Wedding Wednesday – Ideas

The Wedding Bug has officially bitten. Now that we've set a date and booked a location, I can't help but see wedding ideas everywhere. Which makes me happy because, for awhile there, I was worried that I'd never get excited about planning this thing.

However, when I say I'm getting ideas, I mean there have been flooding in. It's hard to remember them all, and I'm afraid I'll forget something really really good. So I've got a few ways to keep track of them all:

• A Wedding Binder

Wedding magazines are really beautiful - and chock full of ideas, inspiration, and resources. However they are BIG! I have bought a couple, a few of my friends have picked some up from me, and my sister passed on a huge bag full of them from when she was wedding planning. I've decided to flip through them and tear out anything that I like. And then I throw the rest away. (Actually, I recycle them, but you get the point. They go away.)

Even when I feel like I'm ripping every other page out, my stack is significantly smaller. I slip them into clear plastic sleeves and organize them in a binder: wedding dresses, favors, decorations, photos, etc.

If it's not clear what on the page I may have been attracted to, I circle it or make a quick note. (I figured this would be helpful if Kate decides to flip through it when I'm not around... )

• Post-It Flags

For capturing ideas from books that I don't want to tear apart, I simply flag the pages with a little Post-It note. Luckily I have tons of things lying around. I'm kind of a Post-It addict.

• Tell Someone

I worry that talking about a wedding for more than a year will get old to people, but, so far, everyone seems pretty excited about it. I've found that if I mention ideas to people, they are really helpful at flushing them out, offering up alternatives, or sharing experiences that might relate.

I mentioned the idea of making fabric flowers to my friend, Anna, and she showed me the blog of an old high school friend who does that. I told Laura that I liked the idea of a barn, and she suggested the barn that we ended up renting. I ran into a high school friend at Target, and got a whole list of vendors that she enjoyed working with!

• iPhone Notes

I have a running list on my phone to keep track of ideas that I have on-the-go or at work etc. It's super helpful because these are usually the ideas I forget the easiest. It's kind of fun to go back and read through the list!

(I also keep lists of movies I want to see, books I want to read, Halloween costume ideas, my New Year's Resolutions, beers I want to try, blog post ideas, and words to look up. Have I mentioned that I'm listy? )

Any wedding related iPhone Apps to recommend?

• Take Pictures

I almost always have my camera and/or phone on me. If I see something in a store that I like but don't want to purchase, I take a picture of it. If it's something I might consider purchasing, I make sure to take a picture of the price and any other information that may be handy when making a decision (dimensions, date sale ends, etc). And sometimes I even take pictures of things I see while flipping through (un-purchased) magazines. Don't tell.

• Pinterest

Are you on Pinterest yet?? It's amazing. I'm addicted and I don't even know if I'm doing it right yet. From what I can tell, it's a huge collection of pictures of things to do/wear/make/decorate....a mecca of inspiration. You can 'pin' things to one of your inspiration boards so the idea is saved for you to go back to. And there is a place to make notes for yourself.

I stayed up way too late on my first night as a member pinning things to boards called: Fashion, Recipes, Home, Gifts, and, of course, Wedding. It.Is.Awesome.

Any other idea ideas??