As a stationery designer who creates hand-rendered, artisan wedding paper goods, I’m a firm believer in tradition, craft and the beauty of the handmade. But even in a world of watercolours and wax seals, there’s room for a few modern tools - especially when it comes to planning, brainstorming and gathering creative ideas.
One tool I’ve seen couples use more and more is ChatGPT, it has become a favoured brainstorming partner, and can help with everything from ideas for styling and décor, choosing your colour palette or even researching local suppliers for a destination wedding. It’s not about replacing the magic of traditional touches, but making the planning process a little easier, faster and more fun. Here’s how Chat GPT can help plan your wedding:
1. Using ChatGPT to Research Wedding Suppliers
One of the trickiest parts of planning any wedding is finding suppliers that share your values, are reliable and you trust to create the aesthetic you are going for. You can use ChatGPT to give you preliminary list and then do further due diligence checks by checking out their websites, socials and online reviews. You can search for vendors in your local area, such as 'wedding stationers in North East England', or if you're having a destination wedding you may search for venues, planners or photographers in your chosen area. You'll get better results by being super specific, so state who you want, what style and what region e.g. 'light and airy photographers in Massachusetts' or 'watercolour wedding illustrators in the UK'.
2. Using ChatGPT to Find your Wedding Colour Palette
One of the first decisions you make, will be your colour palette. If you're feeling a little lost, you can describe your wedding aesthetic and ask for colour palette suggestions. For example a 'garden celebration with English country roses' or perhaps a 'vibrant, exotic beach wedding with palm trees'. It can also make recommendations of how to use the colours in your florals, décor and stationery.
3. Ask ChatGPT for Wedding Invitation Wording
I have forms for clients to submit their wedding details and assist with the invitation wording, but ChatGPT can be a useful tool when it comes to phrasing your details cards, polite ways to state no children are allowed or perhaps you are looking for a poem to ask for money instead of wedding gifts.
It can also assist in proof reading, if you ask it to check spelling and grammar, although the text should always be double checked by the human eye too!
4. Using ChatGPT to plan your Wedding Crest
If you'd like a custom wedding crest, but not sure what design details to include, you can tell ChatGPT about your wedding location, your wedding theme, hobbies and interests and it will give you a list of ideas to incorporate. You can then discuss these with your stationery designer and incorporate some of them into your crest.
5. How ChatGPT can Help with Table Plans
Table plans and seating charts can cause a headache, particularly for large weddings. This can be down to the complexities of managing interpersonal relationships, diverse guest preferences or simply logistical considerations. ChatGPT can lend a helping hand, by offering strategy advice such as where to seat tricky combinations (e.g. divorced parents, guests who don’t know many others). And also fine tuning your guest list - it can sort your guests into alphabetical order, capitalise names correctly and remove duplicates, which can save you time, compared to checking lists manually.
If you are having an escort card display, you can also ask ChatGPT to assist with the formatting of your board, tell it how many escort cards you have and the dimensions, and ask it to formulate the rows and columns, and tell you the overall size of the board.
The app can also be used to generate quirky titles and phrases for signage - I created a cow themed table plan for a farm wedding, and the couple wanted 'grazing plan' at the top, rather than the traditional 'find your seat'.
6. Using ChatGPT for Wedding Playlists
Wedding playlists are not just for evening celebrations, you can craft a soundtrack for your whole wedding day. Ask for song ideas by special moment - suggestions for walking down the aisle, first dance, cake cutting, bouquet toss, last dance, etc. You can also create mood-based playlists such as romantic dinner background music, upbeat party hits or acoustic beach wedding vibes.
7. Ask Chat GPT for Wedding Favour Ideas
If you'd like quirky or personalised wedding favours, you can ask ChatGPT for ideas. For example, if you ask for favour ideas that incorporate wedding illustrations, it may suggest mini art prints, illustrated bookmarks, coasters or magnets to delight your guests. Or, if you're having a destination wedding, you might ask for favour ideas inspired by the local area - locally sourced olive oil or Limoncello for a Mediterranean wedding or seed packets for English Country weddings.
8. Asking ChatGPT for Table Name Ideas
Lots of couples choose to name their tables, rather than using numbers, which adds a personal touch. Whether you’re thinking places you've travelled together, favourite cocktails, species of wildflower or perhaps animals, ChatGPT can generate themed table name ideas, and even help you write short captions or descriptions for each one.
So, is ChatGPT good for planning weddings?
I don't believe the app will ever replace traditional, hand rendered crafts. There is something authentic about hand painted illustrations that no computer software will ever be able to replace. There are AI apps that create venue illustrations, but they have a distinct 'AI' look about them and are missing that free flowing, artisanal expression.
However, ChatGPT does have its place and can help free up your time when used for researching suppliers, generating ideas, re-wording or phrasing information and proof reading or checking text for you. You should bear in mind that is does frequently make mistakes, so everything that comes from it should be double checked by a human too.