As a wedding planner, I’ve learned one key thing when it comes to image-sharing platforms: there’s a huge difference between sharing images and sharing images strategically. While developing inspiration for a wedding’s aesthetic is crucial, as planners, we need a platform that allows for so much more than that. From nailing down venues to talking through seating arrangements, Aisle Planner’s Style Guides allow you to share images in a number of ways, in one cohesive place (attaching PDFs in emails, uploading photographs online, and storing sketches on your desktop is no way to live).
Today, I’ve broken down my five favorite ways to use our Style Guides strategically:
Recommending Venues
Create Style Guides for venues you want to share with your client, and upload photos for each. Once venue selection is finalized, delete the others from view. Creating Style Guides for each venue is particularly easy for planners who keep folders with images of local venues on their desktop (it’s a simple drag-and-drop).
Creating Mood Boards
Create a solid foundation for a wedding’s aesthetic by using Style Guides as mood boards. Our Style Guides differ from other image-sharing platforms (okay, Pinterest) because they allow for intuitive conversation on images: your bride gets an email as soon as you comment on a photo and can respond from that very email without ever having to log into Aisle Planner. As always, it’s a simple drag-and-drop process if you already have inspiration folders created on your computer.
Finalizing Equipment & Decor Options
Create a Style Guide for each design element (escort-card displays, linens, place settings, etc.) and upload top contenders to each guide. Once final selections have been made, save each to a new Style Guide (which you could name something like, “Final Design Elements”). Upload a photo of the final tabletop design here as well for your team members and vendors to reference.
Combining Design Concepts & Sketches
Combining photographs, graphics and, yes, even that killer sketch you did on the back of an old receipt in a Style Guide is a powerful way to define a wedding’s aesthetic in one cohesive place that consists of more than just images from the web. We’ve found that vendors love this feature, as it gives them a solid reference point as they work to bring your client’s ideas to life.
Sharing Layout Designs
Create a Style Guide specifically for layout options, and upload floor plan mockups with comments that speak to the pros and cons of each (i.e. “Here, the dance floor is right in the middle of the action, but is further from the head table”). This allows your client to see each layout option right next to one another, rather than working from numerous PDFs attached in emails.
These are just a few of my favorite ways you can make the most of Aisle Planner Style Guides—don’t be afraid to experiment and come up with more. We’d love to hear how you’re using Style Guides to plan, design and collaborate with your clients and vendors!
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