Avoiding Pinterest Overwhelm (& Making Planning MUCH Easier)
/We create our wedding Pinterest boards as soon as we come across any guy who MIGHT be the one, or maybe even before that… If you’re anything like me, you spend hours of paid time at the office scrolling through millions of pins and adding to your secret wedding board. There are SO MANY GOOD IDEAS, you have to save them so you will be prepared the moment that rock is on your finger.
Fast forward… you have been engaged for like a month and you are finally coming to terms with it… THIS IS REAL LIFE! You are ready to start planning, so you start scrolling back through your wedding board (which you’ve definitely made public at this point). You start to panic as you realize… oh my god. There is SO. MUCH. STUFF. Welcome to #pinterestoverwhelm - every bride gets here at some point. And it usually leads to a full-scale how-the-hell-am-I-going-to-plan-a-wedding meltdown. Let’s not do that. Well… you may already be past that point, but don’t worry, you can totally fix it.
Whether you are still in the pre-engagement secret-pinning stage or the let’s-elope-this-is-way-too-much phase, cleaning your Pinterest up is the first step to getting yourself together and taking on your wedding plans like a pro. Here are three tips on getting your pretty little Pinterest self together:
1. Create separate boards for each major part of the planning process
Rather than just having one wedding board that you pin everything to (that quickly becomes an overwhelming mess), you need to split out your wedding boards into categories. This way, when it comes time to actually plan each piece, you are organized and ready to show your potential vendors what you are wanting. This also saves you from forgetting to include a critical piece of inspiration! It's the worst when you are scrolling through Pinterest and you realize you totally forgot to share an amazing detail with one of your vendors and it's too late (or too expensive) to make changes.
I like to do separate boards for everything, so it is very clearly laid out into different categories. However, there is also the option to just have one wedding planning board and use the "Section" feature to split it out into the different categories. If you are super meticulous or if you just have a shhh ton of pins to organize, you can do separate boards for each category then break that down into sections. (For example, you would have a Food and Drink board then within that you would have sections for cocktail hour, dinner, cake,, drinks, etc.) Whatever floats your boat - just be sure to choose the method that you will actually stick to using!
Not sure exactly which categories and sections you need to split it into? Just enter your email at the end of this post and I will send you my FREE Pinterest Planning Blueprint directly to your inbox!
2. Review your boards from time to time and delete pins that no longer speak to you.
This part is key to keeping things organized and pretty so that you are actually able to use your boards in your planning process. I would suggest taking a couple minutes each time you sit down to plan a certain piece to review that board and delete anything that no longer speaks to you/goes with your scheme. As you start to get certain aspects nailed down, the remaining details will most likely change to fit into the scheme of things. So something that you loved when you first got engaged may totally not fit into your actual plans. Going through and cleaning up the junk pins that you no longer want will help keep your vision clear and make it super simple to share your taste and your vision with your vendors.
3. Pin your favorites to the top
The final step to getting your Pinterest wedding-planning-ready is to pin your favorites to the top. You can do this by clicking the "Organize" button when you are in a board on your browser. If you are on your phone, just tap and hold the image until it zooms out a little bit, then you can drag and drop it to the top of the board.
Most content you come across on Pinterest that fits your theme/scheme you will pin because it's a possibility. But every once in a while you will come across something that you HAVE TO HAVE. When you come across these must-have details, be sure you pin them to the top of your board. That way they are super easy to find when you are showing your boards to your vendors AND they are always at the top of your mind when you are bringing together the details.
Also be sure to pin anything that you purchase to the top of your boards as well. When you click that buy button in Etsy, just be sure to pin the item to the corresponding board. That way you always know what you have and your vision can evolve based on the plans you have already set. Don't try to keep it all in your head! You want every detail out in front of you so when you are working on the remaining details, you know it will all go together beautifully.