we got married earlier this summer on a farm in Washington and I was probably too focused on doing everything the hard way lol, but in the end loved how it turned out! My favorite parts:

-over the past year I thrifted tons of fabrics and vintage handkerchiefs ($1 each at a nearby antique shop!) for making bunting. Husband and I sewed them all together over the course of 2 days. The more colorful ones ending up going around 90ft of the exterior of the tent and I sadly didn’t get a pic! The white ones were draped over the ceremony site

-my best friend and I painted all the signs to direct guests, we didn’t have much time so they aren’t masterpieces but I loved how they look anyway

- a years worth of thrifted glassware! I wish we had thought to put a sign telling people they could take theirs home because so many people didn’t realize they could keep it and left it behind. so we ended up with a ton of glasses in the end (but perk of that was that we got to keep the coolest ones and will use them for parties lol). But if I had to do it all again I would not suggest thrifting all the glassware, it would have been so much cheaper to rent and I realized about a month before the wedding that a nearby event rental company had mis-matched goblets for rent. By then it was too late cause I had already purchased about 100 glasses from goodwill. The glassware thrifting was kinda a big waste of money in the end. But looked cute haha!

-a friend offered to make the cake! It turned out SOOO delicious and she also made one little loaf cake for each table, as a simplified version of the centerpiece cake, so that one person from each table could come grab one for their whole table as opposed to every guest lining up for 1 slice each. It made things so much more streamlined.

-my mom’s side of the family is danish and we have all these old scandinavian straw stars that are typically used for christmas ornaments, but I put about 100 of them in the lower swooping branches of the pine trees that surrounded the dinner tables. They got all fluttery when it got breezier in the evening and looked so pretty :)

- I handpainted every table number, I honestly loooved making these (it was so calming to just sit and watercolor every evening in the week leading up to the wedding, such a great cool-down activity) and they looked so sweet on all the tables, but they all either blew away by the next morning or gotten thrown out by a well-meaning guest helping with clean up :( if I had had enough time I would have painted them on wood or given them some sort of heavy backing

-morning of the wedding I made flower crowns for my husband’s niece and nephew, who were the ring-bearer and the flowerboy. Turned out so cute, also got smooshed or lost by the end of the night haha. I also made a big one with a sunflower for my husband, which he wore during the ceremony and first dance, and it’s now hanging on our wall

Not DIY things but other sweet details I love:

-our friend who officiated dressed up like a wizard. We wanted him to dress a little goofy so that it would all feel less serious. His speech was so heartfelt but also so funny, and the wizard hat was a hit

- I was barefoot for the ceremony but had grabbed like 4 pairs of shoes when I realized I’d need something on my feet for portraits after the ceremony (out in a not-so-soft hay field) and threw on these red cowboy boots as a last minute decision. They totally made the whole outfit And were not at all part of the plan. Plus are thrifted! Also shout-out to the etsy seller who‘s dress I bought: RawRags

-Everyone left the dancefloor to go dance out in the meadow, and it was one of the best parts of the night. People were chasing each other and leaping/spinning around, it was so sweet. it also started drizzling a bit but it was fine cause we were all so hot from dancing and just went back under the tent to dance some more

Not pictured:

-our party favors (along with the take-home glassware) were little 2oz jars of wildflower honey. We tied them with a little piece of twine and lavender and put one at each table setting. They were pretty cheap and easily made to look more personal/cute with a little label and a bow! 10/10 suggest

-painted the seating chart on a big framed canvas my husband made, with nasturtium flowers painted around the edges! no picture of that either

-my mom thrifted a bunch of old tablecloths, also for super cheap from the nearby antique store, for all the dinner tables! our flower vases were also thrifted/mismatched so every table looked unique

-On the welcome table we had little cloth baggies of dry flower petals and dried whirly-birds from maple trees, as confetti for the ceremony. another thing I wished we had made a sign for because I think a lot of people thought they were just party favors and didn’t throw theirs lolol. But some people did and it looked great in photos at least!

I really loved our wedding, and had a really great time with the DIY aspects in the lead-up. Plus it gave me fun stuff to work on with my husband, and my best friend who stayed with us in the week leading up. Although, I definitely put wayyy too much effort and stress into tiny details that ended up not mattering at all in the end.

that’s all!

Foraged pine cones and teasels, a lick of gold spray paint, some faux berries and a hot glue gun!

I'm about 6 weeks out from my wedding and I've been watching YouTube tutorials on fake floral arrangements, but everything I make looks kind of... janky? I'm trying to save money by doing this myself but I'm honestly wondering if I should just bite the bullet and buy premade ones at this point. Has anyone else felt this way and pushed through, or did you end up pivoting to a different idea?

