My DIY Wedding

Monday 17 June 2013

6 months to prepare for 1 lovely Wedding day!

 
My hints and tips on surviving your crafty Wedding -

1. Plan and go for it!
Whatever your crafty ideas are for your big day. Plan and prepare and then go with a gut reaction. Believe in yourself. If you want a theme or a look, research the easiest and quickest way to do it and then settle down to repeat it again and again. Better to have a simple, crafty idea then fail on something fancy.

2. What is your theme?
When you have your theme, plan it out on mood boards so you can show your suppliers / friends / photographer your ideas. Try using pinterest for a general mood board then break down some bigger ideas onto separate boards e.g. cake, flowers, dress. Don't go over the top, as they say... a picture can tell a thousand words.

 

 


3. Find your suppliers early...
Work out what you want to do to make your day bespoke and made by you. Then find out from your mood boards where you need to source the supplies from. You might want vintage china plates, but running around charity stores every Saturday may not be a good use of time. You might want to use a vintage crockery rental and spend more time designing your flowers or dress?



4. Get some help?
Even if you think you are the Queen of Craft, you will need help. I had one helper for each big thing e.g. cake, dress, flowers, venue staging. Friends will want to help, be ruthless and use those who will listen and support, not those who want to go off brief and do their own thing. It is your day, you can say no! Those that you have asked will be honoured and sure to support your dreams!

5. Get used to repeating your craft again and again.
As I mentioned earlier about starting out and keeping it simple - stick to it. When you are hand making the 100th dinner place setting you will be thankful.

6. Look further a field of inspiration..
I used Martha Stewart Weddings website and magazines a lot. Really practical and inspiring. I was in L.A. three months before our Wedding and brought a stash of wedding titles back. Look outside what is happening in your own country as they maybe a trend you love which is not on your local radar. Spend a night on the web and you might come across a theme or a look you can re-invent for you own Wedding.

7. Budget and use a spreadsheet!
I know it sounds geeky but note down all your planned budget on a planner and then update the costs as and when. Your crafty Wedding may not be a budget Wedding if you are crafting to save money. For our Wedding, I made my Wedding dress with a lot of help from Mum. It was our biggest money saver and the dress was worth every penny. I did spend more time than planned sewing on pearls to the bodice but the time and cost were justified. If you find your time and costs are spiralling look at doing something another way. You will hate it in the end and it will reflect on your big day.

8. Use a good hand cream
Sounds crazy but after months of crafting your hands will say you are a Wedding crafter on your big day without you saying anything. I got around this by sleeping in hand scrub and gloves the week before I go married!
I did my bouquet and table decorations on the morning of the Wedding and knew my hands would take a bashing so I wore gloves. I also went for a nude nail polish in case it chipped and kept my nails short. Try a shea butter or cocoa butter hand cream and apply regularly. Use a hand mask at night to hide your secret!


9. Get support
There are loads of Wedding blogs you can read for support and chats you can join online. I did feel like the only Crafting Wedding out there to start with but once I found fellow crafters online it made it so much easier. Remember it's not a competition, it is your day and do it your way.

10. Relax!
   I was amazed that a few days before our Wedding everything seems quiet, that was because it was all done except the last minute flowers, staging and hair. The dress and fascinator were ready, everything was ordered /paid for. This gave me a few days of the week of our Wedding to relax and enjoy being a Bride -to-be.


I hope that this is useful and the feeling you get from being a crafty bride is amazing.

Happy to answer any questions....

SS xx

Life in a Break Down

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