Here ye Here ye: I can happily say that most of the bigger expenses for our wedding have been handled! YAY As of late, Daniel and I have been visiting DIY Wedding Ideas to save us money on our overall wedding budget. I can’t believe our wedding is a little over 5 months away! Actually its 165 Days, 5 hours and 3 minutes until I skip down the aisle, but who’s counting. Have you tried any DIY projects to save money?
How is your budget looking?
We set our rough budget back in August. We knew how much we definitely DID NOT want to spend. I tried to push then for a barbecue but Daniel kept giving me the side eye. I just knew before we started writing down numbers that the amount we’d spend would be close to a down payment on a house. Since I am still paying off my debt from college I knew I wouldn’t be able to save up for a $30,000 wedding in a year. I don’t think we’ll spend close to that but it feels like it. Fortunate for my sanity I started saving four years ago so I had a bit of a wedding fund started. The amount I have to save up to pay off the rest of my portion of our wedding to-buy list is doable. Did you start saving early?
Where can I get ideas for DIY projects?
We have lucked out big time during our wedding planning process! Daniel knows quite a bit of people who work in the wedding industry. Each vendor we’ve booked has pushed us in the direction of getting the look of a classy wedding at a fraction of the price. I haven’t totaled the numbers yet because I’m afraid to look… BUT all of our big purchases have been booked, deposits left and the balances doable between now and our wedding day. Now we can have fun with DIY projects to cut down on our overall cost and give it our own touch.
To save money we are:
- Doing our own flower arrangements at the Reception hall. The flowers are being purchased through the warehouse our church uses. Buying our flowers in bulk will save us TONS of money. We have a team of family members who know how to arrange flowers so we are not stressed on how it will look. We’ll be stopping at the warehouse a few weeks in advance to do some mock ups and test run centerpieces. We’ve also gotten a ton of ideas from Pinterest!
- Using a friend to create massive centerpieces at the Ceremony. He’s asked us to pull some pins from Pinterest as well. This will save us some money since we won’t be getting them from a florist. We’ve seen his work and its amazing!
- Making my veil with the help of Daniel’s cousin, Seleste, who graciously volunteered. I <3 her! I’ve also chatted with Natasha from Houseful of Nicholes for her expertise on fabrics to use for my veil. She can sew her butt off! Check out her store on Etsy!
Where can you find DIY projects for your wedding?
- Pinterest. But you already knew I was going to say that right. Pinterest has been the greatest invention since sliced bread for planning and being able to reference it later. Of course its also a curse because I now have 7249 Pins on 233 boards. Bananas! It’s more addicting than Candy Crush Saga!
- Friends. Your friends are a great source of do it yourself ideas! Getting their input and opinions on projects they may have tackled will save you not only money but stress! Ask the question on Facebook and see what ideas you get. Just be specific with your question, unless you are looking for general sites to get ideas from.
- Be Creative. Go into a quiet room to channel into your inner child and let it merge with your adult self to recreate the looks you want for your wedding with materials that will cost you less but will give you the same feel! Think outside the box, then send me the info so I can pin it!
Here’s my DIY Wedding Board on Pinterest:
FYI: GREATdineroMama Knows It AllHow to Have a Wedding for $12,000 or Less
Are you using any DIY Projects to make your wedding day memorable? Where do your ideas come from?
Until then,