Stories from Your Wedding Friend - The Wedding Planner's Blog
There are many different styles of wedding, some based on budget, some based around particular themes or what your particular priority is. The weddings I love most are the ones where a couple create exactly what they want and have a free hand in making elements of it. But why do I love working on them?
The why is easy. Weddings of every style, size and price range are amazing and I love every wedding, but the reason I especially love working on DIY weddings is because the couple has invested so much time and effort in making them happen and I can make sure they reach the end of their big day thrilled and proud of those efforts.
If a couple decides their priority (after the nuptials) is to have made the most gorgeous table centres that they hand-made from things or ideas that are precious to them, then that's a DIY wedding. If a couple has called in favours from friends and family, that's a DIY. If a bride or groom decides to make their own stationery, or cake, or photobooth area, or décor, then that is a DIY wedding. You might not make more than one element of your wedding or you might want to make as much as possible, that is still a DIY wedding. And it will be brilliant. Anyone who considers themselves as DIYing their wedding is also a DIY wedding.
For me, it's all about the level of personalisation. Every couple goes through choosing each of the elements of their wedding, from colour scheme to which photographer to use, but DIY couples are all about the personal elements. Making sure they get or make exactly what they're hoping for.
And it's not just about the cost. For some it can be partly about the potential cost saving, but for most the cost is a secondary thought to making something that fits the vision. Having control of exactly how something looks and realising that there are somethings that can easily be done ourselves rather than leaving them to other people.
I've already mentioned a couple of ways you can DIY your wedding: stationery, table centres, cake or décor. One of the easiest DIY makes is wedding favours. These can be as simple or as complicated as you like; from chiffon bags of sweets to homemade candles and more. I've got lots of ideas on one of my many Pinterest boards (see the link below).
Here's the thing, I mentioned about cost savings earlier, I work with a lot of different suppliers so I've got a very good grasp on what suppliers charge for their services and whilst some things seem much cheaper to do yourself sometimes that's not actually the case. I can advise you on the best cost saving ideas and what extras might be included that you hadn't considered.
Many of the DIY couples I work with have time pressure issues, so I help them with on the day set ups and installing their DIY makes (often venues won't do everything for you). There's still planning worries to overcome in the lead up to the big day, which I offer all my couples. And you might still have some tricky wedding admin issues to deal with or something that's making you anxious - a bigger part of my help is around whatever is causing you the most sleepless nights, and that can vary from one month to the next. My help is not restricted to one thing, so what would help you most?