The wedding day. It may last eight hours, or up to twelve for the committed late-night dancers, but the lead-up can stretch across weeks, months, even years of preparation. But if romance and fantasy were to be stripped away from the day itself, what remains is a carefully balanced structure of planning and timing keeping the magic in place. Join Melbourne Wedding and Bride’s Alice O’Brien as she discusses with Fay Kanellos, the mind behind Wedding Planner by Fay K, how to use wedding planning tools effectively.
The mood board. This vision tool is constantly thrown around in trends, resolutions, and, of course, wedding planning. But what actually is it? A mood board is a curated collection of visual elements which as a collective can emulate a specific aesthetic or emotion. The origins of this tool began deep within creative industries as seen during the Renaissance where artists collected ideas through images. By acknowledging its roots, the tool of a mood board bleeds perfectly into the art of wedding planning. A wedding day is similar to a Renaissance painting. Every brushstroke is deliberate and layered with intention, just as every transition and timing within a ceremony is thoughtfully considered. An artist begins with the masterpiece vision they want to create, and in the same way, a couple envisions how their day will look and feel. Painters relied on composition to bring harmony to their work; weddings rely on their own form of orchestration tools.
“Mood boards are a valuable planning tool when used with intention,” says Kanellos.
This intention is what separates the successful use of a mood board to those mood boards sitting pretty but ideally by, and Kanellos’ knows what this difference entails.
Image courtesy of Planner by Fay K.
Having Placed Intention
So, you want to use a mood board in your wedding planning process. The next step is not beelining Google Images but rather understanding how to create a deliberate mood board “to articulate style visually,” notes Kanellos.
Step away from trends: It’s easy to fall into the trap of following the trends during mood board creation. If couples “follow trends blindly” mood boards won’t reflect their “true personality” Kanellos points out. It’s worth taking a step back
and taking a moment to ask, is this me?
Avoid unrelated inspirations: It’s important to avoid drawing overall inspiration from unrelated styles; keep themes consistent so “mood boards become a roadmap for cohesive styling” Kanellos notes.
Turning a blind eye to reality: Becoming immersed in the romance of wedding envisioning is easy, but normally correlates with practically taking a back seat. It’s still essential to consider factors such as “lighting, venue architecture and budget” as all will ultimately “influence how a mood board translates into reality” Kanellos points out.
Travel with mood boards: Once created, a mood board doesn’t just sit and watch from afar. Bring it to wedding appointments for clarity to instantly double check your choices and whether each align with the curated vision, becoming “helpful when communicating” Kanellos notes.
Hire a wedding planner: These insights aren’t theoretical but rather come from the perspective of a wedding planner. Someone who has seen countless mood boards evolve into real celebrations. The value a planner, just like Kanellos, brings is insight grounded in experience.
“I always guide couples to refine their vision and ensure their mood board supports achievable, cohesive design decisions,” says Kanellos.
If planning tools provide framework, then the planner becomes the architecture ensuring each structural element is intentionally placed, and moving parts work in harmony. It’s this wisdom that Kanellos is honoured to share.
Using A Guide For The Tools
Mood boards are just one wedding planning tool within a countless array.
“A detailed planning timeline is often underestimated but becomes invaluable [for] knowing when decisions need to be made, not just what needs to be done,” which Kanellos mentions as another invaluable tool.
“Timelines help couples stay proactive rather than reactive.”
More than having useful tools, Kanellos has been the guiding light for numerous couples on their own journeys.
“I’ve seen firsthand how quickly things can become overwhelming … a wedding planner provides that structure” Kanellos says.
It’s structure in the form of a warm smile, leading hands and genuine care as Kanellos never wants any couple to “navigate decisions alone.” The wedding planning journey, while inevitably stressful, does not have to be all consuming. It’s a journey centered on love. Having a wedding planner helps balance all the moving parts “giving [you] the freedom to be fully present and enjoy [your] wedding,” Kanellos ends on. Between the first picture placed on a mood board to the final petal falling from a bouquet lies the true wedding journey. The celebration itself is a glimpse into the true voyage required to align every vendor, cue, and moving part. In that process, a wedding planner becomes the guiding light through what can otherwise feel like the overwhelming dark.