By : Devin Morrissey
A do-it-yourself wedding can be a great way to save money and make your wedding more personal. However, sometimes a DIY wedding isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: it can require more time, planning, and frustration on the part of the bride and groom. Sometimes, what you imagine will save you money ends up costing a lot more than it would to have a professional handle it. When you’re planning on implementing some DIY in your wedding planning, it’s important to make a plan. By looking into some ideas on DIY options and tips, you can pick and choose which DIY options are right for you and make a plan to implement them in your wedding.
Wedding Favors
Wedding favors are created so that your guests have a memento of their time celebrating your marriage. Sometimes favors come as beer koozies, mints, candy, cups, etc. For big weddings, favors can get expensive. To save some money, and make your favors a bit more personal, you might consider some DIY options for your favors.
- DIY box of candy: Making a DIY wedding favor box is cheap, but tedious. Make your own boxes with your wedding colors, fill them with Hershey’s Kisses, and write a rhyming thank-you card with some ribbon, and you’ll have your own DIY wedding favor box of candy for your guests.
- Homemade cookies: This option is one you can do with the help of some family members. Since you might want to make them shortly before your wedding day, family might be useful because you’ll probably be busy. Either way, homemade cookies are a really personal gift for your guests.
- Packages of seeds: Buy some bulk wildflower seeds and create little packages of them to give to your guests. Add a note about watching their flowers grow as your marriage unfolds and you have a great personal DIY wedding favor for your guests.
Flowers
Flowers can be a really expensive aspect of your wedding. Flowers are commonly used for centerpieces, bouquets, decor, and boutineers. Fortunately, there are many different ways to go about implementing DIY flowers in your wedding.
- Flower alternatives: One way to DIY your wedding flowers is to create some DIY flower alternatives. Instead of flower centerpieces, choose candles. Instead of bouquets, have bridesmaids hold fans or lanterns.
- Paper flowers: Paper flowers are a fun alternative to all of your wedding flowers. Find a pattern that you can master and create customized bouquets, decor, and centerpieces that won’t wilt and are much more cost effective.
- Grow your own: Skip a florist and plant your own flowers! Just be sure to find some hearty flowers that will be bloomed and healthy during your wedding.
- Fake flowers: Get the same aesthetic by using fake flowers instead of real flowers to save on money and worry keeping them alive and healthy. This used to be frowned upon, but it’s now one of the many wedding taboos you can feel free to ignore.
Invitations
Invitations can be pricey, so some couples opt to create their own. This option is one of the DIY activities that will take a significant amount of time, especially if you have a big wedding. However, if you have a smaller wedding that can help keep the occasion low-key, this option might be really helpful. Some helpful tips that can help you to create DIY invitations that still seem elegant are:
- Learn some calligraphy tips: Researching the basics of calligraphy can go a long way to making your DIY invites seem extremely professional. It’s not as hard to learn as you might think!
- Use nice paper: Using normal computer paper isn’t going to work, but getting some nice, thick, beautiful paper will help your designs feel professional.
- Keep it simple: When you’re creating your own invites, don’t make more work for yourself by including multiple inserts, envelopes, and cards. Keep it simple.
Services
There are a ton of services you’ll need for your wedding. These services include bartenders, caterers, an officiant, photographer, hair, makeup, planner, DJ, driver, etc. It’s not technically “DIY,” but you might consider looking towards your inner circle for these services instead of hiring a professional. Your family may be able to provide these services for a lot cheaper than you may be able to get professionally.
For instance, you may consider a potluck style menu for an intimate and casual wedding. If you have a friend that bakes, a friend of a friend who enjoys photography, or an aunt that is great with hair and makeup, these may be options for you. It’s not exactly DIY, but it’s another option when planning the services needed for your wedding.
Make a Plan
Deciding on using some DIY tips for your wedding involves some planning. Go through the things you need for your wedding and decide the things you realistically want to DIY. Pick the things that are realistic both in ability and in your timeframe. Find the things that matter to you the most and prioritize them. Make a plan and set deadlines. DIY becomes a nightmare when you realize you have 100 boxes to make in two weeks, so avoid those issues by making a plan. Create one project per month until the wedding to spread things out. Contact any relatives you will be helping way ahead of time and your DIY plans will go a lot smoother.
There are plenty of opportunities within wedding planning to to implement some do-it-yourself skills. The key is to realize what is worth DIYing and what isn’t. Don’t stretch yourself too thin or stress yourself out too much when it comes to making things yourself. Sometimes, the price is worth the relaxation of not worrying about it yourself. Find the right DIY options for you, look into some alternatives for wedding services, and make a plan. Your wedding can have a personal touch that sits better with your budget through some easy DIY wedding tips.
