Photos left to right by Asya Photography, Caroline Logan Photography, The Premise Studio, Jeremy Hess
Five years ago, whether you were engaged, expecting a child, or just acquainted with modern day technology, chances are you may have been planning a real or imaginary celebration on Pinterest. Pinterest was a new resource at the time providing wedding, shower and holiday party inspiration in a way that did not exist before. Before Pinterest, you had to look through the magazines, cut out your favorite things and store them away in an old fashioned manila folder. Pinterest allowed us to scroll through thousands of pictures and save anything and everything, no assembly required. But there is a potential problem with this method. If you’re planning a wedding or celebration on Pinterest, are you actually planning an affair that represents you and your style? Or are you simply copying something that you appreciate but that doesn’t necessarily exemplify you? Without taking the time to cut out and save the things that truly inspire us, at the ease of a click we’ve saved everything (and I mean everything) that we ever thought was cute, fun or unique.
Fast forward to 2017: we’ve seen how Pinterest has inspired Central Pennsylvania celebrations: mason jars, burlap table runners, chalk boards, string lights, succulents, barn weddings, etc. First let me say that if you have always loved these things and have a personal connection to them, then they’re exactly what you should use to personalize one of the most important days of your life. But this perfectly acceptable party décor, thanks to Pinterest, has become a little overused. Let’s put it this way: if you’ve never worn cowgirl boots, please don’t purchase them for your wedding. The same holds true for Chuck Taylors, flannel shirts, flower crowns and whatever the next trend will be.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have to face the facts. We have lost our personal style in all of the Pinterest mayhem…and now we need to find ourselves, or else we’re going to be seeing the same party for the next five years on repeat. Or, worse, look back at our own wedding and wonder, “what was I thinking?” Here are five tips to help personalize your next big affair, plus three local celebrations that found their niche.
Photo by The Premise Studio, Jeremy Hess
1. Find your personal style
Glamorous, modern, bohemian, minimalistic, rustic, artistic, industrial, nautical, elegant, earthy, and the list goes on and on. For some people, finding a way to describe personal style may be easy. Other people may have an eclectic style, and some people just aren’t sure. A local event professional, Christiane Lehman of Truly You Events (trulyyouevents.com), says this is where Pinterest can actually help. “As a wedding consultant, Pinterest is a great starting point. The word ‘rustic’ can mean something totally different to different people,” explains Lehman. “I like to use Pinterest as a jump point for brides to say, ‘here’s what I love,’ and then totally move away from it and make it [their] own.”
If you’re having trouble deciding on a theme or style because you’ve fallen down the Pinterest rabbit hole, one way to find out a little bit more about your style is to look around your home and closets. What kinds of things are you attracted to? Do you have any common denominators? Notice a couple of your favorite things and see what types of adjectives you would use to describe them. And of course, when planning a wedding, don’t forget about your significant other’s style. See what you agree on and if there is any common ground you can meet on.
Craig and Theresa Smith, who recently tied the knot in Lancaster, found their style as a couple through a shared interest, acting. Theresa wanted a whimsical, ethereal theme, and after she mentioned the Shakespeare classic A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a starting point, Craig agreed it was right for them. “We’re both pretty nerdy,” Theresa laughs. “We wanted to incorporate our interest, like The Lord of the Rings but in a classic way.” Once they had the style of the wedding defined, Craig let Theresa run with the rest—which for her meant a lot of her favorite color, turquoise. From Theresa’s shoes to the florals and décor, the style of the wedding was translated beautifully because of the clear, defined vision.
Photos by Asya Photography
2. Get inspired
What element excites you the most in your celebration? Possibly a dream dress, a unique venue or the perfect pair of shoes? Let that excitement inspire other elements, maybe even helping you to select a theme. For example, one of Lehman’s brides fell in love with the architecture of her wedding venue and utilized the pattern of the building’s tiles to completely customize a wedding theme and feel. “When you’re on Pinterest, it can often feel like everything has been done. But finding something unique or personal that inspires you can help set your celebration apart,” says Lehman.
Another way to find inspiration is to look at places you’ve traveled and things you’ve experienced. When Lehman and her husband found out that they were expecting their first child, they had just arrived back in the United States from living abroad in Lyon, France. Their time in Lyon and the greatest souvenir, an anxiously awaited baby boy, inspired their baby shower to be themed around Lyon’s beauty and its symbol, lions. “One of the most important things about a celebration is making sure that your inspiration is translated to guests,” Lehman explains. “This can often happen through the details.” After selecting a theme with help from Lehman’s mother and sister, they set out to share their favorite parts of Lyon with their shower guests. The Victorian architecture and vintage charm of Excelsior made it the perfect venue for the shower. The mix of the iron, antique tin, brick and stone struck Lehman as “particularly French.” Combined with details like French script on the invitations, the enlistment of Cedric Barberet of Bistro Barberet & Bakery (who is originally from Villefranche-sur Saone, just 40 minutes from Lyon) to make the cake, and flowers that could be found in a Lyonnaise market, the inspiration of the baby shower was brought to life.
