D-I-Why Why WHY???
This page is not necessarily to review how I did with my DIY's, but more so to give future brides a better idea of what may or may not be worth all the effort.
Ceremony Stuff
Flowers
Ugh. I don't even know where to start with these.
On one hand, I got a heck of a deal... I wanted plain white roses... nothing fancy. The lowest quote I received from a florist was still over $500... for ONLY the bouquets (1 bride, 1 moh, 5 bms and one toss)... pure insanity. I was able to order 200 gorgeous white roses from Sam's Club for $180. It was a STEAL!!! With all of the materials included (floral wire, floral tape, ribbon to wrap them, pins, etc), I spent less than $200 AND I had enough flowers to do all the boutineers, arrangements for the church and still had about 40 roses left over.
However... the down side is that this is, unfortunately, not the type of DIY project that can be done way in advance (as all good DIY projects should be). These must be assembled during crunch time. I ended up staying up until 2am the night before the wedding (and STILL was not completely done). I even had to wrap the last 2 while the limo was waiting in my driveway. My basement floor was covered in leaves and thorns, I was a maniac, It was a mess!!
Was it worth it? I really don't know. I wish I would have had a little more help in this department... I mean, I DID save $300... I DID have gorgeous flowers that no one would have guessed were (literally) thrown together in a matter of minutes the morning of the wedding... but I DID stress out quite a bit over them. I guess I would say that if you are crafty (practice ahead- with REAL flowers... seriously) and if you will have a handful of girls around to help out... then go for it. Otherwise, I would probably trust this one to the pros.
On one hand, I got a heck of a deal... I wanted plain white roses... nothing fancy. The lowest quote I received from a florist was still over $500... for ONLY the bouquets (1 bride, 1 moh, 5 bms and one toss)... pure insanity. I was able to order 200 gorgeous white roses from Sam's Club for $180. It was a STEAL!!! With all of the materials included (floral wire, floral tape, ribbon to wrap them, pins, etc), I spent less than $200 AND I had enough flowers to do all the boutineers, arrangements for the church and still had about 40 roses left over.
However... the down side is that this is, unfortunately, not the type of DIY project that can be done way in advance (as all good DIY projects should be). These must be assembled during crunch time. I ended up staying up until 2am the night before the wedding (and STILL was not completely done). I even had to wrap the last 2 while the limo was waiting in my driveway. My basement floor was covered in leaves and thorns, I was a maniac, It was a mess!!
Was it worth it? I really don't know. I wish I would have had a little more help in this department... I mean, I DID save $300... I DID have gorgeous flowers that no one would have guessed were (literally) thrown together in a matter of minutes the morning of the wedding... but I DID stress out quite a bit over them. I guess I would say that if you are crafty (practice ahead- with REAL flowers... seriously) and if you will have a handful of girls around to help out... then go for it. Otherwise, I would probably trust this one to the pros.
Programs
Another last minute DIY. Bad Monica!
We were unsure if one of our gm's would actually make it, so we waited until the last second to do these. In retrospect, I should have printed them weeks before and if he didn't make it... oh well.
I bought a simple DIY kit from Michael's (a tri-fold) and went to town. These were printing all morning while I was running around getting my hair done and messing with my flowers (as above). About 1/2 of them got misaligned and no one noticed in time to stop the printer. I was sooo upset, but at that point (hours before the wedding) there was nothing I could do.
This is a simple, cheap DIY pproject. Definitely worth doing yourself... just do it waaaay ahead of time and if things change... oh well... no one will notice but you.
We were unsure if one of our gm's would actually make it, so we waited until the last second to do these. In retrospect, I should have printed them weeks before and if he didn't make it... oh well.
I bought a simple DIY kit from Michael's (a tri-fold) and went to town. These were printing all morning while I was running around getting my hair done and messing with my flowers (as above). About 1/2 of them got misaligned and no one noticed in time to stop the printer. I was sooo upset, but at that point (hours before the wedding) there was nothing I could do.
