Find Your Wedding Day Style

You’ve said yes! You’ve popped the champagne! You’ve set the date! Now the vision for your wedding day will surely fall into place like a rom-com montage, right? Not quite, it’s time to find your wedding day style.

One of the first roadblocks I hear couples hitting when planning their wedding is deciding on the day’s overall theme or style. This feels like a daunting process, which is completely understandable, as your wedding style will help guide the rest of your planning. It’s smart to develop a clear idea of what you want from the beginning, so that throughout planning you are simply finding ways to showcase and fine-tune that look and feel. 

While planning my own wedding and developing its style, I felt so much pressure for perfection! On top of that, I didn’t know where to turn for inspiration (I was a pre-Pinterest bride). Thankfully, now tools like magazines, wedding blogs, and Pinterest deliver a massive variety of inspiration to your fingertips, making it easier to visualize any wedding-day style. And after you’ve amassed all that inspiration comes the hard part: narrowing down all of those options to one design! Here are some tips to creating a vision for the perfect wedding day to celebrate you two and your love!

1. CONSIDER YOUR OWN PERSONAL STYLE

The first step I recommend when narrowing down your wedding style is to look at your personal style and habits. After all, your wedding day should be a reflection of you two as a couple! 

Are you outdoor adventurers? If so, perhaps a rustic countryside venue is the spot for you. Or are you urban explorers, constantly looking for the hottest new restaurant? A downtown skyline celebration sounds right up your alley.

You can also use your personal clothing style for inspiration. Ask yourself, do you gravitate towards “preppier” brands, or is a boho vibe more your speed? What colors do you love to wear? Do you enjoy getting dressed up or prefer to keep things casual?

By surrounding yourself with familiar styles and colors on your wedding day, you’ll make the celebration feel more natural, effortless, and true to you. 

Bailey Pianalto Photography

CLASSIC

RUSTIC

Bailey Pianalto Photography

URBAN

2. CONSIDER THE STYLE OF YOUR VENUE

If you’ve already selected your wedding venue, you’re further down the path to find your wedding day style than you might think!

The unique style of your wedding venue can help inspire your celebration’s overall theme and color palette. For instance, an all-white ballroom with chandeliers lends itself to a classic and polished style. Here, more timeless color palettes such as lavender & sage, blue & white, shades of pink, or the ever-classic black & white naturally pop in this type of venue.

For an urban space like a brick-and-beam warehouse venue in the West Bottoms, a more rustic, be-spoke style feels at home. In these spaces, consider richer color palettes such as gem tones, burgundy & blush, navy & green, or mixed metallics. 

You’ll know when you’re getting close to narrowing down your style when it feels like it’s cohesive with your venue’s own aesthetic. The best wedding styles help enhance a venue’s natural style and features, rather than cover them up or distract from them.

3. CREATE A FREEFORM PINTEREST BOARD

Another way to let your style come to you is by developing a freeform Pinterest board. Begin by creating a brand new board, then filling it with any Pin that inspires you – even ones that aren’t wedding inspiration. Fill your board with interior design, floral arrangements, everyday fashion, tablescapes, hairstyles, delicious-looking food, fine art images, craft projects… whatever catches your eye! 

Once you’ve gathered 50+ pins, step back and a look at the board as a whole. See what patterns start to emerge. What colors do you seem to pin over and over again? Is there a specific style that overlaps between your interior design and fashion pins? Are you crazy for flowers, greenery, candles, or something else entirely? Letting yourself freely explore your likes may help you realize a pattern that you can replicate into your wedding day style.

WINTER

Bailey Pianalto Photography

SPRING

Bailey Pianalto Photography

4. KEEP IT SEASONAL

Your wedding date’s season is a great source of style inspiration; and here in Kansas City, we’re lucky that our seasons are so unique from each other! You probably chose your wedding season for a reason, so why not design a wedding style that celebrates those reasons?

For weddings taking place in the spring months, consider fresher pastel color combinations (mints, peach, baby blue, dusty rose, etc.) that complement the season’s delicate fresh foliage and first blooms. Kansas City summers pack a vibrant punch, welcoming (literally) any color palette under the sun! Fall’s vibrant foliage makes room for warmer palettes with reds, oranges, and yellows paired with neutrals. And winter is my favorite season to play with metallics and rich gemtones like emerald green, sapphire blue, or ruby red that’ll warm even the coldest of days. 

5. LOOK FOR INSPIRATION IN UNLIKELY PLACES

My own wedding’s color palette drew inspiration from a truly unlikely place: a water glass. Now, before you think my wedding color palette was “clear” and I planned a nudist wedding, let me quickly explain that this water glass was a deep blue color! These glasses were a unique feature for our reception venue. Since I knew these glasses would be a major feature on the reception tables, I wanted to pick a color palette (deep blue, light blue, yellow, and gray) that highlighted them.

Is there a unique feature to your wedding that inspires you? Maybe it’s a chandelier, a beautiful staircase, that endless countryside view, or even just a water glass! Sometimes the most unique sources create the best inspiration.

ULTIMATELY, CHOOSE WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!

Above all, it comes down to feeling happy and comfortable on your wedding day. The best way you can do that is by designing a celebration that fits your own personal styles and tastes. The right style for you is the one that feels the most effortless and comfortable and true to your personal styles. I hope these tips will help you find your wedding day style. Happy planning!

BAILEY PIANALTO

BAILEY PIANALTO

COMPANY: Bailey Pianalto Photography

Bailey is the owner of Bailey Pianalto Photography and a frequent contributor to WedKC. Connect with her and find more of her wedding resources at baileypianalto.com.

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