Photos by Caroline Logan Photography
3. Remember your passions
At this point, we have all probably seen the famous “puppy wedding” from September 2016. In fact, this wedding was so popular and reached so many major news networks that you may not have even realized it was a local wedding. If you need a refresher, Sarah Mallouk Crain and her husband Matt Crain’s swoon-worthy wedding took the Internet by storm when they decided to use adorable, adoptable rescue puppies in their ceremony rather than floral bouquets. First, let’s remembered what we just learned—this does not mean you should go out and use puppies as centerpieces at your next bash (apparently it’s already being done).
Sarah is a professional dog trainer, and she sits on the board of directors as the secretary for Pitties.Love.Peace (pittieslovepeace.com), a Central PA nonprofit devoted to the rescue of pit bull and bully mix puppies and adult dogs. Matt, a computer programmer by trade, is also a “dog person” and helps Sarah foster dogs with the organization, so including dogs in their wedding was always the plan. Their invitations featured a drawing of their own dogs by a Baltimore artist, their escort cards included silhouettes of dogs and they used dogs as their cake topper. Originally, the plan was to use their own dogs in the ceremony, but the couple was cautious of the possible stress this could place on their adult dogs, so they decided to brainstorm other options. Eventually, they decided on including puppies from Pitties.Love.Peace because puppies are easy to carry, adaptable and obviously cute. Plus, it was a great way to get the word out about the organization. While Sarah is excited about the exposure for the nonprofit, she never expected her wedding to go viral. “I don’t want people to think they should replicate this,” she explains. “The well-being of the dogs should come first. This was just something that worked for us.”
So while you shouldn’t go purchase dogs for your next party and pawn them off on your guests, remember how incorporating a personal passion into a celebration makes it special, or in this case worthy of going viral. So ask yourself, “what am I passionate about? How can I include my passions in our celebration?” Maybe use your passion to create an experience for your guests. For example, the Crains also incorporated golf into their wedding because it is a favorite hobby for Matt. Matt and his friends created a mini golf course at the wedding, and each hole represented a different stage in the Crains’ relationship. And even though we might not be as creative as this couple, we all have our “thing.” Exits, cake toppers, attire, transportation, favors—you can integrate a passion into so many small aspects of a celebration to help make it personable and memorable.
3. Choose seasonal and local
Still can’t decide on a theme or feel for your celebration? Being extremely seasonally driven when planning your celebration is a great way to add a personal touch to an existing theme, or it can create a theme all together. Choosing seasonal, local florals, produce and live décor is, and always will be, in style—plus, it’s cost effective and environmentally friendly. Even the Lehmans’ French-themed baby shower included many local touches. For example, she learned all about the merits of sachet bags while living in Lyon and thought it would be fun to gift guests with a fresh lavender sachet bag of their own to take home. “I sourced the lavender from a local vendor at the Lancaster Central Market, and we tied each bag with an escort card to complement the invites,” said Lehman.
Beyond plant-based businesses, local products and services are still a great (and our preferred) route to go. Aside from helping your local community, choosing local businesses for your big day is just cool. Local guests will feel nostalgic when they know where you purchased your dress, who made your cake or which business produced your favors. On the other hand, out of town guests will appreciate that you’re giving them a little taste of your town while they’re visiting, making your wedding feel like a trip and experience!
5. Prioritize
Fill in the blank: “I want my guests to leave feeling/thinking…” Asking yourself this will help you to prioritize what details are the most important to you and where your efforts will be best spent. Lehman says that an entrance is often a priority of the celebrations she creates because the first impression is a lasting impression. But most importantly, you can’t go wrong when you prioritize the experience of your guests. Being welcoming and considerate, and “thinking of everything from parking, to drinks, to food,” will leave your guests happy, which will ultimately leave you happy, Lehman explains. Theresa had a similar idea for her wedding; the mantra of the day was “no one is working on our wedding day,” Theresa said. “I got as much as possible ahead of time so that our family and bridal party members truly felt like guests at our wedding.” While putting your guests first may not be “personalizing” your celebration, it does help you prioritize what is actually important on your big day and hopefully de-clutter some of your ideas or your 2,000 pins on Pinterest. Paring down your expectations will ultimately strip down your event and help you discover what your actual vision for the day is.