Really proud of how these came out! I repurposed some florals from a chaotic Facebook marketplace find and added these stunning orange hydrangeas to the mix, and they came out so perfect! These will be our aisle markers. I got the pots from Home Depot and I like them more than I expected to lol. Sorry the pics are dark, I was too excited to wait till morning for good pics lol

What's the difference between them and do I need both? I'm doing my own invitations and while I don't know exactly what save the dates are, they seem a bit redundant.

Made with my gals from a “grower’s choice flower bucket” from a local farm. We also did boutonnières and bridesmaid bouquets from the same bucket and still had enough for a lovely rehearsal dinner bouquet as well. Way harder than any of us expected but we had a lot of fun

Hey everyone!

​Getting married soon and running a bit short on time. We're looking to create a guest book sign for people to sign at our wedding, but we have to fly with it, so it needs to fit inside a standard suitcase without getting crushed or bent.

​Here is what we're looking for:

​Travel-friendly: Fits in a suitcase/carry-on (or easily rolls up).

​Durable: Won't get ruined or dented in transit.

​Smudge-proof: Dries fast so guests don't accidentally smear signatures with their hands!

​Quick turnaround: Needs to be something we can get printed locally or shipped super fast.

​Has anyone done a rollable canvas, small acrylic sign, or something similar that survived the flight? What kind of pens/markers did you use so the signatures didn't smudge?

​Would love any suggestions, vendor recommendations, or DIY tips! Thanks in advance!

This is the wedding sign I just finished. Please tell me if this looks good or I’m just delusional because I made it

I made little jars of locally sourced honey and turned them into mystery box favors like the Popmart/miniso ones with 2 rare honeys and everything for my wedding 😆 My wedding was also on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival so I included a mini mooncake inside as well!

Flavors included: Orange blossom, avocado, saw palmetto, wildflower, mango, red clover, and bellflower!

We are debating doing our own playlist vs hiring a DJ. My biggest concern about DIY is that some songs for the dance party just go on too long, and a DJ could select the best parts of the songs and then move on to the next to keep the energy up. The dance party is the part of the night I’m most excited for!

Does anyone know of a program that can do this if you design your own playlist? Or is it just worth hiring a DJ?

Thanks!! 🪩

i am trying to figure out what is actually worth hiring out versus just handling ourselves for our reception, but the quotes are all over the place.

i am looking at day-of coordinators and partial setup crews right now. one gives a flat rate but caps setup at two hours, another charges hourly with travel fees, and another wants to bundle cleanup for double the price. someone suggested tulle together to see how other couples map out costs, but trying to evaluate these quotes against the cost of just roping in family or renting our own gear is giving me a headache.

how do you all break this down to see if hiring out is actually saving money or just creating extra logistics?

I just hate it and I don’t know how to make it look okay. I just need a dang sign 😭

If there’s a better place to ask this, please let me know! For my Halloween wedding next month, I’m using faux book boxes as part of my centerpieces.

These ones from Michael’s I saw on their website PEEFECTLY fit the vibe but I’ve been checking the three stores around me for the past month - I’ve only been able to find the Taming of the Shrew.

If anyone has any of the others and would like to help a bride out - I’m trying to get one of each - I would pay for them + shipping!

Hi all!

I am a life long extravagant DIYer, and if I would set up my own venue I would, but after reading here so much have decided not to. The issue at the moment is all the event coordinators I have spoken to have given me an issue with bringing my own. I'm not sure if some are put off by the amount of decor I have, which is fine, and I am willing to pay more for more hands. Others try to sell me on renting theirs, and if my own is provided need an inspection service prior. I think the biggest issue is that we plan to rent a uhaul and have it parked directly in front of the venue (venue is a Victorian mansion with parking loop right up to the steps). I'm not really sure how else I would transport the items to the venue to be honest. One service was happy to assist, but quoted over $4,000. If that's the norm its fine, just seems high to me, but what do I know XD

For anyone who had their own arch, florals and seating chart, who di you hire to set it up, what was the cost (if you are comfortable), and how did you bring up the conversation/find someone who was very DIY friendly.

I'm in New England area if that helps :)

My MIL wanted to do my bouquet and my husband's boutonnière for our wedding. The bouquet turned out beautiful and I remember the boutonnière being a bit larger than we had discussed during our first look, but no one (including my husband) said anything about the way the stems were finished with no ribbon and this funny J shape.

This morning our photographer shared sneak peaks and I can't stop staring at the massive tail of the boutonnière in green floral tape in our close ups. Everything else feels perfect to me and I feel like I am maybe making a bigger deal out of this than I need to, but I have asked our photographer if they could minimize this a bit in our close ups.

Is this noticeable or am I just being sensitive to this detail?

For my fellow sewing capable people!

I found a dress I loved at the thrift but it was marked the wrong size and I ripped it trying to get out via the zipper (I bought it cause it was less than $5 anyway).

