How happy am I to see that beautiful sunshine today! I have just started to feel human again after an AMAZING weekend away in Barcelona celebrating my hen! Big hats off to my fabulous sister who single handedly organised the whole thing! Any how I am diverting away from today’s blog subject which is; pinterest, friend or foe? Now don’t get me wrong I am a big fan, I adore pinterest, in fact your can find our boards here Since starting the business we have always used pinterest to create mood boards for each of our couples and it is a brilliant visual platform for those in the midst of planning their wedding or for that matter anyone looking for pretty inspiration at all relating to interiors, fashion or food (to name just a few). Along with being very distracting, I’m sure you too have been guilty of procrastinating, falling under the pinning spell getting lost in the pretty world of pinterest images. Although I wanted to open up the topic for discussion to see what you think? Couples planning, do you find it a useful tool? Industry friends, fellow florists what are your thoughts? Do you use it as part of your work? I’m particularly intrigued to find out what my fellow photography friends think? Is pinterest something you use in your day to day work life, or not so much?

Now here’s my thoughts on the down side of pinterest, as much as I think it is a brilliant source of inspiration (as previously mentioned) I think it an also restrict our creative mindset. I don’t know about you but I can be searching for something in particular & quite often I see the same images re-appearing time & time again. Yes I know that logic dictates that these are obviously the more popular pins that have been repined hence them cropping up so often but my concern with this is who is actually creating anything original if were just repining the same pins? It’s important to remember to think beyond the realms of pinterest when seeking creative inspiration as otherwise we will be in danger of becoming stagnant with our ideas. Inspiration can be found all around us; a walk in the great outdoors, visiting a museum, art gallery or whilst away on holiday, it’s all right there, you just have to be open to see things…..

The other thing to be wary of is the misleading/unrealistic expectations that pinterest can create, I’m speaking purely from a wedding perspective here. This interesting article, Planing a Wedding in the Pinterest Era that I found on Wedding Bee blog sums up perfectly what it is I am trying to articulate (probably even better actually). Remember to stay true to yourself when planning your wedding what you both like and who you are as a couple. Yes the images on pinterest are ruddy gorgeous (there really is no denying that) but some of those have been created from collaborative styled shoots with a whole bunch of professional suppliers with the images being shot by professional photographers that have been shot at specific times & places to capture that perfect dreamy light. Don’t put pressure on yourself to create the perfect pinterest worthy wedding, after all….

So pinterest friend or foe? My answer would be both, will we continue to use pinterest as a regular social media platform? Of course, however I think the key is to remember to use it solely for the purpose of inspiration and initial ideas which can then be built on & developed further. Using pinterest along side other inspirational outlets (some of which mentioned above) I think is the happy medium. Enjoy using pinterest by all means pin away but at the same time don’t get bogged down by it I think is the moral of this story.

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this, whichever angle your coming from whether your an engaged couple, supplier or blogger. What do you think?