How to Build Your Wedding Mood Board

When it comes to wedding planning it can be tricky figuring out where to start. You have your guest list and budget, now what? The next step is to create a wedding mood board so you can visualize the style for the event. Weddings have so many expectations, but the most important thing is that you are putting yourselves first and doing things that make sense for you and your love story.

You may be wondering, how do I start a mood board? Read on to find out!

Discuss your dreams, big or small

From when we were little, fairy tales inspired us. Now it’s time to dream big. Bigger than you ever have because it’s time to plan for real!

To start, sit down with your fiancé and chat through each of your wants. Do you want to get married in your hometown or opt for a destination wedding, or do you want to elope? Do you want a winter or a summer wedding? Now is the time to do the big-picture thinking. The details will come later.

Explore

Now that you are in the wedding mindset and you know what each other wants, it is time to explore the possibilities. Search on Pinterest or Instagram to find inspirational pictures. This can be looking up your venue on Instagram to see previous weddings there or it can be searching your favorite theme/styles on Pinterest. For example, soft grunge weddings. Have fun with your search, you never know what you are going to like or where it will lead you. Save them all!

Pick your favorites

From all the images you have found, it’s time to narrow it down and pick your favorites. We recommend choosing between 10-15 each. These images can be anything, from welcome signs to cakes. Go through all the pictures together and discuss them. Do they have a lot of flowers or taper candles? Do you have lots of greenery? These things will open conversations about the smaller details such as centerpieces and color palettes. Try to focus on what you like and what you don’t like; colors will come eventually. Don’t rush it. Your goal should be to narrow it down to 10 key images.

Colors and general vibe

You have your ideas and images, now it’s time to build your mood board (finally). Arrange your images so you can see all of them at the same time. To build your color palette, look for repeating colors in your mood board. Look for fun color relationships and use color theory.

For example: If you have a lot of pink in your mood board try adding a shade of green for a true complementary palette. Alternatively, you can add red and orange tones for an analogous color palette. There are so many directions you can go in, don’t be afraid to try everything!

Now that you have images and colors, it’s time for words. Using the three-word method created by Alison Bornstein is a fun way to add more to your mood board. Originally the three-word method is meant for personal style, but it can be applied to anything, even to weddings.

Look at the images you chose, how would you describe them? Would you use words like romantic, happy, or even moody? Any three descriptors will do, as long as it feels like you.

Don’t forget about it

Now that you have your mood board completed, don’t forget about it! Print it out and put it in your wedding binder. Throughout your planning process, keep coming back to it. It will help guide you as you make decisions. All decisions should align with what you’ve created, but remember, it’s a work in progress. At any point, you can add or take away pieces that no longer work with your vision. There are no rules to mood boards or weddings, remember to do what you want, and it will be beautiful.