Category — Do It Yourself

Wedding favors are a pet peeve of mine.  I’ve attended hundreds of weddings and it pains me how often I see guests forget to take them home…or purposely leave without them because they don’t want them.  Favors the bride has taken so much time and effort to plan in exquisite detail.  WASTED.

In my opinion, favors are over-rated.  But if you DO decide to give them…for goodness’ sake, GO CHEAP.

DIY wedding favors can be an easy way to save.  The semi DIY favor above is super easy and pretty cheap.  You assemble the monogrammed chairs yourself and stuff them with goodies like chocolate or candy.  (*Hint - edible favors get taken home or consumed on the spot every time.)  Plus, these babies double as place cards…saving you more money.

YOUR COST: $9.60 for 12 = $108 for 100 DIY wedding favors / place cards.

If you’re slightly more crafty (but only slightly, these are super easy to make) try out these matchbook notepads from DesignSpongeOnline.com, a new spin on the monogrammed matchbook favor idea.

Supplies you’ll need:

• Cardstock
• An x-acto knife or cutter
• Stapler
• Rubber stamp kit

COST: For 100 guests = approximately $44.

You get to show off your craftiness, express your personality AND save money.  I encourage you to take the uniqueness to the next level by making your diy wedding favors say something about you…use your favorite candies, make it a tribute to your favorite hobby.  Literally put your “stamp” on it.

For more ways to make your wedding unique and save money, check out my eBook.

Got a favorite wedding do it yourself idea?  Leave me a comment.

Photo by Rene

The Guestbook.

One of the questions I ask brides when we meet to discuss the details of the Big Day is, “Will you have a guestbook for your guests to sign?”

The bride usually responds with a frown.  “I guess so.  I’m supposed to have one, right?”

WRONG.

I mean, have one if you want one.  But not just because you’re “supposed” to.

Can I be completely honest for a second?

Most couples have guestbooks.  Boring, old guestbooks.  And guess what their guests do?  They sign them.

So far, so good.  Then, the couple takes the guestbook home after the wedding, stuffs it in the back of the hall closet and never looks at it again.

Come on.  Why would you want to look at a book of NAMES?

Why have a boring old guestbook for your wedding, when there are so many unique guestbook ideas to choose from?

Sign Something That’s NOT A Guestbook - Turn to Do-It-Yourself-Weddings for some easy wedding guestbook alternatives.  Popular alternatives include: have your guests sign a ceramic dish, a silver engraved dish, a photo mat around a photograph of you.  You can even ask guests to sign an apron, t-shirt, tapesty or wedding quilt.

Photo by Ben Ostrowsky

Words of Wisdom or Wedding Wishes - Ask your guests to leave their wedding wishes or words of wisdom on individual cards and place them into a vase, basket, or box of your choice.  Place them into a guest scrapbook later on or pull them out and read them on your anniversary.  (Caution: notes tend to get progressively naughty as the drinks start flowing, so don’t read them aloud in mixed company.)

Sign Your Wedding Puzzle - Have a puzzle made of an image of you and your FI, then have your guests sign the back of a puzzle piece.

Christmas Ornaments - Perfect for a winter wonderland wedding.  Have guests sign ornaments and then hang them on your tree each year.

Run across any cool guestbook alternatives?  Leave me a comment.

Photo by impious at flickr.com

Looking for a cool, easy do it yourself invitation or save the date idea?

Try a photo booth to show off your unique personality with a quirky cool invite.

Don’t think you can pull it off?  This couple did it here on the cheap using 4 photo booth pictures and snapfish.com.  Total cost: $30 for 150 professionally printed save the dates, including shipping.

And you can, too!

You can also use your save-the-dates to advertise your wedding website and registry information.

The works great for a customized, inexpensive wedding invitation, too…especially if off-beat suits your style.  Remember: there are no rules in weddings, unless you make them.  And the more flexible you can be, the more you SAVE.

Got a super saver diy wedding idea?  Leave me a comment.

P.S. This website, Cheap Ways To… is full of freebies and savings ideas for all topics, a source of savings inspiration.

Photo by cliff1066

Advice from a budget-minded bride:

“I wanted beautiful flowers for my wedding…that didn’t break my budget.  So I decided to or my flowers wholesale and then arrange the centerpieces myself.

“They turned out…okay…not great, but okay.  I could totally tell the difference between the ones I arranged and the professional bouquets I had.

“If I was doing it again, I would have ordered everything from ProFlowers.com.  They were great!  Sure, I saved money doing my own arrangements, but with all the time my mom and I spent working on them right before the wedding?  It would have been worth having them done professionally.”

An online florist like ProFlowers.com can be a great way to save and still get the flowers of your dreams.

Some more resources to check out:

Florist Tips To Stretch Your Budget - This article provides the basic guidelines for cutting costs on your reception flowers.

Do It Yourself Flower Arrangements - If you do decide to take on your own floral arrangements for your wedding, here are 6 basic flower arrangements that even a novice can pull off.

Growing My Own Bouquet - Here’s how one bride plans to give her do it yourself ideas a sentimental twist with her flowers; all her flower arrangements will be picked from her neighborhood garden.  Great pics of hydrangeas, roses, tulips, poppies and peonies.

Got flower ideas?  Post them here.