Creatives are struggling right now. We live for the moment when everything comes together at an event. You know what we’re talking about - when the room is set and you take one look around, one deep breath, and then you open the doors to reveal what you’ve been working on for the past year (or more!). For most of us wedding and event planners, that high isn’t going to be happening any time soon and that reality makes it hard to stay motivated and inspired.

At Brilliant Event Planning, we let ourselves have a couple of weeks of downtime and then we got to work. Now isn’t the time for moping - it’s the time for getting inspired and figuring out how we can come back even better than before. If you’re ready to dive back into the wild world of wedding and event planning, this post is for you. We’re going to share how we’re staying inspired at Brilliant and give you actionable ways you can get creative too.

Attention all wedding and event planners. No events? No problem! Here are our tricks to stay creative:

Read. If this seems totally unrelated, it shouldn’t. Normally, creatives look to new experiences to widen our horizons and get us thinking differently. In lieu of travel and trying new things, read about something new instead. Bonus - try reading in a place you find relaxing. Light a candle and hop in the bath or snuggle up in a hammock. Too zen for you? Try an audiobook. You can listen while you walk or clean dishes, if that’s your thing. You’ll find us in the bath with a glass of wine though…
Try new things at home. Make a bucket list for you as a planner. What are you dying to try? After you have your list, order the supplies and arrange for curbside pickup or delivery. Just because you don’t have an actual event to bring it to, doesn’t mean you can’t try to make it at home. See what works and what doesn’t. Even if it’s on a smaller scale than the real thing, you’ll have a better idea of what you’ll need when you can get back to it! Bonus - this is great social media content. Share in your stories what you’re trying out. Ask for your followers to give feedback and let them request the next project that you tackle.
Reinvent a corner of your home. Event design isn’t that far off from interior design. Put your skills to work on a corner of your home that needs a little love. Let your followers on social share their input and track your progress. Not only will it make for good content, but you’ll have a space to work, meditate, or entertain when this is all over.
Challenge your peers. Let’s be honest, we all feed off of each other. This is a good thing and it’s why wedding blogs are so successful. We see each other’s work and want to do something similar or level up. You don’t need to have an actual event to do the same thing. Find a group of peers in your industry and create a new challenge each month. Let’s say the challenge is to create a tablescape. Each month, you could choose a different theme. You would have a couple of weeks to prepare and use things you either have at home or can get delivered. You don’t need to have standard rental items to create something beautiful. Challenge yourself to pull inspiration from your own home.
Creative Collaboration and Styled shoots. We’re calling it - this is going to be the summer of styled shoots. As we start to see stay at home orders lifted, but events still cancelled, we can get together in small groups (with masks!) to make shoots happen. Don’t wait to start planning these. The sooner you do them, the sooner you can submit to a publication and have fresh social content.

Lastly, sometimes we’re the most creative when our minds are at rest. It’s okay to not be working all the time. Think about it - when was the last summer that you had downtime? Have you EVER had a summer off? Don’t waste it. Just because we’re social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the sun, have a summer cocktail, or go for a walk (with your mask) on the beach. After this pandemic is over, the hustle will be real, so observe social distancing, but take the time to soak up the summer! We’ll be back to weddings and events before you know it!

Are you using this time to get your wedding and event planning business organized? Don’t miss last week’s post on Essential Contract Clauses for Event Planners.

How to stay inspired during a pandemic