Short: Creating a Composition

Our wedding is approaching soon and it's been fun figuring out all the various pieces we need, but also how to put them together and make them fit. Since I was little, I've always liked arranging pieces together, whether they be crayon drawings, CAD, or rearranging the furniture in our bedroom every weekend (I don't do this anymore...at least not as frequently). As I got older, I learned terms to describe how things fit together like "rule of thirds", complimentary colors, etc, etc. It's funny though, when I'm thinking about how to arrange things, I still don't think of the terms. It's still like pieces floating in front of me that I mentally push and pull - a little over to the right, a tad to the left. 

What helps me sometimes is to start first in monochrome and lay out the shapes and sizes. Establish the focus. Then add in the surrounding pieces to give it more interest. Draw the background and foreground to give it depth.

Then I'll add in the color. Some areas brighter, some areas dimmer than others to draw focus where I want it and balance where I need it.