When I tell people that I’m an event planner & designer, a familiar question often posed is “Where do you find inspiration?” It’s one of my favorite questions to answer, but I’ll admit its hard to keep brief.  Truthfully, there are a limitless number of things that inspire me and pique my interest.  For today, I’ll just share a few of my favorites:

^photo by Dave Lapham

1. My Clients

More often than not, I find inspiration in my clients. The design process that I’ve created for Ashton Events focuses on them, their story, their preferences, and their future.  Some of my favorite quirky touches and subtle details at the wedding come straight from the pages of the design process.

^ compliments of Pinterest.

2. Flowers

Flowers are one of my favorite places to find a great color palette.  The myriad of combinations and textures continue to challenge the ‘expected’.  The bouquet above inspired Jillian and Marcus’ color palette.

3. Garage Sale (or Flea Market) Finds/Repurposed Materials

I love history, artifacts, unusual objects, etc.  Garage sales are an ideal breeding ground of inspiration and thought.  The design of one of my upcoming weddings this year was based on this enormous old vintage embroidery hoop stand. Yes, you read that correctly.

^photo by Jordan Weiland

4. Fellow Wedding Professionals

This most often happens when an inspiration shoot is on the table and the boundaries are stretched.  Collaborating with other vendors has expanded my horizon and pushed my creativity far further than I would have ever imagined possible.  The “Tangled” inspiration shoot I did last year will always be one that stands out in my mind. I can’t wait to show you the rest of these pictures!

^compliments of Jose Villa, via Pinterest.

5. Creation

The great outdoors is a daily, ever changing, canvas of inspiration.  The newness of seasons, the breaking of dawn or setting of the sun, new terrains, well traveled roads- the list is endless.  Creation is one of the greatest gifts we’ve been given- and I’m continually amazed by the beauty of His masterpiece.

^ compliments of Pinterest.

6. Rest

Since my line of work is project based, it can be difficult to disconnect from work.  There is always something on the horizon, another design problem to solve.  Creativity and a spark of an idea can begin anywhere- which is both a blessing and a curse.  I have found that for me, inspiration comes most naturally when I am able to sit in the moment and rest on all of the possibilities, instead of jump to assumptions.

I’d love to know- where do you find your inspiration?