Getting married in England & Wales could be about to change - here’s what couples need to know
Let’s be honest with each other: those “Pinterest-perfect weddings” look stunning… but they’re also about as real as a perfume advert.
Perfectly symmetrical flatlays. Brides who float effortlessly through fields. Grooms who look like they’ve modelled for a clothing brand (and probably have).
Not a hair out of place, not a speck of mud in sight, not a single awkward laugh-snort captured on camera.
Cute? Yes.
Real life? Absolutely not.
Your wedding? Please no.
I'm a big fan of Pinterest. As a creative person working in creative fields for 15+ years, it's a source of inspiration and daydreams. I come away feeling excited and inspired when I'm done with my doomscrolling and pinning. I also recognise how this place of perfection can cause many people to feel stressed, frustrated and pressured, and compare themselves and their big day with a standard that's seemingly beyond their reach.
That's why I'm here to tell you that if you’re a couple who loves colour, fun, laughter, and being yourselves, especially if you feel awkward in front of a camera, then a Pinterest-perfect wedding is the exact opposite of what you actually want.
Here’s why.
Pinterest is full of styled shoots. What's a styled shoot? It's where a team of very talented wedding vendors and wedding stylists pull together their resources to create the perfect wedding look, so that they have beautiful photos to show what they're capable of to anyone looking for what they offer.
What you're looking at is the work of people whose job is to make everything look flawless and have many, many hours to perfect.
To help make the styled shoot look more authentic, models are hired to pose in the final set up. Photographer(s) will pose the couples in beautiful ways that the models are confident doing infront of the camera, because it's what they do for a living. Think of them as actors, essentially.
As I said, Pinterest weddings aren't real - in fact, they're often not weddings at all.
Your wedding day is about you, your joy, your chaos, your people, your personality.
Your uniqueness and authentic self > flasehood and perfection.
If argument #1 hasn't convinced you in itself, let's dive into this further.
Pinterest images set completely unrealistic expectations:
Real weddings are alive.
They move. They flow. People spill prosecco and ketchup.
Your dress gets a little muddy.
Your dad cries.
These moments matter infinitely more than whether your napkins match your bouquet.
If you already feel uncomfortable in front of a camera, trying to look “perfect” will only make you stiff, tense, and hyper-aware of your face.
Awkwardness grows in the gap between who you are and who you think you’re supposed to be.
Let’s remove that gap.
Be you. Please. You are enough and perfect exactly as you are.
Pinterest doesn’t show:
But these are the moments you’ll come back to again and again.
You won’t remember the chair covers.
You will remember:
Pinterest-perfect is an aesthetic.
Your wedding is a story. Your story.
Those images are made for:
They’re not made for humans who want to actually enjoy their day without being directed every five minutes. Trust me, nobody wants that.
You could have the “perfect” arch, the perfect florals, the perfect light…
But if you’re tense?
Your photos will feel tense.
You must have seen Friends, right? You know the episode where Chandler can't smile properly when a camera is near? That's what I mean when I say you'll look tensed.
Don't be Chandler.
The more comfortable and relaxed you are, the more naturally beautiful your photos will be - and you might find they're even better than Pinterest.
A crooked buttonhole.
A windswept veil.
A cake that leans slightly like it’s had a couple too many.
These little imperfections are the things that make your day yours.
They’re charming. They’re real. They’re alive.
Pinterest can’t compete with that.
If you spend your whole morning thinking:
“Does this look good enough?”
“Will this photograph well?”
“Should we have done more?”
…you’re not present.
You deserve to enjoy your day as it unfolds, not constantly measure it against unattainable images of strangers.
Plus, who are your photos for? Strangers on the internet, or your family and any future family you may have?
Your wedding is warm, chaotic, joyful, intimate, and full of soul, just like you
Your love, your people, your laughter, your weird little quirks - that’s what makes your wedding unforgettable and unique.
Not aesthetics.
Not trends.
Not whether your flowers match your signage.
YOU make it perfect.
You need an authentically-you wedding
And ironically?
When you lean into joy, colour, connection, and real moments, your photos end up looking even better than anything you saved to your mood board.
Pinterest gives ideas.
Your day gives feelings.
Feelings win - every single time.
Think a creative, animal-loving, story-capturing South Wales photographer is a great fit for your big day? I’d love to chat about your wedding plans and how we can create stunning, candid memories together.