This is a simple, cheap DIY pproject. Definitely worth doing yourself... just do it waaaay ahead of time and if things change... oh well... no one will notice but you.
Unity Candle
This only took me about 10 minutes. Vellum paper, meet printer. New pretty vellum paper, meet candle and ribbon. Voila.
I thought it was a nice touch and only cost maybe an extra $1. No big deal.
I thought it was a nice touch and only cost maybe an extra $1. No big deal.
Aisle Runner
Not pictured? yup. That's because I scrapped the idea a few weeks before the wedding. I went through a serious "OMG I am terrified that I am going to trip and fall down the aisle" phase and tried to eliminate anything that might perpetuate that, aisle runner (and shoes) included.
The WC at the church actually told me it was a good idea as she has seen girls stumble over their runner.
Part of me wishes I would have done it anyway... my friend Kara did one and it looked so neat... but the other part is just glad I made it down the aisle without falling on my face. Moral of the story: if you are anywhere near as ::sarcasm font:: graceful ::end sarcasm font:: as me, I'd skip it too.
The WC at the church actually told me it was a good idea as she has seen girls stumble over their runner.
Part of me wishes I would have done it anyway... my friend Kara did one and it looked so neat... but the other part is just glad I made it down the aisle without falling on my face. Moral of the story: if you are anywhere near as ::sarcasm font:: graceful ::end sarcasm font:: as me, I'd skip it too.
Ring Bearer Pillow & Flower Girl Basket
Another relatively cheap, quick and easy project.This was one of the very first DIY projects I completed, shortly after we decided on colors. *Actually I should note the hubby did the RB pillow. Isn't he awesome?
Anyway, they turned out pretty cute and cost less than 1/2 of the cheapest ones I saw at Michael's. I would definitely recommend DIY-ing this one.
Anyway, they turned out pretty cute and cost less than 1/2 of the cheapest ones I saw at Michael's. I would definitely recommend DIY-ing this one.
Attire & Accessories
"I do" Shoes
I was totally obsessed with my super awesome purple shoes. I also spent a few $ to put "I do" in green Swarovski crystal on the bottom.
I went barefoot.
I actually did wear the shoes for a little while during the reception, but even if I wore them for the ceremony, do one would have seen them because of my super long train.
Worth it? Ehh... I still love them and can't bring myself to selll them... so I guess so. It was super easy, only took about 5 minutes and only cost about $5 extra. I am hoping to show them off during my TTD shoot this fall... then they will officially be "worth it".
I went barefoot.
I actually did wear the shoes for a little while during the reception, but even if I wore them for the ceremony, do one would have seen them because of my super long train.
Worth it? Ehh... I still love them and can't bring myself to selll them... so I guess so. It was super easy, only took about 5 minutes and only cost about $5 extra. I am hoping to show them off during my TTD shoot this fall... then they will officially be "worth it".
"Mrs" Hoodie
Ohh.... I so loved my hoodie too. If I could find an excuse to wear my purple shoes and Mrs hoodie every day, I would be a happy girl.
This darn hoodie took me HOURS!! I didn't really "get" Hotfix crystals at first, so that was part of the disaster. Also, I can be a bit of a perfectionist... which did not work in my favor.
Price-wise, I would say it cost about $30... cheaper than buying it... but it did take a long, long time. IF you decide to do one, definitely do NOT waste your money on the Swarovski crystals... just buy the cheapies from Michael's (the only reason I bought the real deal for the shoes is because I wanted green and they didn't sell green in bulk at Michaels). It probably took about 200 crystals which would have cost about $15-$20 for the Swarovski. I bought a large package of clear hotfix crystals for $7, the hoodie as a set w/ pants from Marshall's for $15 and the Hotfix applicator for $9... not too bad.
I wore this on the morning of the wedding (even though it was hot as heck... I wanted to show off my hard work and craftiness)... but it was actually perfect to bring on the plane to/from our honeymoon! I always get cold on airplanes, so I was very happy to get to wear it again.
