The Bridal Closet

Hi ladies! Roberta from Solutions Bridal here with wedding planner and designer, Lisa Stoner! We are super excited to discuss the do’s and don’ts of Pinterest inspired weddings & Do-it-yourself weddings!

Roberta: Lisa, tell me a little bit about what you’ve encountered and what you think of DIY weddings!

Lisa: We know Pinterest is all the rage! Personally, I love my Pinterest. I have tons of boards, tens of thousands of pins, and a couple thousand followers and I really love it! However Pinterest can get away from some people. Particularly brides. Sometimes there are these unrealistic expectations. For instance, brides see these lavish weddings in Saudi Arabia and think that with garnering their hot glue gun, they will be able to achieve that. 

That is why I like to talk about DIY versus DI-Buy. So I think what appeals to most brides or couples in regards to DIY, is that is looks very personal and fun. There is a way to do that without overwhelming yourself by taking on these tasks yourself. There are so many details that your time could be better invested in, other than putting together something, and then figuring out how will it get there, how will it be set up, does anyone understand the mechanisms of which it needs to be displayed and will it stand the test of time through a four hour long reception! 

So with Pinterest, what I do for my clients is create a secret Pinterest board (we don’t want to let the cat out of the bag and give all the details away!) I create a story board with some ceremony ideas, reception ideas, even bridesmaids & wedding party gifts and everything in between. And what I think these things should do is inspire, and not copy. It should be more conceptual and from there, you extrapolate what it is that you really love about that image or inspiration and make it signature, make it more about you.

Roberta: Oh absolutely! For me, I love everything DIY, but let’s be honest, if you know me well enough you know I am clumsy, and my wedding would ended being a crazy mess!

Lisa: And I speak from experience, because I made it on the “Pinterest fail” board with a horrible Easter centerpiece involving Peeps. And so for that reason I do not even own a hot glue gun. I do admire so many people who are DIY, my husband is actually one of them. Another wedding planner friend of ours is an excellent one, who I admire and yes, maybe I am a little jealous. 

When it comes to your wedding I think your time is better well spent doing something else, and putting that emotional energy and time into something else. There are great resources like Etsy, where these people do this day in and day out and they do it well, and you get that homespun look that you’re after without having to assume all the responsibility, costs and trial and error. And of course there are lots of local shops, and we are all about shopping local and you should reach out to them to see if you can recruit them to help you with these things.

Roberta: What are some particular things that a bride can do to contribute to the wedding?

Lisa: Absolutely! On the front end, I like to set a tone well in advance. As your guests are making their way into town, you and your fiance can thoughtfully prepare a welcome letter, which could include favorite local places. I know when I am traveling, I like to know the local place to get a quick manicure or a quick blowout or a favorite place to get a bite to eat.Things like that. And list your favorite places as a couple so maybe they can experience it through your eyes.

Roberta: I love that idea! I never thought about incorporating DIY before the wedding, not necessarily not for the wedding ceremony or reception.

Lisa: Also, there are the welcome bags or amenity bags, girls like to get their hands on that. And it makes for fun evening with friends where you gather all the elements for the amenity bag. If your fiance loves a certain brand of cookie, go ahead and get those cookies and put it in there. Write why all of these elements in the amenity bag are important to you. Again, it’s so that your guests and your family can experience your life as a couple and you start setting the tone for the weekend.

Roberta: Awesome, great, I love that!

I hope this has helped you ladies! And if you want any more tips on Pinterest or DIY weddings or wedding planning, my and Lisa’s contact information is below!

Contact us!

Solutions Bridal Orlando

[email protected]

Lisa Stoner

Rustic Romance. Florida bride marries in Georgia  Good evening Morgan! First, tell me the most memorable moment from your wedding. 

The most memorable moment from our wedding was our ceremony. Bryan was adamant that he didn't want to do a "First Look" ahead of our vows, so the first time we saw each other all day was when I was walking down the aisle. I'll never forget the look on his face. We were both so happy, we cried. I remember him mouthing to me how beautiful I looked when we held hands at the altar. We definitely broke from tradition in a lot of ways, but I'm so glad we kept with this one because that moment was everything.

How you and your husband Bryan met? 

Bryan and I met during my freshman year of college at FSU through a mutual friend. His best friend, Wiley, just so happened to be one of my childhood friends who I'd known since elementary school. Wiley and I reconnected when we wound up in the same microeconomics class, and he invited me out to meet some of his buddies from the water polo team. Bryan and I met at one of the house parties and we just hit it off right away. I know that's cliche, but it's true. There was never any awkwardness and even in the very beginning, it felt like we'd known each other longer than we had.

When did you know he was the one? 

We'd been together for almost 6 years when Bryan proposed so there were definitely a lot of moments over that time where I felt just completely certain that he was the one for me. However, the first time, I clearly can remember thinking it was on our 3 year anniversary. I had just graduated college so we were long distance, and we decided to meet up in between Tallahassee and Orlando to celebrate. We rented a room at a small Bed & Breakfast, and spent that weekend hiking, kayaking and doing all of the outdoor stuff we love. It was our first vacation where it was just the two of us. We had such a wonderful time together and I remember coming back home from it and thinking, "This is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with."

What did you love most about your experience finding your dress? 

Just finding the dress was a huge relief to me! I was so stressed going into the whole process. My husband and I only had a 6 month engagement, so I knew my options might be limited and that I had to act quickly but I didn't want to sacrifice on my vision. When I came into Solutions Bridal, the staff at Solutions Bridal were incredibly helpful, patient and supportive during the whole process. My consultant went over my Pinterest board with me and took the time to really get to know me and what I wanted and together with Tali was able to find me the dress of my dreams.

Did you always know what style of dress you wanted to wear when you walked down the isle? 

I knew what elements I wanted in a wedding dress (backless, simple, lace) and I knew how I wanted to feel in it (floaty, pretty, ethereal) but I didn't have a specific vision for how it would all look together. I picked up a bunch of different styles to try on to figure out what I felt comfortable in, but the dress I chose was actually one that Tali had pulled for me after the fact, that I'd actually passed over during my initial search through the store. I'm so glad she told me to try it on, because it was exactly what I was looking for but it just didn't stand out to me on the racks.

What elements from your wedding were your favorite? What moment is most memorable to you?

I loved the venue for our wedding. It was so us. My parents have a wonderful cabin up in Georgia that we love visiting and one our favorite things to do when we're there is to go hiking on these beautiful waterfall trails.It was my pipedream to get married in front of one of those waterfalls, but my dad had voiced some concerns about the practicality of getting married in the middle of the woods. Funnily enough, about two weeks after Bryan proposed my dad was at the cabin and watching the Georgia Outdoor Network when a segment came on about historic grist mill sites in the state. He saw the one at Hightower Falls and immediately checked online to see if they did weddings, and toured the venue the next day with my mom. Bryan and I booked it sight unseen, but when you know, you know :)

My other favorite elements from our day were our handwritten vows and our officiant. He's actually a friend of my family. He married my own parents more than 30 years ago, and I've known him my whole life. Deep down, I'd always hoped that one day he'd be able to marry me whenever the time came around. I'm pretty sure he was the first "vendor" I called once we booked our date, and thankfully he said yes and did an amazing job.