months will be full of vendor hunting and (if you’re anything like me) hundreds of Amazon searches. The earlier you can have a consistent story to tell, the better off you will be.
Start by gathering as much inspiration as humanly possible. I’m sure at least one of you already has a secret Pinterest board by now. Your first goal should be to agree on the mood you want the evening to evoke. What songs, movies, and stores make you feel how you’ll want your guests to feel?
Try to find the commonalities among all of your inspiration. Are you drawn to moody blues, or do you find comfort in more airy pastels? These early progressions in color palette, logo, etc. can go a long way when communicating with vendors and each other.
Brand on a Budget
Two of the first purchases we made were a logo embosser and rubber stamps. I would do that again in a heartbeat.
These things seemed to come in handy just about every few days. We set up some basic placement rules for the logo and let family members borrow stamps for their various needs (bridal showers, engagement parties, etc.).
Ditch the RSVP Cards
The internet has changed the way we do just about everything today. The idea of mailing everyone you love a card for them to then send back may sound romantic, but in reality it’s expensive and a lot of work on everyone involved. Why not go digital?
We went with Typeform for RSVPs, which has a free tier if you’re okay with ads. However, there are other free solutions like Google Forms which are just as good for this, if not better. Either way, you’ll have instant email updates and a spreadsheet with all of your guests. Bonus: You’ll never have to keep track of snail mail reply cards.
Delegate Digitally
There are so many great tools on the internet for project management. For us, Trello became an indispensable tool for keeping up with to-dos, shopping lists, vendors, and deadlines. Having shared boards also turned out to be a great accountability tool to keep from slacking off.
Go the Extra Mile (For the Extra Special)
You’re going to host an amazing evening for all of your guests. However, there will definitely be a few stand out people who will be giving up Saturdays for you (think bridal party, parents). Why not show them your appreciation with something a little extra?
Although we were able to make a lot of gifts by hand, Etsy was a great place to find personalized gifts like this box and flask for my groomsmen. Whatever you give, the effort put into it will mean far more than the monetary value.
Hit the Pause Button
It’s so easy to get caught up in the minutiae of planning such an important event. Remember though, at the end of the day you’re just throwing a party for your close friends and family.
Set some parameters to keep yourselves sane during this time. A weekly date night with no wedding talk can really go a long way to keeping some much needed perspective in your lives.
Keaton Price is a product designer and creative director. He also leads a product design team at WeWork.
