My tips for a DIY bride
Along the way I've picked up information, tips and advice from other advice. I'm sharing what I've learned along the way.
1. Organize and dream at the same time.
After we set a date, decided a budget, and picked our colors I trolled every DIY site I came across. I saved pictures of things I liked and thought would fit the overall feel of our wedding and organized those in separate folders. The best thing I did was join the Knot.com. It was there I came across the DIY board and discovered the possibilities. With these wonderful ladies, I was able to bounce ideas around, discovered my likes and dislikes and figured out what I could or couldn’t do. Browse as many bios, wed-sites, and Pinterests as you can get to. Bookmark or pin the ones you love. I did!
2. Start early!
I started DIY-ing at 29 months out from my wedding date! This turned out to be the absolute BEST advice I picked up. Because I had so much time to come up with trials and guess my way through things, it didn’t seem that hard and took less trial and error. With each project I started, I would come across something that I wanted to add to my list. I started out a crafty person but along the way I’ve gained confidence to DIY almost anything! And after I got a severe broken bone, having the extra time is a God send!
3. Save EVERYTHING!
Scrap pieces of paper, small pieces of left over ribbon, even prints that came out badly were things I was able to re-purpose! I bought a specific scrapbook paper to line my envelopes and I turned that 15₵ paper into gold! It was used in the envelopes, invitations and drink stirrer sticks. Cardstock I got for the invitations was used for invitations, inserts, drink stirrers and in various projects like jewelry gift boxes. When I had to re-do projects because of our date change, I either had a lot of stuff I needed on hand or was able to reuse several of my projects. You never know what you can use things for- until you need it!
4. Only take on what you can handle.
I have over 60 projects on my DIY list. That is a LOT of things to accomplish. Especially because some of my projects have projects of their own in order to complete! Each and everything on my list is something that I think I can tackle in a reasonable amount of time at a reasonable cost. Are there some hurdles? YOU BET! (I mean really, what sane person is willing to make placemats for their wedding?!) Will it all be worth it? ABSOLUTELY! (They will make my tables look extremely lovely and unique!)
5. DIY does NOT always mean you save.
90% of the time saving IS one of the benefits of DIY-ing, but it’s not always true. As example: I made my daughter’s FG dress. With the cost of the materials and the time it involved, I really could have saved myself 3 days of sewing by hand if I would have ordered it for $9 more then what I paid. Another example: "THE" placemats. Total estimated cost for the project $65 for 60. Not bad. Then take 4 hrs a day for 2 weeks to make them or 8 hrs for a week, and they aren’t looking so cheap. Time is valuable too. That’s why you’ve got to start early.
6. Don't steal!
As you can see throughout our bio, we credit everyone who has inspired our work. In most cases you will also find a link to their bio or site. I didn’t realize how important this was until I came across a bio that had photos of OUR work without giving us credit. I was insulted and angry. They used OUR work but can’t direct other’s to our site? To me that was rude! Make sure that if your borrowing someone’s ideas or using their templates, give them the credit they deserve!
After we set a date, decided a budget, and picked our colors I trolled every DIY site I came across. I saved pictures of things I liked and thought would fit the overall feel of our wedding and organized those in separate folders. The best thing I did was join the Knot.com. It was there I came across the DIY board and discovered the possibilities. With these wonderful ladies, I was able to bounce ideas around, discovered my likes and dislikes and figured out what I could or couldn’t do. Browse as many bios, wed-sites, and Pinterests as you can get to. Bookmark or pin the ones you love. I did!
2. Start early!
I started DIY-ing at 29 months out from my wedding date! This turned out to be the absolute BEST advice I picked up. Because I had so much time to come up with trials and guess my way through things, it didn’t seem that hard and took less trial and error. With each project I started, I would come across something that I wanted to add to my list. I started out a crafty person but along the way I’ve gained confidence to DIY almost anything! And after I got a severe broken bone, having the extra time is a God send!
3. Save EVERYTHING!
Scrap pieces of paper, small pieces of left over ribbon, even prints that came out badly were things I was able to re-purpose! I bought a specific scrapbook paper to line my envelopes and I turned that 15₵ paper into gold! It was used in the envelopes, invitations and drink stirrer sticks. Cardstock I got for the invitations was used for invitations, inserts, drink stirrers and in various projects like jewelry gift boxes. When I had to re-do projects because of our date change, I either had a lot of stuff I needed on hand or was able to reuse several of my projects. You never know what you can use things for- until you need it!
4. Only take on what you can handle.
I have over 60 projects on my DIY list. That is a LOT of things to accomplish. Especially because some of my projects have projects of their own in order to complete! Each and everything on my list is something that I think I can tackle in a reasonable amount of time at a reasonable cost. Are there some hurdles? YOU BET! (I mean really, what sane person is willing to make placemats for their wedding?!) Will it all be worth it? ABSOLUTELY! (They will make my tables look extremely lovely and unique!)
5. DIY does NOT always mean you save.
90% of the time saving IS one of the benefits of DIY-ing, but it’s not always true. As example: I made my daughter’s FG dress. With the cost of the materials and the time it involved, I really could have saved myself 3 days of sewing by hand if I would have ordered it for $9 more then what I paid. Another example: "THE" placemats. Total estimated cost for the project $65 for 60. Not bad. Then take 4 hrs a day for 2 weeks to make them or 8 hrs for a week, and they aren’t looking so cheap. Time is valuable too. That’s why you’ve got to start early.
6. Don't steal!
As you can see throughout our bio, we credit everyone who has inspired our work. In most cases you will also find a link to their bio or site. I didn’t realize how important this was until I came across a bio that had photos of OUR work without giving us credit. I was insulted and angry. They used OUR work but can’t direct other’s to our site? To me that was rude! Make sure that if your borrowing someone’s ideas or using their templates, give them the credit they deserve!