A Few of our Favorite Places to Find Inspiration

When planning an event, it is safe to say that you find inspiration everywhere. Whether it be the color of a leaf on a tree you see on your morning walk to work, a pattern on a scarf you notice while shopping on the weekend or simply while browsing one of our favorite places to search for wedding details and favors, Etsy.

We obviously find inspiration in places that were created specifically for that purpose like Pinterest, but we have to give a shout out to some of our favorite industry related magazines for being wonderful and keeping us on our toes with new trends and relevant articles.

- Michigan Meetings + Events. Not only is this magazine regionally based, allowing us to really target the trends and upcoming events happening in Michigan, it also has an extremely active Facebook page. It's like getting two for the price of one- we get to explore the pages of the magazine and also enjoy extra tidbits shared on the Facebook page, which range from articles they find from outside sources to additional information that they found post-publication for that month. We're huge fans and you should be too!

- BizBash BizBash is wonderful for a variety of reasons. One of those is that they showcase events from Miami, Florida to Toronto- it is so interesting to be able to see what so many different places are up to! Another is that they always keep their information fresh and entertaining. Every time I pick up the latest BizBash, I find myself reading about an idea I had never seen before- and I always love them. Finally, they are extremely active on their Twitter page, which makes them so fun to follow.

- Special Events Magazine. From informing their reader on simple ways to go Green at their events (which we love- seriously, you should see the recycling center in the Events North office. We don't mess around when it comes to saving the environment), to forecasting the top 50 upcoming trends in the event industry, Special Events Magazine always has something interesting and informative to share. They also offer a plethora of their articles on their website, making it easy for you to check them out when you misplace your paper copy of the magazine.

We also find inspiration from some of our daily blog reads and vendor guides (aka guilty pleasures that are actually considered "gathering information for work"...win/win!). I should note that you should probably open these links when you have an hour...or three to spare. They are fabulously addicting. Some of our favorites include:

Simply Blue (Northern Michigan wedding guide and a fantastic blog- we cannot stress how much we adore this site!)
Hostess with the Mostess (Her themed posts will inspire you to throw the best parties ever.)
The Knot (Inspiring ideas and an impressive list of vendors from all over the country. A must for Brides-to-be.)
Style Me Pretty (Warning: You will stay on this site for hours- yes. plural.)
The Awesometastic Blog (Not only is reading her blog like listening to your best friend chat with you, she keeps it simple by posting one or two ideas a day- a quick and effective read that still makes you smile.)
Green Wedding Shoes (They feature a ton of articles on how to keep costs down while letting your creativity shine through...how can you go wrong with that? Seriously.)
Emmaline Bride (Their DIY section is one of my favorite things. Ever.)


The list really just goes on and on. Learning from other's successes and ideas is wonderful and having the tools to do so via websites, magazines and blogs is simply wonderful.

Where do you find inspiration? Share some of your favorite sources- we love adding new pages to our bookmarks tab!