My sister is planning her wedding. My advice? Plan it around a theme…create a wedding brand for her big day. After much contemplation, she reported that her theme was: Bountiful Harvest. And that loud thud you heard? It was my head hitting my computer keyboard. Repeatedly. Because, really, I had visions of rustic foliage and cornucopia. And pilgrims.

I tried explaining that Bountiful Harvest wasn't a theme as much as it was two words she liked strung together. Like Hot Tamale or Annoying Sister. So, we argued.

A brand, I explained, was more than colors or the wedding logo she designed in Photoshop. And it was definitely not pilgrims. Settlers are NOT involved with this wedding, she hissed into the phone. My first piece of advice was to put together an inspiration board of things she liked. Things that just felt like her. Once this happened, she could see–literally–the commonalities that existed between her preferences. Colors, textures, photos, fonts. She was now ready to approach a graphic designer, someone who took her filtered preferences and made them into something complete.

The graphic designer created a logo for her wedding theme and it's acted as the spring board to chat with her wedding coordinators about completing the feel of her day. I'm actually quite excited to see how everything comes together. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with harvesting.

But that's not what this post is about. IT'S ABOUT PILGRIMS!! I kid, Internet, I kid. It's about thinking about your brand, an expectation and ultimately an experience. Is your brand just a logo and bright colors? Or is it a culmination of who you are? Is it an experience? If it's not, what can you do to change that? Just something to marinate on this fabulous Friday…

May you have a bountiful weekend! 😉