Getting married is one of the biggest events in a person’s life. Each weekend an average of 44,230 weddings takes place. That’s a lot of people getting married, and a lot of people planning weddings that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
A key thing to remember here is that no two weddings are the same. Some people like to have their weddings planned for them, while others like to plan their weddings themselves. Lots of people plan DIY weddings, and they turn out absolutely beautiful in the end.
Are you thinking about having a DIY wedding? If so, here are 10 DIY wedding tips that will help you along the way.
Tip 1: Evaluate Your Workload
Before you start making any DIY plans, you should take an honest look at what you want your wedding to be like and determine if you have the time to take on the DIY workload. You may think planning a DIY wedding will be a breeze, but it takes a lot of time and dedication to pull one off.
Be honest with yourself before you start making any plans. How are you going to fit in your DIY wedding planning into your current schedule? Are you going to do it on your own, or will you ask your friends and family for help? A DIY wedding requires a lot of time and organization, so make sure you have the bandwidth to plan it.
Tip 2: Set A Budget
Before you start saving a bunch of DIY wedding tips, do yourself a favor and set a budget. A budget will help you track your spending and help you stay organized. Talk with your partner about what kind of money you want to spend on your DIY wedding.
Try your best to stick to this budget. Weddings can get expensive, and while DIY weddings can lower the bill a bit, unexpected expenses can pop up. Sticking to your budget will help you ease some of your financial stress. Plus, if you go under budget, you can take the rest of your budget money and use it elsewhere (like on your honeymoon.)
Tip 3: Look For Alternative Venues
Looking for alternative wedding venues is one of the most helpful DIY wedding tips, as your venue may have one of the highest price tags in the wedding. If you don’t want to drop money on a venue, see if you can plan a backyard wedding. You could use your own backyard, or ask a close friend or family member if you could have it in their backyard.
There are a number of factors to consider when planning a backyard wedding. You’ll need to consider your guest list, the location, and the time of year you’re planning your wedding. You should also look into a wedding rental service if you want a backyard wedding. You’ll need tents, tables, chairs, and other setup items.
Keep in mind, though, that backyard weddings also have their drawbacks. You may not be able to get everything in the backyard to fit your wedding’s theme. For example, you can’t exactly remove a wood fence from a backyard, but you can decorate it to fit your theme better. You may also need to invest in some landscaping work to be done before the big day.
If you don’t want a backyard wedding but also don’t want to spend a lot of money on a traditional venue, you could look for venues that offer reduced rates during their off season. The off-season venues may also be more flexible when hosting a DIY wedding, but that’s up to you and your venue contact to discuss. Keep in mind, though, that renting any kind of venue means you’re on the hook for any damages that may happen. If someone puts a hole in the wall or spills a cocktail on a persian rug that belongs to the venue, you will have to front the bill for restorations.
Tip 4: Create Your Own Invitations
Creating your own wedding invitations is one of those DIY wedding tips you may not expect to have a big impact, but does. Some people spend hundreds of dollars on wedding invitations that people put on their refrigerators for a few months and eventually throw away. That’s a lot of money to spend on something that people probably won’t keep.
Instead of spending the money to have your invitations done, you could create the invitations yourself. There are numerous websites you can use to design your wedding invitations for little to no cost. For instance, canva.com is a free design website that has a section specifically for wedding invitations. You can choose a template you like and customize it, or you can start one from scratch.
Tip 5: Make Your Decorations
One of the best DIY wedding tips is to create your own wedding decorations. Depending on your wedding’s theme and how big your wedding is, crafting your own decorations may seem overwhelming. How are you supposed to create all the decorations AND plan the entire wedding?
If you take this process one step at a time, you can get it done relatively stress-free. First, make a list of the decorations you need. Think about the tables, the dance floor, the aisle, the reception area, etc. Then, prioritize which decorations you’ll need to make by how important they are to your big day. The most crucial decorations should be made first, just in case you get crunched for time.
You don’t have to splurge on the materials for your decorations either. Make a list of the materials you’ll need and head to your nearest craft store. Pick up what you need, and keep the receipt in case you want to return anything.
If you have a lot of decorations to make, call in backup. Get some of your friends and family together once a week leading up to the wedding and work on the decorations together. Not only does this help get your decorations made faster, but it also gets your friends and family together for a fun night.
