wedding diy projects

Between my mom, sister, florist, Bo, and myself (as inspired by Pinterest), we've come up with several DIY wedding projects. To some we are committed, and some we are just considering at the moment.

1. Sewing your own table runners: definitely.

A. Because they will be a low-cost, big effect, punch of color for the reception, and with very little effort (or so we thought).

B. Because we have now invested ourselves. After several trips to fabrics stores (here and in Florida), calls all over the state, favors from fabric store employees/friends, we've made a lot of headway and (I just know it!) are on the cusp of finding 18 yards of affordable dark purple/plum fabric (we have our eye on some Sew Classic at JoAnns). AND my parents took about an hour of their time with their small group last night to fix our sewing machine. We WILL make table runners, if its the last thing we do.

My mom, dad, and friends figuring this bad boy out. As of right now, we are ready to sew!

2. DIY cupcake wrappers: definitely.

I was talking to my friend last night (who is probably my next friend to walk down the aisle!) about wedding budgeting. She asked how we have set the budget for our wedding. For us, it has worked better to not have a number looming over our heads that we absolutely cannot cross. You don't really know what things are going to cost until you start calling catering companies, dj's, florists, etc. As we go along in the planning process, we research that particular element of the wedding/reception and decide what it is worth to us. For us, having a beautiful, fancy cake is not a priority. I just can't fathom spending almost a grand on something people are going to eat and smear on each others faces.  So, we've decided to save a ton of money by getting cupcakes instead. They will be 1/4 the cost of a cake, and they just look cool.

You can also fancy them up yourself by sitting the cupcakes in these pretty wrappers:

These cost about $45 for 50 wrappers. Which translates to another $200 (almost as much as the cupcakes themselves!)

 SO, I came across this DIY version on Pinterest:

I haven't priced doilies yet, but I'm sure this will cut our cost down to about $10. Great way to save some money, and an easy afternoon project!

3. DIY photobooth: maybe.

Bo and I both love the idea of having a photo booth at our wedding. After a drink or two, our friends and family would probably record some pretty funny memories for us. However, professional photo booths cost upwards of $800.  I just can't make myself do that. It seems wrong.

Time to DIY. We've thrown around several ideas. Audrey told me about instant cameras (not quite as old-school as Polaroids) that she has seen before. I found some online!  

$80 per camera on www.theknot.com

Then, Bo came up with the idea of making our own photo booth area at the reception, using some fabric, props, and our instant camera. I found this pic online of someone else that has done the same thing using a refrigerator box and fabric.

This would cost us about $150 compared to $800+. We haven't decided yet if we are going to do this, for various reasons, but I think it's a great idea!

If you have any suggestions for us, let me know! Have a great day...it's almost FRIDAY!!