Wedding DIY's- Part 1

Wedding DIY's- Part 1

If you are planning an inexpensive wedding, doing certain things yourself is the way to save a lot of money. 

DIY=Do It Yourself has gained popularity in the past years. It's gained popularity for being able to recreate dupes of things with a high price tag, for a fraction of the cost.

Here are some tips to consider when DIYing your wedding:

How creative are you?

Do you or a loved one have the talent to create the project? You don't want to invest in materials and start doing a project just to hate the outcome (sometimes to the point of throwing it all away). Also, even if you are talented in 2D art but have no experience in woodwork, it would not be wise to plan to build an altar frame or wood lanterns.

It's OK to Ask for Help

You will have to invest a lot of time into these projects. If you have a helping hand (or more), it will help you cut the time to a fraction. Furthermore, this could help you keep your sanity and move onto something else.

Is it worth it? 

Will this project cost more to make than it will be to buy/rent? It's important to factor in the cost of materials and compare it to how much it would cost to buy or rent.

Not all DIY projects are cost-effective. Also, will you be able to use this DIY later? Maybe in your new home or be able to resell it.

Does it fit into your budget?

There are many cute DIYs out there, but not all are necessary for your wedding. They may not fit into your wedding vision or may not be needed at all. It's important to consider their importance and contribution.

You don't want to spend money on something that you didn't need. For example, if you make a sign for directions at your wedding reception venue, but your venue is easy to navigate. Yes, they are cute and make for a cute photo, but money could've been saved.

Time, time, time.

Plan for these projects to take you days, even weeks!

Plan to buy the materials, to make the DIY project, months before your wedding. This is especially true if you are a college student. You don't want these DIYs to interfere with your school work.

The Look of DIY

Most of these projects will have a "homemade look", and you have to accept this fact. It's not very likely that your DIY projects will look the same as someone who does those projects for a living.

The Limit

Limit the number of DIY projects you are doing for your wedding. This is for your sanity and your time...unless you are going for this as a theme. As said before, you most likely have school and/or work, which should be a priority.

Some people say to do 20%-40% of your wedding.

Now below are certain DIY's I've found helpful in regards to none-floral items (although some floral is used in some videos for aesthetics). There will be a separate post for that (i.e. centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, etc.).

Invitations & paper

There are many YouTube video tutorials on how to make your own wedding invitations. You can make them with a Cricut (if you or a friend has one), buy a custom stamp, use Canva, or simply use a Wedding Chicks and fill in the info. Below are some ways to customize printable invitations depending on your wedding style.

Signs

Signs are a fun way to customize your wedding and how you communicate with your guests. This can be used on your Welcome sign, your table numbers, Bar sign, etc. 

Like above, this can be done from an online design website and simply print them at your local print shop. The other option is to do them yourself if you or a friend are talented in calligraphy or faux calligraphy is to DIY them.

The beauty about this is that you can customize the surface you do it on. You can write on any paper, wood, ribbon, leaves, glass, etc. Below is a video on how to do a wood sign.

Tables

Your table settings and what decor you use are also ways to customize and DIY. You can do your table numbers from wood numbers, put them on frames, put them on frames with a background picture of you and your husband, etc. You can also add other elements for decoration other than flowers. Below are some cute alternative ways to set your tables.

Seating Charts

This is very helpful if you want to do a Mirror Seating Chart or even write it out on a piece of wood or a picture frame. It's important that you practice your calligraphy months in advance and have your design ready.

Other DIY

There are many other DIYs out there that you can plan to do.

I. This is perfect for backyard weddings! You have time to set-up and play with the position of these DIYs. If you are having it at a venue, ask the venue coordinator what are the lighting options and rules.

II. This is a super quick and easy way to create your own photobooth (and save up hundreds of dollars!). You can save the pictures and send them to your guests at a later time, have a social network set-up (like in the video), or link to a photo printer so your guests can have a physical copy.

III. If you want to customize this backdrop, you can add flowers, monograms, ribbon, etc.

IV. Although more expensive, this option is beautiful! You can leave it as it is or add monogrammed letters to customize it.

Please leave a comment or questions below and read my other posts to learn more about having a budget-friendly wedding.