Wed·ding Brand·ing (noun):
Brides and grooms spent more on their weddings and focused on personalizing their weddings, a.ka. wedding branding, last year. This year it will only become increasingly popular. So what exactly is wedding branding you may ask?
The essence of a love story brought to life through cohesive, custom design, and details.
Every love story is unique and that story is a brand. A wedding is where that brand can be visualized and brought to life. A wedding brand captures the couple’s essence and expresses it through the wedding’s style – custom invitations, logos, color palette, websites, and so much more.
We gathered together some great sources to begin your wedding brand, enjoy!
What colors are trending for 2015 weddings?
A popular tone for 2015’s hues are royal colors, specifically Marsala, Pantone’s Color of the Year. It’s a rich red color that’s sophisticated, stylish, and can work with almost any wedding style. Combine Marsala with dusty blue for a pretty style, or pair a rose gold and Marsala for a rich, glamorous style.
Marsala wedding color inspiration
Statistics that may come in handy for branding your wedding:
- Average Wedding Cost: $31,213 (excludes honeymoon)
- Average Marrying Age: Bride, 29; Groom, 31
- Average Number of Guests: 136
- Popular Months to Get Married: June (15%) followed by October (14%)
- Popular Wedding Colors: Ivory/White (44%), Blue (37%), Pink (28%), Metallics (26%), Purple (23%)
- Dark blue specifically has continued to grow every year, from 10% in 2008 to 24% in 2014
- Percentage of Destination Weddings: 24%
How do you brand your wedding?
Step 1: Look and Mood.
When you close your eyes and picture your big day; are you making a grand entrance on an aisle strewn with flower petals or are you on the beach with your closest friends and family? Do you want a relaxed informal event? Or perhaps something more traditional?
Narrow down what you want your wedding to look like, such as “rustic villa”, “intimate beach”, or “high-end lavish “ etc.
Step 2: Colors, Patterns, and Textures.
Start an inspiration board early! Pinterest is a great tool. Search for color palettes and patterns that speak to you. Colors and patterns can set the mood and tone, so choose wisely. Ex: Ornate patterns in gold and/or black conveys high end.
Decide on your favorites. Sticking to it will ease the pressure a bit if you can check these details off your list early.
Go to http://www.wantthatwedding.co.uk/search-by-colour/ for a nice collections of colors.
Step 3: Logo and Motifs.
This is a “love mark” of your wedding event, and usually consists of the first initials of the couple or the newly shared last initial. Your save-the-dates and wedding invitations are usually the first thing your guests see, so it is important to customize them.
Tip: do not include the date of your wedding in the design, so once you are married you can still use it for thank you cards, address labels, etc.
Step 4: Fonts.
Pick them early, use them on everything and don’t change your mind. Different fonts set different moods. A formal black tie affair calls for a different font than a beach wedding.
Tip: Use a single formal, decorative font for headers and names and pair it with something simpler for the majority of body text.
Select two or three fonts to use on wedding materials from invites to programs to menus to labels to your wedding website. Using fonts consistently will help to tie everything together and add personal touches to all the little details that makes your wedding yours.
Step 5: Find Your Voice.
This sets the tone for your day (literally)! Depending on whether your wedding is formal or casual affair, you will use different wording. If you want casual, you would use slang, laid back and humorous language. For example, “Excited to celebrate and sorry to miss out” vs “accepts with pleasure and regretfully declines.”
Step 6: Get Your Vendors On Board.
Let your caterer, venue coordinator, and florist know your brand. Florists may have the perfect flower tucked away and caterers can usually create a drink to match your color scheme.
Wedding Websites
One of the fastest growing trends in wedding planning today is a website, as THE go-to place for keeping guests informed on all wedding related information. After all, it’s hard to convey every detail about your wedding in one little invite. A website is also great if you are on a budget, because it will save you money by not having to send out and print invitations.
Personal touches on your website makes your guests excited for the event, increases the likelihood they will attend and ensures they will have a better time. With knowing more about you as a couple, they will appreciate the unique touches at your wedding and understand why you chose your theme.
Tip: WordPress is a great free tool to create a wedding website.
So what do you put on a wedding website you ask?
- Your names
- Story of how you met
- Date of wedding
- What time the wedding starts
- Where the wedding ceremony and reception is being held
- Directions for out of town guests
- How to get to the ceremony
- Maps
- Hotel accommodations and your recommendations
- A rough idea of what to wear
- Registry information
- Online RSVP form
- Ability to choose meal (as backup)
- Save the date
- Photos/videos
- Countdown to the big day
- Questions and answers
- If it is a cash bar
- Any other detail guests should know
Your big day deserves a big brand! There is no reason your wedding can not have a kick ass brand. (In fact, we wholeheartedly think it should!)
So put your personal touch on your beautiful day. Set your wedding apart from others and brand it. We’ll work together to create the perfect wedding stationery for your big day, get in touch!
**Here’s a little something extra – some great wedding fonts and pairings!
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