Theme ideas and design

This is the fun chapter, and the one where Claude is most useful as a second pair of eyes and least useful as the decider. Taste is yours. What Claude adds is words for what you like, and consistency across a dozen vendors.

Start with what you've already saved

Most couples have screenshots scattered across two phones. Put the best twenty or thirty in the inspiration folder, then add a handful to a chat. Claude reads JPEG, PNG, GIF and WebP images.

These are photos we've both saved (attached). Don't suggest a theme yet. Tell us what they have in common: colours, materials, light, how formal or relaxed they feel, the era they remind you of. Then tell us which two or three photos don't fit with the rest, and why.

The odd ones out are often the most useful answer. "Three of these are a black-tie ballroom and the rest are a farm" is a conversation to have now.

From a feel to a palette

From what these photos have in common, suggest three palettes of five colours each, with hex codes, and a name for each that says how it feels. For each, say where it would show up: flowers, linens, stationery, what the wedding party wears.

Then ask Claude to show you, not just tell you. An artifact is a small page or document Claude builds alongside the chat, on every plan. A palette board is a good use of one:

Make an artifact that shows the three palettes as swatches, side by side, with the hex codes, and a sample invitation heading in each so we can see the colours with type.

Check colours on a real screen and, for anything printed, against a printed proof. Screens lie about colour.

Write the briefs

Every design vendor (florist, stationer, cake baker, rentals) asks the same first question: what are you going for? A one-page brief answers it the same way for all of them.

Write a one-page design brief we can send to our florist and stationer. Include: the feel in two sentences, the palette with hex codes, three words we'd use and three we wouldn't, the venue and season, things we love from the photos, things to avoid, and our budget priority for this category (from the Details tab, in words, not numbers). Make it a Word document.

Claude can make Word documents, spreadsheets, slides and PDFs on every plan. You send the brief (chapter 6 again).

Ideas that fit the brief

When you're stuck, give Claude constraints rather than asking for ideas cold. Constraints get useful answers; "wedding theme ideas" gets a list you've already seen on every wedding site.

We're having a relaxed autumn wedding for about 100 people in a barn, our top priority is food, and we don't care about favors. Suggest five small touches that fit, cost little, and would mean something to our guests. Tell us which ones need a vendor and which we can do ourselves.

What Claude can't do here

It hasn't seen your venue in person, it doesn't know which flowers are in season near you this year, and it can't tell you what a florist can get or what it will cost. Ask the vendor. Treat Claude's suggestions as a starting point for the conversation with the people who'll make it.