How Social Media Can Help Plan Your Wedding

In an effort to better connect brides with vendors, we provide guest posts written by acclaimed wedding professionals. These posts are intended to provide a useful and insightful perspective on the wedding industry to Midwest brides planning a wedding. However, it's just as important to continually be the voice of the bride. We put our best foot forth to be an open line of communication between vendors and brides—so with that said, we'd like to introduce Olivia Harvey, an Indiana bride planning her Indianapolis wedding from overseas. Olivia is also a lifestyle and D.I.Y. expert—find her on Instagram @oliveandhue. Olivia goes in depth at how social media has helped her plan a Midwest wedding from oceans away.

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Finding the right vendors for your wedding is absolutely paramount to making your big day a success. So how do you pick the right ones? How do you know which photographer to choose and whether or not you are getting a fair price? How do you sort through the hundreds of stationery companies and invitation options? Which hair and makeup artists will deliver the exact look you desire and which florist will dazzle you with their style? Most importantly, how can you be sure you made the right decision? It all begins with knowing where to start your search in the first place.

You have to do your research! The very first thing I did was Google “average wedding budget breakdowns." I compared several and was able to get an idea of what the average price for each vendor should be. Of course some of the numbers are going to be lower and some are going to be higher, depending on what is most important to you.

When I started my search I immediately felt so overwhelmed! I did not know who to choose or how to even find all of my available options. So I decided to focus first on just one task/vendor at a time, beginning with which wedding item was most important to me and what I thought made sense to book early. I began my search solely using Google, but I felt like the biggest (and most expensive) vendors were the only ones that flooded my internet search pages. That would be great if I had an unlimited budget but for most brides, myself included, that simply is not the case. I decided to think outside the box and have found that searching through Instagram, Facebook and Vimeo is a great way to go.

Being so active on Instagram, it was the first place I turned when Google had me wanting to pull out my hair. I have found that hash tags are the best way to browse, as well as searching for keywords. Using locale specific tags such as #indywedding #indybride or #indianapolisphotographer are great ways to browse for photographers, hair stylists or makeup artists. Similarly, searching key words such as stationery, paper goods or invites is a great way to browse for wedding invitations, since it does not necessarily matter where the stationery company you order from is located. If you see a profile you like you can press the little down arrow next to “follow” to see other suggested profiles that are similar. It is not much different from a normal day of Instagram creeping in which I like to partake; instead I just try to focus on one category at a time. See a picture you like? Tap to see if any other sources are tagged or if they are mentioned in the caption. I was able to find my photographer (@lemongrassweddings), stationery company (@robertandstella), makeup artist (@indyreneemua) and hair stylist (@korielance // @themaesalon) all through Instagram! Not one of those vendors came up on my generic Google searches and I could not be happier to have them as a part of my big day!

Another great way to find vendors is through Facebook. We all seem to have AT LEAST ten Facebook friends who have tied the knot in the last couple of years. Go to their wedding albums and see if they have any of their vendors listed in the pictures. If you see something you love from their photos but do not know who they hired, just shoot them a message and ask! You will feel so much more at ease personally knowing someone who has worked with your vendor in the past.

I could not for the life of me come up with a good way to search for a videographer. Then a Facebook friend of mine posted her wedding video and when I clicked to watch it I was redirected to Vimeo. Maybe I am a little behind the times but I had no idea it even existed! It turns out searching Vimeo is one of the easiest ways to find wedding videographers. I just searched “Indianapolis Wedding” and at least 20 different companies’ videos popped up. That is more than double the results I was getting anywhere else. Just like Instagram or Facebook you can go to their profile pages to look at all the different videos posted to really get an idea of their styles.

Instagram and Facebook are also great ways to research venues for your ceremony and reception. Whether you are looking for the perfect venue or you have already found The One, social media is a great way to discover all the different ways other brides have styled the space. Looking through the venue’s Instagram feed and tagged Facebook pictures is the obvious starting point. You can also search location tags on Instagram as well as a hash tag of the venue name. Pinterest, though phenomenal for inspiration, can be such a cruel mistress at times – it’s all fun and games until you fall in love with something with no link or details available! Try making a Pinterest board of pictures you like from previous weddings held at your venue and compare them to your wedding inspiration boards. You might find that those tall centerpieces you were dead set on having actually made the space look too small at another bride’s wedding. Or you might get a fabulous idea of something you want to incorporate that another bride used.

Do not forget to snoop your vendor’s social media and websites as well! Keep an eye on your photographer’s feed for locations you like for engagement pictures or wedding day pictures. If your makeup artist or hairstylist posts a picture of a certain look you love, let them know, so they can write down exactly what they used while it is still fresh in their minds. You can do the same with your florist, décor companies and so much more!

And though I am still in the process of planning my own wedding, here are some tips I have learned so far:

• It is never too early to start planning.
• Make your guest list as soon as possible so you have an idea of the number of guests attending. This will determine which venues you can afford and will affect other components of your budget.
• Use all the resources at your disposal, including friends and family, social media and wonderful websites like this one.
• Read reviews and get references!
• Find a stationery company that will print the addresses on your save the date and wedding invite envelopes, as this saves times and brings the whole look together (see http://www.robertandstella.com/invitations/).
• Ask for before and after pictures from makeup artists and a list of what products they like to use.
• Last but not least, follow your heart and trust your instincts!

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