If I had it to do over again, I probably would have just bought one off etsy.... but again, this was one of my very early DIY projects, so not too much stress/pressure at the time.
This darn hoodie took me HOURS!! I didn't really "get" Hotfix crystals at first, so that was part of the disaster. Also, I can be a bit of a perfectionist... which did not work in my favor.
Price-wise, I would say it cost about $30... cheaper than buying it... but it did take a long, long time. IF you decide to do one, definitely do NOT waste your money on the Swarovski crystals... just buy the cheapies from Michael's (the only reason I bought the real deal for the shoes is because I wanted green and they didn't sell green in bulk at Michaels). It probably took about 200 crystals which would have cost about $15-$20 for the Swarovski. I bought a large package of clear hotfix crystals for $7, the hoodie as a set w/ pants from Marshall's for $15 and the Hotfix applicator for $9... not too bad.
I wore this on the morning of the wedding (even though it was hot as heck... I wanted to show off my hard work and craftiness)... but it was actually perfect to bring on the plane to/from our honeymoon! I always get cold on airplanes, so I was very happy to get to wear it again.
If I had it to do over again, I probably would have just bought one off etsy.... but again, this was one of my very early DIY projects, so not too much stress/pressure at the time.
Reception Stuff
Centerpieces and Table Numbers
I started these about 10 months before the wedding, not really knowing exactly what I was doing. I wanted to save some $$ by using non-floral centerpieces and since our venue was a winery I figured I would just do "something" with wine bottles.
This was a true labor of love. I cleaned and de-labeled each bottle (after enjoying many of them with friends, lol). I went through a few diferent tools and techniques (trial and error process) to cut them. I tried a few different fillers (corks, grapes, rose petals, combinations of the 3)... and finally settled on corks and petals for the centerpieces and full bottles of wine for the table names. All in all I probably logged well over 100 hours into these bad boys.
Was it worth it? Well, yes. I started way WAY early and had plenty of time. It cost very little $$, just lots of elbow grease and sticky fingers. I was happy with how they turned out (and even happier that I wasn't paying $50-$100 per table for flower centerpieces that were going to be dead before I even came back from my honeymoon).
I would absolutely recommend DIY centerpieces and table names/numbers. Start early, take your time and once you commit to a style/idea- stick it out!! Don't change your mind and re-do everything. That will make you crazy!!
This was a true labor of love. I cleaned and de-labeled each bottle (after enjoying many of them with friends, lol). I went through a few diferent tools and techniques (trial and error process) to cut them. I tried a few different fillers (corks, grapes, rose petals, combinations of the 3)... and finally settled on corks and petals for the centerpieces and full bottles of wine for the table names. All in all I probably logged well over 100 hours into these bad boys.
Was it worth it? Well, yes. I started way WAY early and had plenty of time. It cost very little $$, just lots of elbow grease and sticky fingers. I was happy with how they turned out (and even happier that I wasn't paying $50-$100 per table for flower centerpieces that were going to be dead before I even came back from my honeymoon).
I would absolutely recommend DIY centerpieces and table names/numbers. Start early, take your time and once you commit to a style/idea- stick it out!! Don't change your mind and re-do everything. That will make you crazy!!
Candy Bar
I purchased lots of really neat looking jars for this pretty early on in my planning. I always scouted the clearance aisles at Marshall's and TJ Max looking for cute stuff and grabbed one here, one there, so it never really *felt* like I spent a lot. I even found a few nice jars at the Salvation Army.
The problem was the candy. Did you know that there actually are not many varieties of purple candy? Who'da thunk?
I checked a few places online that sold bulk candy, but I was being cheap and did not want to spend $10+ a pound for sixlets or whatever. I got very frustrated. The candy bar was our favor and I didn't have a back up plan. I also wanted our wedding colors (purple, silver, white).. THIS was a problem. 2 days before the wedding, my mom and I drove all over Syracuse trying to hunt down purple, white and silver candy. We ended up finding some random stuff (taffy, Hershey Kisses, jelly beans, etc)... but it wasn't the grand candy monstrosity that I had envisioned.
