As I was browsing in one of my favorite stores this weekend, I couldn’t even begin to shop because I couldn’t take my eyes off all of the colors, patterns and the unique displays throughout the store. My mind was running in a zillion directions, and I found so many things that inspired me for various weddings and parties that I am working on.

I remember when I first got engaged, looking through all of the amazing bridal magazines that are out there, becoming inspired and ripping pictures out of them left and right. In my mind, this was the only place to find inspiration for my wedding, right? Well, I soon found out something different.  I went to a class for aspiring wedding planners taught by an amazing planner in Charlotte, NC, and one of the activities was to pull pictures out of magazines that inspired us.

To my surprise, we were handed catalogs, home magazines and food magazines, not your typical bridal magazines. From these, she asked us to go to town and rip out anything that inspired our vision for a wedding. I was a little nervous, but it was much easier than I thought, and I remember tearing out a page with a huge chair on it with an amazing pattern that I knew could be tied in through invitations and then through the whole event, as well as color palettes that just warmed my heart!

Courtesy of Northwest Home & Garden

Form that point forward, I took her advice, and I now find my inspiration anywhere…I mean anywhere! (I even fell in love with wallpaper in a restaurant bathroom…ha!) So my advice to you is to find inspiration anywhere, not just in bridal magazines, and I think that you will surprise yourself.

What inspires you, and where do you find inspiration?