When you first start planning your wedding, once the dust has settled on the engagement, you’ve got a lot of things to start thinking about. One of the things that comes first in the planning process will always be considering the theme of the wedding and the design and style choices that will express the general theme. This isn’t just the most essential thing to consider, it’s also the basis of every decision you’ll make. So how do you express these ideas? A wedding vision board!

A wedding vision board, also referred to as a mood board, is a great way to collect your general thoughts on design and style choices. This is how you will start figuring out each element of your special day. 

Why Do You Need a Wedding Vision Board?

Everyone going into a wedding has a general idea of what they want out of their special day. They’ve dreamt about this day for a while and have had a vision in their heads for a long time. It’s time to put it all together in a wedding vision board. Wedding vision boards are how we communicate what can be an overwhelming amount of ideas running through our minds. 

Wedding vision boards mean staying on track and crafting a sense of cohesion. You can save so much time if you’ve got an idea of what you’re looking for because it means cutting out unnecessary decision-making processes. Instead, you’re sticking to a predetermined vision of what you want your wedding to look and feel like. 

A wedding vision board also means communicating your vision in the most effective way possible when you start working with vendors. You won’t be embarking on this massive undertaking alone. Having everyone on the same page is a significant advantage to the people looking to help you. So how do you go about creating a wedding vision board? Let’s find out!

5 Steps for Creating a Wedding Vision Board

Here are the five steps you need to follow to create a flawless wedding vision board!

Step 1: Resist The Urge To Jump Straight To Images

I am fully aware that anyone that hears a vision board is immediately thinking about all the pictures they could include. While that’s the general idea of a vision board, we’ve got some things that need to be taken care of before getting there!

Sit down with your partner and start a dialogue on what you’re both wanting out of your wedding. It begins with the obvious things, i.e., the date, venue ideas, and other general details. Remember that the time of year you intend to get married will influence the decor aspect of the wedding due to the season. 

Think about who you are as individuals and as a couple and how you can visually express these two things at your wedding. It may sound silly, but this is how the brainstorming process works when exploring what your day will look like. You should be getting down to things like phrases, words, and even emotions that you can associate with the vibe you’re hoping to achieve at some point in the process. 

Step 2: Expanding Your Vision Beyond Just Weddings 

Okay, we’re one step closer to what you’re really interested in. But first, it’s time for inspiration. Inspiration can come from just about anything, and that’s why you need to expand your search beyond just weddings. This is not to say you should avoid looking at other weddings altogether. It just means looking at things that, at first glance, might not seem worthy of inspection. 

The most important piece of advice I can give when it comes to this step is considering how you can take the ideas and make them your own. The point isn’t to copy someone else's wedding. It’s to find the bits and pieces you like and create something beautiful out of that. 

Step 3: Compiling Reference Images

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, get your trackpads and mouses ready, it’s Pinterest time! Now I joke, but Pinterest is a great place to start the hunt for great photos to use as a reference point in your wedding vision board. It’s also a great place for creating a vision board that can be shared with people in your wedding planning team.

With Pinterest, you can create boards, share boards, keep the boards private/secret (only visible to those you share with), have people collaborate with you, and divide things into sections. One of my favorite features of Pinterest is how it generates suggestions based on images you review. As a result of Pinterest's intuitive algorithms, you will be able to find hidden gems that might be worthwhile inspirations for your own wedding.  

You’re going to compile a selection of images to express your ideas and create the vision for your wedding. Don’t be afraid to play around with ideas, provide some options, and be a little daring. The next step is where you start making concrete decisions. 

Step 4: Reviewing Your Wedding Vision Board & Refining The Vision

At this point, you’ve probably gone a bit overboard and collected far more images than you ever thought possible. So now it’s time to step away from the computer, and take a break before you return to review and refine your vision.

How you go about reviewing and refining your vision is up to you. The first option is doing it independently, but I wouldn’t recommend this approach. Instead, I’d suggest doing it with your partner first and then inviting your closest friends and the ones helping plan the wedding to help you make the most challenging decisions. A fresh opinion is always helpful because sometimes things seem like great ideas until someone explains precisely where the idea falters. 

Step 5: Less Is More

This is probably the best piece of advice anybody could give someone creating a wedding vision board, and that’s to tone it down slightly. The concept of wedding vision boards isn’t to cover every minute aspect of a wedding. It’s to give a general idea of what the wedding should look like when all is said and done. It’s a guideline to build off of in the months of planning ahead. 

When you’re ready to create the vision board, the best platform to use to create a stylish, easy-to-view vision board is Canva. However, you can also use Google Slides, Powerpoint, and numerous other outlets.

Conclusion

The best way to capture your hard-fought vision is to have a photographer who knows how to take incredible pictures that last a lifetime. You’ll have spent months coming up with the perfect wedding, don’t let it get lost to memory. Photos are how we encapsulate memories for a lifetime, so we’ve always got something to look back on!

My name is Nikk Nguyen, and I’m an Austin, Texas, based photographer. I’d love to help capture each and every moment of your wedding day, so you never forget the magical experience of your big day. So check out my portfolio, and let’s chat about how I can take your vision from a wedding vision board to a collage of memories. 

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