How I didn't follow my own advice

So if you recall a few months ago, I wrote a post with some sound advice about using Pinterest as a tool to record ideas for your special event. How easily it was to get lost in the vast amount of pins and details that are just perfect, followed by the overwhelming feeling at how much each of those "ideas" truly cost.

Well....

Ugh...yes. I admit it. I totally gushed over gorgeous and smart pins that promised not only functionality in my new home, but the DIY (Do It Yourself) way to get 'er done. But as I followed each pin to it's source, I slowly realized I hadn't followed my own advice to my clients.

I will admit that the one thing falling through the Pinterest Rabbit Hole did was at least gather my thoughts on what I wanted our special space to look like. I was encouraged with some pins that proved my ideas weren't as crazy as I thought.

What was the last thing you obsessed about on Pinterest? Please let me know...I can't be alone. ;)

Uphill Battles - Pinterest

From ceremony florals to goodnight send offs, Pinterest has become one of the number one resources for brides to imagine their big day. One thing I am always impressed by are the visions that brides put together to inspire their wedding day. One thing I'm always, in turn, saddened by is the disillusion it creates for most brides. Don't close the page just yet...I am going somewhere with this. 

To me, its like inviting someone to shop at an insanely expensive department store like Harrods. Letting them fill up a cart with designer shoes, luxury purses, clothes, etc. Once they are content with how wonderfully the diamond necklace matches their stunning red, bottom Louis Vuittons, it hits them. The dreaded cashier lane. With a Old Navy type budget, how are they supposed to afford all the nice things they've gathered?

Here are some options:

Put it on the credit card. We'll pay it off. People, I still know friends who are paying off their wedding from 4 years ago because of this mentality. Don't do it.

Take out a loan. We'll pay it back once we get our gifts from the wedding. The money guests are giving you are to help you on this brand new journey you are embarking on with your spouse. I am the first one to admit to the many ups and downs that come to being married. Let alone un-foreseen financial stresses that can tear a couple completely apart. This money can help you go on your honeymoon, begin saving for a place of your own...the list goes on.

WE'RE ELOPING!! THIS IS ALL TOO MUCH STRESS!! (Not touching this one lol...although you will find yourself stating this at some point of your planning process...multiple times)

Do you mind if I step in and give some lovingly free advice? Sit down with your fiancé a few days, maybe even weeks after you've become engaged (Enjoy this moment. Its a really special time.) and discuss how you want to celebrate this once in a life time moment together. Once you even have a basic vision, start setting up a budget. Setup your top 4 dream details and see how the others fall. I will not be blind to know that stationery is not in that top 4 category, but its something that you can work with. 

I am more than happy to sit with a couple and toss around some great ideas for stationery, but do you want to know what the most rewarding thing I do is? I can take a small glimmer of an unattainable design for most and make them into an attainable reality. Warning: I'm not a Miracle Worker, Magic Genie, or a Mary Poppins that can pull so much great stuff out of that handy bag of endlessness she has and make unimaginable things happens. (Although, I have always wanted to jump into a chalk painting and ride off into the country side on a carousel horse.)

I will be talking about ways more about this as it details to stationery with you, but that will be a topic for another blog post. For now, I want to leave you with this: 

The one thing I would want most of all for any engaged couple is that they truly are happy with all the choices they made for the wedding and are in no way financially hurting afterwards. This would mean that you found the right vendor that made each detail worth while within your budget, not someone else's.