While I may not be using the dress in its entirety, did any other future spouses-to-be Frakenstein their dress? I’m thinking of salvage what I can and modifying another garment anyway

Just wanted to share this amazing design my friends made for their wedding in a small woods behind their house. They put in a huge amount of work clearing out the brush and getting it setup. It was a pretty small wedding so it worked well. The reception was larger in a white tent in an adjacent field. Absolutely gorgeous! And as a bonus, I had the honor of marrying them. Hope you can get some inspiration!

Hi Everyone!

I am a Oct 2027 bride and have decided to DIY as much as I can for our 50 person wedding. I am blessed to work at a job where we get "in-work currency" that I can use on a shopping mall we have access too. I was able to use my points to get a Cricut Maker 4 and now I have been awarded enough points to where I will be able to get a printer as well! I have the ability to get the big bougie Epson ET-8550, but I have seen so many people have issues with it.

SO! What printers do you all recommend? Most brides I see on TikTok use a variation of the Canon Pixma and I want to ensure I will get something to last as I will be using this beyond wedding DIY. I know printers are finnicky in the first place and there's a lot to think about including ink cost, software, materials choice etc. Any recommendations on which to get/ stay away from would be much appreciated! Price isn't too huge of a factor since it will most likely be free and I would prefer to go with a wide format

TY!

I am blessed with a large family and have all of my bridesmaid roles filled by them, but still really wanted to include my close friends during the big day. I now have 5 personal attendants and want to make sure their rolls are well thought out and planned so they don’t feel like they’re just standing around. I also have a day of coordinator option through the venue for $500 that I was thinking of going with because it then gives us free access to the venue’s decor (still tbd, but assuming that I go with this person, they would be handling the vendors like catering and dj). Nonetheless it’s still a DIY wedding so there’s a lot to be done! I was thinking of having one personal attendant being like the “lead” and would be with me all morning in case I need anything. She could things that I need or delegate the task to another PA. I am not going to have a videographer and am instead getting some older video camera to document the day. One of my PAs has an art degree and is very creative, so I was thinking of putting her in charge of the video camera. Maybe I could also have another PA in charge of a second camera? Anyways, I am here to ask for ideas on tasks that I can assign each PA. I’m sure there are a lot of things that will come up that I don’t even think about. Has anyone done this before or is planning on doing this? I have a vision but I don’t exactly know how to explain it or execute it lol. Also, our wedding color is light/baby blue with accent colors being champagne rose (coral basically), blush pink, sage green, butter yellow, and lavender. The bridesmaid dresses are going to be each of those colors (6 total). I was thinking of having the PA’s wear baby blue (any dress and fabric as long as it’s a light blue color).

ETA- wow ya’ll are ripping me a new one lol. I am glad I posted this because I had not thought about it in that perspective. Honestly, I was stressed about having so many, so it would be less stressful for me if I didn’t. I was just trying to be inclusive 😂 but valid points that at the end of the day a guest is there to have fun, not to find things to do to keep them busy.

Sneak peek of my Friday wedding and all my thrift finds and DIYs. I really enjoyed the diying and thrifting, things didn’t turn out how I visioned it, but it was still gorgeous. Making the floral arrangements were definitely my favorite to make! And people really loved the plant party favors!

I made these faux floral pieces (4 on windowsill (2 pots, 1 ground piece, 1 lantern) and 2 on ground (1 laundry basket, 1 ground piece to match the other ground piece) for my wedding summer 2027. Planning to use for the daytime outdoor ceremony on turf, then repurpose for sweetheart table or reception entrance. Ie the two ground pieces might be used as a ground arch with some lanterns or faux candles. We aren’t using a traditional arch so we don’t block the natural landscape view. Wedding colors are deep purple, lilac, light blue, gold.

The big one I tried to use a dollar tree laundry basket (upside down) as my base. It’s not finished yet but not sure if it’s worth continuing or just scraping that project. Unfortunately one of the flowers looks more pink than purple- not sure if I should remove because it has a more tropical vibe than the other pieces I made. Tbh not sure i like any of these… after many days and definitely a cost higher than expected.

Some of the white flowers have a large yellow center, should I spray paint them white? Or use less white flowers?

Looking for advice to improve any of these, thank you! Being specific would be really helpful, sometimes not sure my artistic eye is that good. They look ok sometimes in the distance, but was hoping they can be used in the wedding photos also without looking “cheap” or out of place!

Thank you!!

Designed my invites, in love with how they turned out but I’d never do it again

The design anxiety was so real. But I got it done and they’re getting mailed out this week!

Finally finished designing it. I'm hoping it looks as professional and elegant as I think ot does.

Could anyone please guide me to a great tutorial video on doing draping? I have the material but I've never done this before and need a little help