We all have that one friend. You know, the one who always seems to have the most creative craft ideas, the most clever uses for common household items, and the most thoughtful birthday and special occasion gifts.
The same friend who casually replies, ‘I saw it on the Internet somewhere,’ when you ask her where she got these ideas.
But she’s lying. She didn’t find it on the ‘Internet somewhere.’ She knows exactly where she found it: Pinterest.
And let’s be honest; it’s not just crafts and cute gifts, anymore; this has moved on to bigger and better things: house decorating, child rearing, and even wedding planning.
That’s right; wedding planners everywhere are being overshadowed by a ‘Pinteresting’ group of women.
We are officially in the era of the Pinterest bride.
You’ll know her when you see her, or, at the very least, when you attend her wedding. She may not be the bride-to-be with the oversized, but ever-so-cute planner, but that’s because it’s all on her Pinterest board. In fact, it’s probably more like Pinterest boards because she has one for every aspect of her wedding: bridesmaid dresses, wedding dresses, DIY ideas, budget-saving tips, gift-giving ideas; you name it, she has a board for it.
She’s the one who will have thought of everything. After all, she’ll say, the devil’s in the details.
When you enter the reception, you’ll see a clever seating chart design. The card box will be charming, and it might have touches of burlap here or there; she may have even ordered this one from Etsy, a close relative of Pinterest.
There might be a bin full of flip-flops for guests to take to help them relax. Or maybe there’s a handy basket in the bathroom of the reception that has a perfectly scripted poem telling you to ‘help yourself’ to the convenient supply of extras: deodorant, floss, and even some extra pantyhose.
‘It was nothing,’ she’ll say. ‘I saw it on Pinterest,’ she’ll remark.
The thing about this Pinterest bride-to-be is that she really can’t stop herself. It starts with skimming a few boards, enjoying seeing the craftiness of others. Later, though, she can be found laying in bed at night, basking in the glow of her smartphone lights up her face, ‘pinning’ ideas into the wee hours of the morning.
Even though most would say that the Pinterest brides-to-be are creating more work for themselves and living in a wedding fantasy land, the pinners of the world would argue that being a Pinterest user actually saves these future brides some money. After all, Pinterest is full of DIY (do it yourself) ideas for weddings that truly can save wedding planners some major dollars.
If a Pinterest bride is unsure what to get her MIL and feeling the death grip of her budget on her wallet, she will use her pinning skills to find, within minutes, a sentimental gift idea that will cost next to nothing.
So, the next time you find yourself wanting to judge, or even criticize, the Pinterest bride in your life, I ask you to pause and remember this: a Pinterest bride is much easier to deal with than a bridezilla.
