So unless you live under a rock, you should know all about sites like Etsy and Wedzu for shopping handmade. Mostly likely you are also aware, if not addicted, to Pinterest for all your online ‘pinning’ needs. Each of these sites serves a purpose and can be super helpful to anyone planning a wedding. So what if there was a site that combined the ability to create virtual inspiration boards but also shop directly from the items you bookmarked? I give you… Cloud Parade.
Cloud Parade from Cloud Parade on Vimeo.
Cloud Parade is a pretty new site that lets you design and shop your wedding from one site. After using Etsy for so long, it takes a little while to get used to the navigation and where to find everything but I think this newly launched site shows a lot of promise. Essentially when you sign up, you can start saving items to your various clouds. (Similar to your boards in Pinterest). You can also view other people’s clouds. See something you like and want to buy? No need to worry about a broken link to the original source.. Cloud Parade is the source so you can just click and buy. Super easy.
The Cloud Parade home page highlights ‘featured products’, ‘featured vendors’, & ‘featured clouds’. At the very top you can go straight to the shops or view various clouds. If you want to customize your search a little more, they have an adorable pop down feature that lets you customize the search based on color, categories (favors, flowers, decor, and even services and rentals!), and style (bohemia, modern, rustic etc) There is also your standard search bar for simply typing in what you are looking for.
Since this site is pretty new, I don’t expect it to be perfect. There are a few things that lack some of the intuitive nature that Etsy has grown into. I think this will change. As more people use the site, I am sure the folks at Cloud Parade will received feedback and continue to improve the site. Also, since the site is new, there aren’t a ton of shops to go through… however the ones on the site seem to be pretty top notch. Besides, you have less to sort through making it easier to find what you need.
Have you used cloud parade? Let me know what you think.