Every bride should make some version of a mood board before planning their wedding. Mood boards (also know as inspiration boards or vision boards) involve compiling several visuals into a collage to create an evident theme. They are a great way to determine the vibe your wedding will embody and help you easily communicate your vision to those styling your event. Pinning down the mood and tone of your wedding provides you and your wedding planner with a clear direction for planning, making it much easier to decide on flowers, dresses, decor, etc. Creating a mood board might seem intimidating, but we’ve broken it down into 5 simple steps!
Step 1: Brainstorm and Establish a Clear Theme
The first step in creating a mood board is figuring out what mood you’d like to achieve! When you think of your wedding, what instantly comes to mind? Write down keywords or phrases that describe the feel of your wedding. Maybe you picture boho chic, southern charm, or modern and industrial. Think about the materials you envision, like wood, lace, brick, or velvet. What about colors and fonts? This will help your wheels start turning and help you know which direction to go in.
Step 2: Choose Your Format
Mood boards are presented either electronically or physically based on your personal preference. Traditional mood boards involve cutting out images and gluing or taping them on a foam board. Spray adhesive also works for this. Pinning visuals to a bulletin board is another more traditional option. A more contemporary choice is to assemble a digital mood board. Sites like Canva, PicMonkey, Abobe Spark and Milanote are all helpful collage tools as some offer templates. Digital boards tend to be easier to make due to the simplicity of downloading and uploading images. No printing, cutting or gluing needed! Whatever you choose, keep in mind that the format of your mood board can play a part in creating your desired vibe. For example, maybe you paint the foam board a color that expresses your theme well or the digital format matches your modern vibe.
Step 3: Collect Visual Elements
Now for the fun part! Search the web or flip through magazines to find images. Pinterest, Unsplash and Pexels are great sources to easily find hundreds of artistic and inspiring pictures. Look for visuals that resonate and fit the mood. This could include venues, designs, objects, flowers, and/or attire. If images have people in them, consider what expression they should have. For those of you creating digital mood boards, consider adding some movement with gifs or videos (visit Giphy or YouTube). After you compile a good amount, filter through them and choose the ones that best align with your vision.
Step 4: Gather Colors and Fonts
After you’ve begun building your concept with images, it’s time to integrate ideal colors and fonts! If you already have a color palette in mind before starting your inspo board, add it to your board! If not, try pulling colors that seem to be common throughout the pictures you chose. Adobe Color gives you all kinds of palettes to choose from and even helps you put together a color palette of your own! Pick out a font or two as well that makes sense with your theme. Dafont provides an endless array of freely downloadable fonts in all categories from “handwritten” to “old school.” Color, fabric and/or material swatches also help tie your vision together!
Step 5: Arrange All the Piece
How you do this last step is completely up to you! There is no right or wrong way to make a collage. However, having pieces that vary in size makes it easier to create that signature collage look. Consider making the images that convey your mood the most a little bigger than the others. Play around with all your pieces as much as you need until it looks perfect! If you are making a physical mood board, only pin or glue your pieces down AFTER you know how you’d like to arrange it!
And voila! You have an official wedding mood board portraying all your wedding fantasies. Now it’s time to make it come to life! Happy planning!
Need some inspiration to fill your boards? Check out endless wedding inspo on our Pinterest boards!
