With the price of weddings on the incline each year, many couples are increasingly looking for ways to save money where they can especially when there are other important yet also expensive things on the agenda like buying, moving or renovating a house and starting a family. One way that could potentially end up saving couples a buck or two, with the added advantage of being able to tailor your wedding to your liking and to add a personal touch, is to go DIY.
We’ve put together a list of areas/ideas where couples can do it themselves when it comes to their big day.
1. Wedding Flowers
Flowers can easily take up a large proportion of the wedding budget. From buttonholes and corsages through to centrepiece arrangements and the bridal bouquet, if you’re a dab hand at arranging flowers or have the time and are willing to learn, you could potentially save a small fortune by doing it yourself. You can pick up your favourite stems from a flower market or even your local grocery store. For green-fingered flower fanatics, you can even grow your own seasonal stems.
Go ornate with strands of pearls and ostrich feathers for a vintage theme or for a rustic feel, opt for pine cones, twigs, and various other dried items, all of which can be wired to create a ‘stem’ and then inserted into the bouquet. For weddings during the festive season, go for bow ribbons and sparkly ornaments and accessories.
2. Favours
Favours are an increasingly popular item on the wedding list to DIY and can be totally personalised without breaking the bank. For kitchen connoisseurs, it could be the chance to show off your skills – think yummy condiments packaged in cute, trendy little jam jars accompanied with swinging name tags or bottling up your own infused olive oil with herbs and/or spices.
3. Stationary e.g. Invites/Save The Dates/Programmes
Go DIY and get your wedding stationery just the way you envisioned. Rope in a friend who is a whizz at design/art/calligraphy to help you or call upon family who don’t mind getting knee deep in arts and crafts. With today’s technology, you don’t even have to waste hundreds of dollars on printed invites or save the dates, you can send them via email or even post it on social media as an event which guests can then RSVP.
4. Decor/Centrepieces
The possibilities are endless when it comes to decorating your wedding and how you choose to decorate will possibly revolve largely around the theme of your wedding. Home-sewn buntings and table runners, seasonal stems housed in inexpensive mason jars/milk bottles and old containers/boxes/buckets arranged with flowers as centrepieces are just some DIY ideas when it comes to wedding decor.
5. Food
Catering for your wedding guests is one of the most, if not, largest expense and by choosing to do it yourself, you could potentially save a large chunk of your wedding budget. Who says you have to have a 9 course, sit down meal? For those wanting to do DIY catering, why not opt for a BBQ, perfect for a Spring or Summer wedding. If held indoors, opt for a buffet. These are already popular especially when it comes to the dessert table so why not extend it towards the whole meal. Or how about a potluck reception? Guests bring their own dishes but be sure to keep tabs on who is bringing what.
