The average cost of an American wedding is currently $30,000. If that number makes you shutter just a little bit, there is hope. The amazing thing about weddings is that so much of the decorations can be DIY.
When doing a DIY wedding, the tricky question is figuring out what you want to make and buy.
Setting Priorities
The first step in deciding what should be made comes from sitting down with the bride and finding out her priorities. If she dreams of having beautiful wedding invites straight off Etsy, this is an area to buy. But maybe she doesn’t care if she has a DIY wedding arch. By examining the bride’s wants, it can help a lot to figure out what to do.
Don’t Forget the Groom
Another important person is the groom. Or maybe for your wedding you have two grooms or two brides. Either way, it is critical to have insight from both partners about what they would prefer to see at their wedding.
If you are one of those partners, make sure to take a moment and confirm with your partner about their desires.
Unavoidable
Unfortunately, there a couple of parts of the wedding decoration that can’t be DIY. For example, flowers are usually a necessary part of the wedding decor. Usually, flowers can range from $500 to $20,000.
Similarly, having a party favor is going to cost a little bit of money.
Another possible expense is having a beautiful signoff like with sparklers. One great site for ideas about how to use sparklers is https://www.brideenvy.com/wedding-sparklers-definitive-guide/. There is no way around the cost of the sparklers themselves, but it is one of those breathtaking moments that can make the wedding.
Beyond These Expenses
Yet, the truth is almost everything in a wedding can be DIY. You can find a DIY decoration for every theme between crafty blogs, Pinterest, and youtube. So how do you decide what to make?
Time
The first question is, how much time do you have to put towards making an item? For example, it can take about 30 minutes to an hour per centerpiece.
Number of Guests
How many guests are you going to be inviting? This number can help you figure out how many custom centerpieces or invites you will need to make.
This question works the other way, too; how much will it cost to print invites, and will it be cheaper just to make them yourself?
Your Crafty Level
Are you a mom who loves to craft? Or would you rather get everything at the store?
Depending on the wedding party’s craft level, making the decorations could be a fun project to do together.
Budget-Level
What does your budget look like? Do you need to save every penny, or is it better to spend some money on the more time-consuming projects like a DIY wedding arch?
Personal Strengths
What do your friends and family bring to the table? Do you have a florist in the family that can help with the DIY wedding bouquet?
Are you skilled at designing and the DIY wedding invites would be an easy step? Or, do computers scare you just a little bit?
The Answers
The answers to these questions and more are at the center of your decision. Yet, with all that said, some items might be a little more meaningful if you can make them yourselves.
DIY Wedding
If you decide to have a DIY wedding, you can personalize so much, from centerpieces to name cards. Here’s some suggestion on possible crafts.
Lovely Handkerchiefs
When you have these elegant handkerchiefs as canvases, the result is not just art. It is full of heart, too, with each embroidered and personalized for the groom, bride, and other attendees.
Lace and anything beautiful are never out of place in any wedding scene, and that includes your custom handkerchiefs as wedding gifts and accessories.
Centerpieces
There are so many cute centerpieces that can be homemade.
For example, you could buy cheap wooden boards and spray them with chalkboard paint. Then you could write a fun fact about the couple. Or maybe list a place that they had traveled to together. Place this next to a sprayed painted picture of the couple and a mason jar with some flowers, and you have a simple but elegant centerpiece.
Rustic Theme
If you have a more rustic theme wedding, you might want to buy a nice piece of wood. All you need to do is sand it down and cover it with a nice wood stain; then, you can paint a meaningful message.
Or you can have their family members put a painted handprint on the board so they could have a future decoration. It could be a sweet way to remember that two families are becoming one with this wedding.
Name Cards
One fun way to personalize the wedding is to make a simple name card. All you need is some white card stock and some nice black pens. Then, you can have fun using your beautiful calligraphy skills to write each guest’s name.
To make it even more crafty, you could buy some stamps to add a decorative touch.
Their Wedding
In the end, this wedding is about two individuals who are getting married. The wedding decorations should represent their wants.
Yet, no matter your role in this wedding, it is important that you don’t get burned out. It is okay to recognize your limitations and buy those items that are outside your comfort zone.
For the items, you decided to DIY, have fun with them and get friends and family involved to make the wedding even more meaningful.
Make Your Game Plan
No matter where you are at in your wedding process, sit down today and figure out your plan for wedding decorations.
If you decided to go with a DIY Wedding, check out our other blog ideas for more help.
