A soon as you make creativity your career, you will be faced with the challenge of having to find inspiration. Many of our wedding and event planning students discover this early on as they start working on their creative assignments. We are often asked for tips on staying inspired and keeping those creative juices flowing and today we have some great tips for you; from two of our Advisory Board members, Jane Riddell from Planned for Perfection & Heidi Thompson from Evolve YourWedding Business
Jane Riddell – Multi Award Winning Wedding and Event Planner
My bride and grooms are my inspiration! They may be employing me to do a job (the best job in the world I hasten to add!) but they are also relying on my wedding planning experience to give them the best day of their lives, so it’s important to get to know them well enough to see clearly their wedding day vision…and then create it! I can’t imagine ever feeling creatively challenged when it comes to wedding planning, but if you are new to the role or training and you do, my advice would be;
1) Ask for help.
Why not consider a mentor – someone you can talk to, shadow, assist and learn from. You may even be able to observe or help out at events that perhaps you wouldn’t have been able to plan alone at this stage in your career, gaining knowledge, confidence and practical experience. You will also know that whatever issue you may experience, there is always someone you can call on for advice.
2) Take a Break
The moment you find yourself feeling creatively challenged, take a break – give yourself at least a couple of hours to do something different, go for a long walk, catch up with friends, do yoga, have a swim, watch a film, read a book, treat yourself to a spa day …. anything that helps you to clear your mind and take stock, because couples have put their trust in you, as their chosen Wedding Planner, to create their perfect day!
3) Look at your Wedding Planning list
If you aren’t feeling creative, don’t stress, there is so much more you need to do! Wedding Planning isn’t just about creativity and styling; there are so many other admin jobs that need doing… budget updates, sourcing suppliers, timelines, ordering and not forgetting your own accounts, marketing and sales plans…..After afew hours in the office glued to your computer screen, your inner creative self will be desperate to make an appearance!
Heidi Thompson – Marketing Guru for Wedding Professionals
Painter & photographer Chuck Close famously said “Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work.” and I fully agree with him. If you wait around to be inspired, you’re not going to get anything done at the pace that you want. Here are a few things I do to make the most of inspiration when it strikes and these things allow me to just show up and get to work even when I’m not feeling inspired.
1) Carry a notebook with you at all times (or at the very least use an app on your phone like Evernote).
When I come up with an idea for a blog post or a product or service, I add it to a running list that I keep. If you make a habit of keeping these ideas in one place, you’ll never be short on ideas.
2) Look outside the industry.
Did you know that Henry Ford didn’t actually invent the assembly line? He saw it in action at a Chicago slaughterhouse and was amazed at how efficient the meatpackers were because of it. He took that idea, from an unrelated industry, and applied it to the automotive industry and it changed that industry forever. Take time to read blogs & magazines geared toward other industries or entrepreneurs in general and you’ll learn a lot!
3) Allow yourself some idle time.
You know how ideas always seem to come to people when they’re in the shower or when they’re driving a familiar route? That’s because your brain isn’t intensely focused on anything so it can take the time to process things you’ve been thinking about. When you get stuck, take some time to do something idle and give your brain a break so that it can work through the problem at hand.
