During my wedding back in 2004, I was one of those brides that decided to do a DIY wedding. My decision to embark on DIY was fueled behind two reasons: first, I had a limited budget and second, I wanted to personalize my wedding by reflecting my personality, my Filipino culture and my husband’s French-Canadian background.
The projects that I personally did are as follows:
– I made my own invitations using Japanese hand-made paper for my invitation, as well as my stationeries and programs
– I designed my own seating chart and used a local printer to print and mat on a board
– I made my own chair sashes, using tulle purchased from the Philippines, which helped me save more than half the cost if I were to buy the material here
Chair Sashes
– For my bridal party, I purchased flowers from a wholesale local florist and I made all the bouquets.
Floral Bouquets
– Lastly, for my guest favors, I wanted reflect my Filipino heritage. I bought heart shaped jewelry cases made of capiz shell, purchased all the way from the Philippines. I finished it off by adorning each case with mini-silk roses. As for trying to reflect my husband’s French-Canadian background, I purchased small bottles of maple syrup, harvested from a farm in Quebec.
Guest Favors
Through DIY, I was able to convey everything that I wanted my guests to know about my husband and I and the most important goal accomplished, I was able to have the wedding I had always dreamed of even when faced with budget limitations.
The millennial is the year of the DIY. These Millennials believe that creativity is the most important trait in their generation; they value handcrafted items. You have the likes of Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray, Lauren Conrad and Tori Spelling to name a few that made DIYing such a big phenomenon.
DIYers come from all walks of life – rich, poor, young, old, male, female, religious, non-believer and more. People do DIY projects for different reasons. It can serve as a creative outlet to show their personality and to tell a story. Some people do it to be eco-friendly by using sustainable products in the hopes of saving the environment. In some cases, people DIY to save money and to make money by using websites like Etsy to sell their handcrafted items. On the other hand, there are some individuals that do DIY as an ethical objection to buying from major corporations. And then you have the “life hackers” – individuals that find ingenious solutions on making everyday life a little easier.
DIY does not have to be daunting projects and not all DIY projects are cheap. Not everybody is especially crafty but there is an abundance of easy to follow instructions that make the process easier. Though DIY’s are great money savers, they can also be epic fails. Here are some things to keep in mind before you embark on a DIY project…
- Have a mock-up of your project
- Do a test run – buy materials enough for one sample to see if it is what you envisioned and easy enough to do.
- Calculate the entire cost of the DIY project – is it cheaper to do a DIY or just buying an in-store product much cheaper. Remember, you need to factor the hours you put in.
- When buying materials, don’t be shy to use coupons. So start clipping!!
- Limit your DIY projects – You probably have a dozen DIY projects looming in your head… don’t take on more than you can handle
- Don’t leave your DIY projects to do 2 weeks before your event and expect your wedding SOS team (aka bridesmaids) to clean up your mess. And lastly, the most important thing to remember,
- Know what to DIY and what you should leave to the professionals – there are special elements in your wedding that only professionals can deliver outstanding results. Don’t ask Uncle Bob to take your wedding photos with a lens attachment on his IPhone 4s. Your wedding photos are the most important souvenir you can have on your big day.
Here are some of my DIY projects:
To view more of my photos and projects, follow me on Instagram.
Happy Crafting!!!
Just me,
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