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Top 10 Dos & Don’ts for DIY Weddings

via. Charlottesville Wedding Blog

Written By: Molly Tracy

DO: Get Advice from the Professionals

If you’re thinking of say, DIYing wedding flowers, don’t hesitate to reach out to local florists and ask for a bit of advice. You’d be surprised by the pointers they’re willing to give you, and you might even find that they – or someone they know – is hosting a DIY workshop for brides on the basics of flower arranging. It never hurts to ask!

Also, be sure to run your DIY ideas by your

wedding planner, if you’ve hired one. They’ve been through DIY brides before, and they will be able to steer you in the right direction, caution you about certain projects, and help you get the materials you’ll need.

DON’T: DIY Your Wedding Photos

I really hope this goes without saying, but just in case, we’re saying it. DO NOT DIY YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHS. This is just about the one-and-only tangible memento you will have from your wedding day and you deserve to have professional photos to cherish for the rest of your life. Putting disposable cameras on every table is NOT a substitute for professional wedding photography. You WILL regret it.

DO: Consider the Cost – Physical, Mental, AND Financial

When you start a DIY project, it’s easy to be distracted by the dollars you could potentially save, but consider this: you could easily tackle those DIY confetti poppers you plan to make for your grand exit that cost $8 a piece on Etsy and make them for about $4, but by the time you factor in labor and the countless trips to the craft store (because you never buy enough supplies the first time around), you may have been better off just paying the $8 and saving yourself the headache and glue gun scars.

DON’T: Go It Alone

For our Type-A brides, this is going to be a little hard, but we promise it is for the best! Relinquish some control and delegate tasks to your willing bridesmaids & close family members. That’s what they’re there for! Or, bribe ‘em with wine… it always works.

DO: Limit the Number of DIY Projects

While you may have dreams of hand-making your welcome bags, wedding favors, save-the-dates, and ‘Wedding This Way’ sign, the truth is, you need to be realistic about what you can really accomplish given your time frame, budget, and skill level. Unless you’re a crazy-skilled crafter, we recommend taking on, at the most, three easy DIY projects and only two more complicated projects. If you have a year or more til your big day, you might be able to take on a few more, but consider yourself warned.

DON’T: Expect Professional Results

There is a reason why they’re professionals: they have built their careers around their craft and they are experts at what they do. If you plan to DIY your wedding cake, don’t put the pressure on yourself of trying to create something ornate and complicated, because, most likely you don’t have the training and know-how to pull it off. Keep it simple and chic! Bake up a plain, tiered white cake and instead of trying your hand at that tricky piping, just use some fresh flowers to spruce it up.

DO: Take the Path of Least Resistance, If You Have To

We’ve all hosted that last-minute dinner party where we served break-and-bake chocolate chip cookies and totally took credit for slaving over the dough. Sure, you bought it from the store, but you still had to bake it, and that counts for something! Take that experience and apply it to your upcoming wedding in little ways when the need arises. People will never be the wiser.

DON’T: DIY Catering

A few homemade pies for your dessert bar is one thing; pulling off a delicious, hot meal for 250 wedding guests is quite another. Seriously, don’t do it. When it comes to photography & catering, put your trust in the pros entirely.

DO: Practice!

Whether it’s the cake you’re thinking of whipping up yourself or it’s the centerpieces, always do a practice run (or two!) a few weeks before the wedding so you can make any adjustments to your plan. You don’t want to be surprised the night before your wedding that you actually suck at arranging flowers.

DON’T: Stress

Invariably, come the day of, something will go wrong, and it might just be some of your DIY projects. Maybe your DIY photo booth backdrop falls while your reception is in full swing or your centerpieces start to wilt. Whatever it is, don’t stress! You can plan all you want, but in the end, life isn’t perfect. Hey, you did it yourself! So just go with the flow if something unexpected happens. Your guests will still appreciate all the thoughtful details you put into your big day, and that’s all that matters. It’s your wedding day!