I never actually saw the candy bar... it was up and gone in a matter of linutes (thanks in part to a few wild sugar-high children). The guests that did see it, say they really enjoyed it. I wish we would have done better with the candy... wish I would have just sucked it up and ordered online... ahead of time.
Worth it? Yes. They loved it, which made me happy. Just remember... go big or go home! I felt really terrible for the guests that didn't get any because it was gone in the blink of an eye.
The problem was the candy. Did you know that there actually are not many varieties of purple candy? Who'da thunk?
I checked a few places online that sold bulk candy, but I was being cheap and did not want to spend $10+ a pound for sixlets or whatever. I got very frustrated. The candy bar was our favor and I didn't have a back up plan. I also wanted our wedding colors (purple, silver, white).. THIS was a problem. 2 days before the wedding, my mom and I drove all over Syracuse trying to hunt down purple, white and silver candy. We ended up finding some random stuff (taffy, Hershey Kisses, jelly beans, etc)... but it wasn't the grand candy monstrosity that I had envisioned.
I never actually saw the candy bar... it was up and gone in a matter of linutes (thanks in part to a few wild sugar-high children). The guests that did see it, say they really enjoyed it. I wish we would have done better with the candy... wish I would have just sucked it up and ordered online... ahead of time.
Worth it? Yes. They loved it, which made me happy. Just remember... go big or go home! I felt really terrible for the guests that didn't get any because it was gone in the blink of an eye.
Bathroom Baskets
This is a sensitive subject.
I spent close to $20 for each bathroom basket and did my darndest to stock them with anything and everything a girl/guy in distress might want/need. I had mouthwash, breath mints, Wisps (which are freaking awesome, btw), lotion, Tide-to-go, sewing kit, aspirin, tums, tampons, pads, hairspray, hand sanitizer... you name it.
I heard they were empty before dinner... and I KNOW that there is no way it was all used. I am still really irritated about this and if I could figure out who felt the need to take everything from the baskets and dump it inot their purse, we would have words.
I thought I was doing a really sweet, thoughtful thing for my guests... and I think they would have really appreciated it... but sadly, I don't think many of them even got a chance to enjoy the fruits of my labor on this one.
I spent close to $20 for each bathroom basket and did my darndest to stock them with anything and everything a girl/guy in distress might want/need. I had mouthwash, breath mints, Wisps (which are freaking awesome, btw), lotion, Tide-to-go, sewing kit, aspirin, tums, tampons, pads, hairspray, hand sanitizer... you name it.
I heard they were empty before dinner... and I KNOW that there is no way it was all used. I am still really irritated about this and if I could figure out who felt the need to take everything from the baskets and dump it inot their purse, we would have words.
I thought I was doing a really sweet, thoughtful thing for my guests... and I think they would have really appreciated it... but sadly, I don't think many of them even got a chance to enjoy the fruits of my labor on this one.
Dancing Shoes
This was probably my #1 DIY project. To this day, I still have people telling me how awesome it was and how much they appreciated it.
I nabbed the flip flops during the middle of winter when they were only fifty cents each... plus I had a 10% off coupon. Score!!! I bought about 40 pairs and had like 5 left over. They LOVED them and I was soooo happy that my work paid off.
Worth it? Abso-freaking-lutely!!! As a girl who loves cute heels... I was thrilled at the last wedding I went to that also had a flip flop basket.
I nabbed the flip flops during the middle of winter when they were only fifty cents each... plus I had a 10% off coupon. Score!!! I bought about 40 pairs and had like 5 left over. They LOVED them and I was soooo happy that my work paid off.
Worth it? Abso-freaking-lutely!!! As a girl who loves cute heels... I was thrilled at the last wedding I went to that also had a flip flop basket.