Ah, Pinterest. That magical place where productivity goes to die.

Face it, ladies, you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. You start by signing on to look up a few quick recipes, then you click through to a new hairstyle you’ve been curious to try—before you know it, you’re 250 pins in and you’ve also planned the picture perfect wedding.

We’ve all been there!

Lucky for you, this is totally not a bad thing. I’m going to show you how to make the most of Pinterest in order to plan for your upcoming destination wedding. (You can thank me later.)

Do it for the ‘gram

Social media has taken the wedding game to a whole new level. You used to have the luxury of being blissfully unaware of other people's engagements, weddings and honeymoons.

Now, social media puts those photos front and center, whether you like it or not! (I never asked to see my college roommate’s bachelorette party, but Instagram must have totally thought I did.)

Social media doesn’t have to be all bad though. Pinterest can be a gold mine where you can collect tons of ideas to incorporate in your very own destination wedding. Seriously, why not make sure your wedding is something to show off? I have like 1000 boards. 

Pinterest Perfect

From your ideal color scheme to your completely custom 3-tier cake—Pinterest has it all.

But, how exactly can Pinterest help you plan your destination wedding? I’m so glad you asked.

Picture this, you’re newly engaged and not really sure where to start. You know you want a destination wedding, and that’s about it.

I get it, wedding planning can be very overwhelming! I know this first hand, especially when it comes down to picking exactly what you want. At my destination wedding, I wanted everything. Simply doing a search for “destination wedding” on the internet let alone Pinterest may give you more choices than you’re ready to filter through.

Choices, choices

To make it easier on yourself, and to help you waste less time than you already have to, you’re gonna want to narrow down some of your options.

How do you do that? Well, I recommend starting with 5 basic boards to start your planning. This way, you can easily pick through the things you want from the things you don’t. Being more specific in your choices will help you plan a cohesive and customized wedding. That's what we all want, right?

I know, you’re probably thinking, “but Courtnie, be serious, how do I narrow it down to just 5 boards??” I know, what did I say earlier, I had like 1000 ( not really but you get the point). Remember, the nice thing about Pinterest planning is that you can easily edit, add and delete everything you do!

The 5 board themes I would suggest starting with are:

• Location

• Activities

• Food & Drinks

• Theme

• Must-Haves

Location

So this seems like a no-brainer for a destination wedding. But, what if you’re not quite sure what location would best fit your wants or needs? Maybe you’ve always dreamed of a tropical wedding, or perhaps you’re more of a vineyard wedding kind of girl.

Regardless of the location, you’re going to want to look at more specific areas within your dream location. The search term “tropical destination wedding” isn’t going to narrow your results by much.

P.S. If you haven’t put a lot of thought into your location and need a little help narrowing it down, check out how to pick the perfect destination wedding location.

Activities (or lack thereof)

This goes pretty hand in hand with choosing your location. Think about what the rest of the trip looks like. Does that include excursions in a new area, or are you looking for more of a destination relaxation trip? Either way, think about the other things you want to do during your trip. The wedding ceremony itself only takes up so much time!

Theme

Are you currently obsessed with the Pantone color of the year? Are you looking for a bold, non-traditional color? Once again, Pinterest is the perfect playground for color-matching and theme picking. Narrowing down colors, patterns and your overall theme can help plan things like save-the-dates, wedding invites and even thank-you cards.

Pinterest Pro Tip: The most popular wedding color trends for 2017 include purples, blues, grey and pink. Popular color combinations for autumn and winter weddings are burnt orange, peach and plum. Whereas, top color combinations for summer include blue, peach and rose pink.

Food & Drink

Once you’ve narrowed down a location, activities and your theme, it’s time for the best part—THE FOOD! (At least my husband thinks so) 

Personally, I think this is one of the MOST important parts! I mean c’mon, we all know most of your guests are going to be most looking forward to the food. Keep in mind the location while looking for food and drink options—do you really think you’ll be eating southern comfort food in the middle of the Caribbean? ( well, maybe some good fried chicken in Jamaica but let's be for real.) 

Must-Haves

Last but not least, this is going to be your miscellaneous category for all the things that may not directly fit into the board suggestions above. Maybe you saw those tea lights spread across the aisle, or a polaroid-filled guestbook or a handmade bouquet? Let your Pinterest-loving, DIY self go a little crazy here, this is the place for that!

So, now what?

You’ve made your boards, you’ve filled them to basically plan your digital dream wedding, and now you’re not sure what’s left to do.

Obviously, you can share your ideas on social media! Pinterest is a great place to share your ideas—or, maybe you’d rather keep those pins to yourself and have your ideas on a secret board. That’s totally ok, too.

But, one of the best thing you can do is share those boards and ideas with your planner! This will help your travel agent and wedding planner personalize your day to be exactly what you want. Sharing these ideas will guarantee your destination wedding is exactly that, YOUR destination wedding. ; )

As Always: Eat, Drink & Be Married Away,
Courtnie
xoxo

Courtnie is the founder & CEO of TravelBash. After years as an ambitious fundraiser, she took her passion for travel full-time. She has lived all over the U.S. and abroad and after planning her own destination wedding, she decided to help other couples plan their big day abroad too. She has written “Passport to Paradise: The Complete Destination Wedding Guide,” a top seller on Amazon. She has also been featured in Travel + Leisure, Destination I Do and The Washington Post. As a certified travel advisor, expert event planner and natural connector, she uses her powers to create VIP travel experiences.