Welcome to another Sunday Sit-down! I hope you had a lovely weekend and got some great relaxation in so-far. I'd love to start your Sunday morning off with a little read chatting about why DIY wedding Decorations and DIY Weddings might not be the best idea for you.. (or at least a COMPLETE DIY wedding), and some tips on some safe things to DIY vs whats best to hire the pros for.
I was avoiding being a little drama queen with a click bate title of "PLEASE. DO NOT DIY YOUR WHOLE WEDDING, From a wedding professional!", but please, in all seriousness, read through this and scope out what is and isn't worth DIYing for your own sanity! And if you DO diy some stuff, please consider hiring a day-of-coordination team that can set it up for you.
Planning a wedding is an exciting time for newly engaged couples, but it can also be overwhelming when thinking about not the only cost of hiring professional vendors to take on a service or task, but the overall planning process of picking those vendors too. Some couples turn to DIY in hopes of simplifying the process and decreasing the cost overall. DIY can be helpful in some areas of wedding planning (you can send out e-vites now instead of dishing out the extra money on paper invites for example to save on your budget. who knew postage was so expensive?), but some vendors really should be hired professionally (photographers, caterers, we’re looking at you especially). This article dives into how DIY weddings can become problematic when you try to take on tasks outside your wheelhouse or scope, and what to keep in mind when thinking about which aspects of your wedding are really worth DIYing. Also scroll to the end to find my biggest DIY reminder and tip for couples!
DIY weddings have become increasingly popular in recent years, as couples look to save money and put their own personal touch on their special day. While there are certainly benefits to taking a DIY approach (and we LOVE DIY), there are also some important things to keep in mind.
The first (but definitely the most unimportant) reason you should reconsider DIY Wedding Decorations or skipping pro vendors for DIY
One of the biggest issues with DIY weddings is that they can end up letting you down or cause more stress in the process for you (we're talking your expectation or vision, vs the reality of the outcome of DIYing something that may not be in your wheel house). While you may be able to save money by doing things yourself, it's important to remember that there are some things that are best left to the professionals. Ie. We really don’t recommend your Uncle Art being the one taking photos for you, even though he goes out every Saturday to the nature sanctuary to snap photos of the latest bird, and he “knows his way around his camera” because he took a few photos at the last family wedding for fun. Similarly, if you're not a skilled baker, your homemade wedding cake may not look as picture-perfect as you imagined, and may just leave you in more frustration two days before your wedding than if you had just picked up a store made one.
Secondly...
2. Another issue with DIY weddings is that they can end up being more expensive than you initially planned. While it may seem like you're saving money by doing things yourself, the cost of supplies and materials can quickly add up. Additionally, if something goes wrong on the day of the wedding, you may end up having to shell out more money to fix it.
Thirdly...
3. Finally, it's important to remember that DIY weddings can be a lot of work (coming from a wedding planner who DIYd her whole wedding herself). In the months leading up to the wedding, you'll likely be spending a lot of time crafting, baking, and putting together decorations. Sadly, a lot of the time, you may end up doing these DIYs by yourself and not with the group of people you initially thought would help, which I have seen lead to overwhelm leading up to the day (The amount of brides I've seen scrambling to finish DIYs three days before weddings and not being able to relax going into the big day hurts my heart). If this is something you realistically would have the time to do, it can be a really fun process, but if or when overwhelm creeps in throughout the process, you also should know that you have someone or a group of people who can also step in to help on those DIY aspects. Or that it may not be too late to outsource to industry pros.
Fourthly (and lastly)....
4. On the day of the wedding itself, you'll be busy setting everything up and making sure everything runs smoothly if you choose to DIY your day-of-coordination, or have a friend or family member help run the day and timeline for you. The car loads of DIY decor can become a lot for a larger scale wedding, especially when it comes to setting it up. This can be a lot of stress to take on, and your friend or family member that you delegate to help may not have the industry experience to be able to navigate the unknowns and problem solving of a wedding day, potentially leading to a bit of chaos.
While there are certainly benefits to taking a DIY approach to your wedding, it's important to keep these things in mind. If you're not confident in your abilities to handle certain aspects of the wedding yourself, it may be worth splurging on (or better phrased, budgeting for) a professional. Additionally, if you're worried about the stress and work involved in a DIY wedding, consider scaling back your plans or hiring a day-of-coordinator to help out.
My biggest tip for weddings has always been, that your guests don’t really notice as much as you think that they do. You can simplify certain aspects of decor or details (like most people don’t use the bathroom boxes throughout the night) and take one thing off of your plate to have to think or worry about putting together. There are also processes that you can streamline or simplify when you are taking on more DIY aspects. Like for example, there are premade ceremony playlists that you can have on in the background before your ceremony to play if you’re DIYing your music, so that is one less playlist that you have to worry about building yourself. The DIY process really is about doing what is within your wheel house or skills, and outsourcing the rest, or using the tips and tricks that other DIY wedding couples have figured out before you and learn from their experiences!
Ultimately, the most important thing is that your wedding day is a special and memorable experience for you and your partner. Whether you decide to go the DIY route or hire professionals to handle something, make sure you're doing what feels right for both you and your partner (financially, emotionally, and socially). Planning a wedding isn’t always simple, but the celebration of your love together is!
Warmest wishes and congrats on your wedding planning! Chat next Sunday!
Lauren
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