Pinterest shows you what’s trending. It doesn’t always show you what belongs to you. Here’s how to use inspiration images without letting them make your design decisions for you.
Megan | Phoenix, AZ Florist | Fleur de Vie Studio
Pinterest is hands down one of my favorite tools. I use it DAILY, I reference it, I ask every single client to share theirs with me before we even get on a call.
And also. It is responsible for a significant portion of weddings that look exactly the same as every other wedding from that year…and the year before.
Not because the couples aren’t interesting. They absolutely are. But because Pinterest shows you what’s trending, what’s getting saved, what’s getting shared right now, and the algorithm is very good at feeding you more of whatever you already stopped to look at. So you end up with a board full of images that represent a vibe that’s currently popular and mistake it for your personal aesthetic.
Those are not always the same thing.
Trends have a shelf life, you don’t
Here’s the thing about wedding trends. They move fast. What felt fresh and exciting on Pinterest two years ago is already showing up in the “overdone” conversation in wedding industry chats. Pampas grass. Babies Breath. Neutral everything. Only roses everywhere. Sage green bridesmaid dresses. These things had a moment and the moment moved on.
Your wedding photos do not move on. They live on your wall, in your albums, in the folder on your phone you open randomly on anniversaries. And nothing dates a photo faster than a trend that peaked and passed.
I’m not saying don’t be inspired by what you see. Inspiration is the whole starting point. I’m saying don’t let the algorithm decide what your wedding looks like.
The difference between inspired by and designed for
When a client comes to me with a Pinterest board I’m not looking for images to replicate. I’m looking for patterns. What keeps showing up. What they’re drawn to that they might not even be able to articulate yet.
Someone might have fifty images saved that are all technically different styles but every single one of them has this loose, organic, slightly wild quality to the arrangements. That’s the real information. Not the specific flowers or the specific color palette. The feeling they keep reaching for.
That feeling is where the actual design lives. And it’s almost never captured perfectly in any single Pinterest image because those images were made for someone else’s wedding, someone else’s venue, someone else’s energy.
The design that belongs to you hasn’t been made yet. That’s my job.
What happens when you build around a trend instead of yourself
I’ll tell you what happens. You get a beautiful wedding that feels a little bit like wearing someone else’s clothes. Everything fits, technically. It looks fine in photos. But something is slightly off…
I’ve seen it. Couples who came in with a very specific trend-driven vision, executed it perfectly, and then the photos came back and they were like “yeah that was great but it doesn’t really feel like us anymore, I want a redo one day.”
That’s the gap between a wedding that looks good and a wedding that feels like something. The first one you can get from anyone with a Pinterest board and a vendor list. The second one requires someone actually paying attention to who you are.
How to use Pinterest without letting it use you
Save everything that makes you feel something. Don’t edit yourself, don’t second guess the saves, just collect.
Then look at what you collected and ask yourself why. Not what you like about the image but what you feel when you look at it. Excited? Calm? Like yes that’s exactly the energy I want in the room? Like I wish I was at that wedding?
Bring those answers to your florist consultation. Not just the images. The feelings behind them.
And then be open to the possibility that the design you actually want hasn’t shown up on Pinterest yet. Because the best version of your wedding isn’t out there being saved by thousands of other brides. It’s sitting in the conversation between you and the right designer waiting to be figured out.
That’s the version worth building.
If you’re ready to design something that actually feels like you and not just your algorithm, let’s talk. Bring the Pinterest board. We’ll figure out what it’s actually telling us.
Want to work together? Let’s connect.
Want to see more of the pretty things? Follow me on the gram!
Save everything that makes you feel something without editing yourself. Then look at what you collected and ask why, not what you like but what you feel when you look at it. Bring those feelings to your florist consultation along with the images.
That’s actually useful information. A good floral designer will ask you to pick your top three and then ask what specifically draws you to each one. The why behind the saves tells them more than the images themselves.
Trends date photos fast. What feels fresh on Pinterest right now will read as of its era in five years. Designing from who you actually are rather than what’s currently being saved produces something more personal and more timeless.
Your Pinterest board, your top three favorite images and why you love them, your venue name, your general color preferences, and an open mind. The design vision is built in the conversation not before it.
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