Tip 6: Make Your Own Bridal Look
A lot of brides opt to buy their wedding dresses and bridal jewelry. They also may hire someone to do their hair, makeup and nails on their big day. If you want to do something different, you could create your own bridal look for your big day.
If you don’t want to buy a dress, you could make your own. If you can’t make your own dress, you could look into having it made by a professional. You could do this same process with your wedding jewelry. If you can make it, do it. If you can’t, see if you know someone who can.
When it comes to DIY wedding tips, brides may not think of doing their own makeup, nails and hair. However, doing all this on your own can save you money. Plus, you’ll be in control of your look and can do whatever you’d like. If you want to change up your look at the last minute, you can. If you’re not sure how to do your own makeup, nails and hair, there are a lot of tutorials you can look up online.
Tip 7: Gather Your Own Flowers
Another place to save is on flowers, plus DIY wedding flowers can be fun to plan. First, you’ll need to pick the colors for your wedding, since your flowers should accent those colors. Then, you’ll want to choose what kind of flowers you want. The kind of flowers will depend on your theme, your color scheme, and the season you’re wedding is taking place in. Some flowers may not bloom in the same season as your wedding, so it may be more expensive to obtain them.
There are a few ways you could take care of your own flowers. First, you could go to a garden center or a flower shop to see if they have seeds for sale. Then, if the weather is right, you can plant them yourself. This will take a lot of coordination though, so do you research before you consider this option. If you don’t want to plant your own flowers, you could also buy the flowers from a local florist and arrange them yourself. Yes, you’ll still pay for the flowers, but you can arrange them in any way you’d like. You can arrange floral centerpieces, your bouquet, and your bridal party’s bouquets.
Tip 8: Assist With The Food
One of the most important things to decide on is the wedding catering. You may decide to have your wedding catered, but if you want the wedding to have more of a DIY feel to it, you could step in and assist with the food.
There are multiple steps you need to take when planning a DIY wedding menu. For starters, you need to decide what your main dish will be, and who will cook it. Perhaps you want to hire someone to cook the main course, but you want to handle the rest of the food. What kind of hors d’oeuvres do you want to make? Will you be making your own cake as well? Keep in mind that if you are making some (or all) of the food, you’ll also be responsible for storing it. You may want to invest in some soft side coolers so that you can safely store any extra food and transport it properly.
Another thing to remember when making the food for your wedding is that your guests may have allergies. You can tackle this situations a few ways. You could leave room on the RSVP cards for guests to write down if they have certain allergies. Or, you could layout what’s on your menu at the reception so that people with allergies can avoid anything they can’t eat.
Tip 9: Bring Your Own Booze
Catering your own alcohol is one of those DIY wedding tips that, if done right, can save you a lot of money. If you’re having a backyard wedding, catering your own alcohol will be pretty easy. All you have to do is buy the booze and serve it. However, if you’re renting a traditional venue, bringing your own alcohol could be a challenge.
A lot of venues have to abide by liquor laws that prohibit you from bringing in your own alcohol. If you have an open bar at one of these venues, you’ll be paying for the drinks. Depending on how much the venue charges, you could be facing a hefty bill. You could work with the venue to see if they have lax liquor laws. If they do, there’s a chance you could arrange to bring in your own liquor. Be careful with this, though. Venues typically follow liquor laws closely since they could face legal ramifications if they’re broken.
Tip 10: Create Your Own Favors
Wedding favors are your way of saying thank you to all your guests for taking the time to celebrate your big day. One of the best DIY wedding tips one can use is creating your own wedding favors for your guests and for your groom and bridal parties. You could make them custom wine glasses, koozies, homemade candles, or homemade goodie bags.
Creating your own wedding favors does two things. For starters, it saves you money. It’s less expensive to create your own favors than it is to go out and buy them. Also, it gives your guests something personal they can remember you and your big day by. Your guests may go to a lot of weddings and wind up getting the same kind of favors over and over again. However, if you make your own favors, your guests will get a unique gift that was made by someone who cares about them.
These DIY wedding tips are meant to help you plan a wedding that incorporates your personal touch. DIY weddings can be stressful to plan at times, but at the end of the day, they are worth it. You save money, you get to be creative with the planning, and you get to leave a lasting personal impression on your weddings guests. By following these DIY wedding tips, you’ll create an event that’s both beautiful and unforgettable.
