Starting out planning your wedding can be pretty intimidating. Choosing your themes, color schemes and “branding” will set the tone of the whole event. We sat down with Andra Christianson of Andra Delores Design to pick her brain about the process she uses to get started on designing for a wedding.

1. START WITH YOU

The first thing to do is figure out, well, what you want. This seems simple because it is. Sometimes it’s as easy as having a conversation with someone who doesn’t know you (your wedding planner or designer might be perfect for this) about where you met, what you do together, how your families are, etc. If you’re a couple of partiers, you probably aren’t going to want to use formal, scripty fonts and black and white, and if you like classic and fancy you probably don’t want bright colors and Comic Sans. (Well, actually no one wants Comic Sans.)

2. FIND INSPIRATION

Christianson suggests creating a “mood board” with different colors, themes and textures that draw you in. Don’t stick to other weddings, either. Maybe you’re drawn to certain paintings or nature photographs or outfits that will say something about what you’re looking for.

3. IT’S 2014. USE WHAT’S THERE

There’s no way you’re planning a wedding and haven’t heard of Pinterest. The pinboard website is a great tool for compiling items and finding others lists and the open, visual presentation of it should help you pick things out.

4. FIND CONNECTIONS (OR HAVE OTHERS HELP)

Take a look at your mood boards and figure out what those connections are. This will give you a good basis to start planning. Connections can be in colors, textures, or even just moods. Again, sometimes it’s easiest to have someone else look for you – they may find something you would’ve completely missed.

5. DON’T WORRY, THINGS CHANGE

Christenson said often brides and grooms will come to her thinking they know exactly what they want, but once they start to go through the process they find an even better theme they had never thought of. It’s better to figure it out early than when you’re already halfway through all your planning.

What about Your Own Wedding Logo?

A popular trend in recent years is to have your own personal wedding logo. The moniker can appear on invitations, placeholders and even throughout the reception space to give the wedding a more cohesive, fancy feel without a lot of extra work or dough.