Everyone knows that throwing a party for 100+ of your closest family and friends can get very expensive very quickly. Incredible vendors with years of experience, tons of talent, and prices to match will do their best to make your Wedding Day the most special and beautiful that it could possibly be. If you budget doesn’t allow for that, there are some small projects that you and your trusty wedding party can take on to lower some costs and have some fun! Be careful not to take on too much though, things can get out of hand pretty quickly especially for unseasoned DIYers and those with large guest lists.
Let’s start at the beginning, with one of the most common and simple DIY projects a couple can take on: Wedding Invitations. There is a huge array of options available for the couple that doesn’t want to go the traditional invitation designer route- bonus points if you have graphic design experience. Website like Canva (www.canva.com) allow anyone to create their own graphic design for free, or a small fee to use some of the software’s pictures and designs, or internet-based services like VistaPrint (www.vistaprint.ca) give you access to invitation designs and an array of printing options at a fraction of the price of a traditional invitation designer. The sky is the limit with DIY invitations- you can create anything you dream up from a traditional look to a more niche theme.
If you are having a somewhat smaller affair and have a dedicated bridal party, another way to save some money is to go DIY with your centerpieces. Go to the local hardware store, the local flower market and Voila! You have centerpieces! Carve out some time in the afternoon the day before the big day, gather together your dedicated team and have an assembly line to put together beautiful center pieces of simple flowers in mason jars. If you don’t have a dedicated team of minions to help with your centerpiece DIY project, a simple fix is to pick something that represents your theme, collect it beforehand and use that as your focus- i.e. for a beach theme use seashells, if you love literature collect old books and stage them!
Another popular DIY project is the DIY wedding favor. Making your own wedding favors is a great way to use your special talents to save money and personalize your wedding, if you love to make your own preserves and jam or sauce why not make a huge batch dole it out in small jars? Love to bake? Send your guests home with Cakepops from your own kitchen! If mixology is more your calling, you can even bottle small personalized cocktails for your guests. All you really need is the time and inspiration to make it happen.
EXTRAS: FOR THE DEDICATED DIYER
Two of the most expensive things couples spend their money on for a wedding reception are the flowers and the photography. If your budget is really tight and you’re looking for ways to cut back on big costs you can make a DIY bridal bouquet using food coloring and coffee filters (tutorial here) and a photo booth for your guests to snap their own funny pics (tutorial here).
HAPPY DIY-ING!
- Allie