DIY Brides Beware

There are pros and cons to planning a DIY wedding. Usually, it is less expensive to make your own decorations, floral arrangements, favors,
etc. because you are providing the labor. However, sometimes the cost
of materials is more expensive because the items are bought at retail
prices.

Another advantage for a DIY bride is being able to execute her vision into reality. She can make sure the finished product is what she had in
mind. This may not be important to all brides, but for some brides it
is paramount.

Below is a story from a photographer about a recent wedding where things did not go according to plan.

“I had a lovely, very artistic and creative DIY bride this weekend. She basically made all the decorations for the destination wedding with the
exception of the table cloths & china. While the bride and groom
had many friends and family helping, the bride was still making her
centerpieces and bouquets when it was time to start shooting the
formals & "First Look" photos. Many people were helping but they
needed a lot of direction and were asking a lot of questions of the
Bride. Her vision for the centerpieces wasn't quite working so she had
to improvise and recreate the centerpieces.

The site coordinator was nowhere to be found, and the hanging of lights and decorations by the site staff had not been done. The bride was running
around directing the staff on where to hang everything. There were
hundreds (probably closer to a thousand) fresh cut flowers everywhere
waiting to be used, as well as candles, vases, favors, etc. An hour and
a half before the ceremony panic was setting in. The favors, candles,
centerpieces, etc. were not in place. Ten minutes before the ceremony
was scheduled to begin, the bride had not started to get dressed
because she was still making centerpieces. Needless to say, the
ceremony started 30 minutes late. Due to the length of the ceremony, we
had very little natural light left for the family formals.

Early on when everything was running late, I just resigned myself to the fact that there would not be the possibility of getting some truly amazing
photos taken of the bride and groom at this beautiful venue except for
the ceremony photos & candid photos of the reception. This bride
did a beautiful job with everything…she just ran really, really late.

Thank goodness the couple had a "Rock the Dress" session scheduled for 2 days after the ceremony. When I arrived, they profusely apologized for being
late for the entire wedding day. Even for an artist, she had no idea
how long DIY was going to take. The bride admitted that she should have
hired a wedding planner.”

By including this story, I am not trying to talk anyone out of planning a DIY wedding. However, it is important to be organized, recruit a lot of
help, and know your limitations. Both my daughters had DIY weddings and
we enjoyed designing every aspect of the ceremony and reception. There
were many challenges though...but that is a story for another day.

Beware of the things that cannot be done very far in advance - such as working with fresh flowers and physically decorating the venue. I imagine that
this bride never dreamed that she would be running around making
bouquets, centerpieces, and trying to decorate the venue less than an
hour before her wedding. In this case, hiring a floral designer would
have saved her a lot of stress.

There are so many details that are included in planning a wedding…and it is magnified with a DIY wedding. Be realistic about your limitations and
how you want to spend your wedding day. This also holds true for your
family and friends. Should they be required to deal with the headache
of dealing with the wrong cake being delivered, reception tables that
have been set up incorrectly, or transporting flowers from the ceremony
to the reception? Unfortunately, the need for outside help is often not
apparent until the day of the wedding…and then it is too late. Design
your wedding to your heart’s content but turn over the day-of wedding
responsibilities to a professional to ensure that you will have
a stress-free wedding day!
Karen