Our DIY Wedding

Patrick and I pretty much did all the decor with the help of our families and bridal party.

From the backdrops, the table set ups, the favor display, the gift table, the cocktail hour, the bridal party boutineers & flowers, the centerpieces, the tables, the cake tower, and the lights, we did it all and feel really proud of the outcome. Here are pictures of the different displays and the details that we did!

If anyone wants a lesson on how to actually logistically do this... let's meet for coffee.

This is not done overnight... this was 9 months of planning, running errands, making phone calls, comparing pricing, time management, order management, working with printers, time designing, messing up, making returns, crying over some minor details, budgeting, and more.

Seriously, I loved every minute and would not have changed anything.

I also had an amazing group of men and women known as the bridal party who flew and drove into town and spent the entire day before our wedding assembling all our floor plans and sketches. Literally... I drew out what the displays should look like and all!

 

Our Hand-made Boutineers

I've always thought it crazy that people spend thousands of dollars on flowers for a wedding. They look beautiful, however they die the day or two after the wedding is over. Maybe if I had thousands of dollars to spend, maybe I would... but I don't have it, so I'm not. For myself, I guess I think of that as flushing hundred dollar bills down the toilet in one fail swoop. Thus, I've decided to be selective about where I use flowers for our wedding.

 So... I decided a few weeks ago that I would make the boutineer myself using silk flowers. So... I researched some different ways to make them, and then decided what we would do.    

Materials: 

  • faux eucalyptus - $4.00 at Joann's
  • real peacock feather - purchased in bulk for centerpieces
  • twine/jute - $2.00
  • scissors
  • craft paper (for backing so toothpicks stick to burlap
  • toothpicks - kitchen cabinet
  • burlap - pieces cut from left over wedding craft supplies
  • hot glue gun & glue - owned
  • real babys breath (adding later)  - buying
  • faux succulents (used 1 just for Patrick's - grooms boutineer only)  - $4.00

Total $$ spent:  $2.00/boutineer = $20 total!   // Total time: 30 minutes assembling

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This project also didn't take me very long. It was fun and I love being able to say I made them. If the guys throw them out afterwards, nothing really wasted, except maybe $20 total, not hundreds of $$.

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Here is the final outcome of all the boutineers I made!

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Engaged!!

What a crazy day. It was Friday, March 8th. I finished work and met up with my mom and Lauren (my future sister-in-law) to get our nails done. The entire 2.5 hours I spent with them, we went to get Starbucks, and we hung out. My mom "bailed" to go "play cards", and Lauren and I ended up driving to and from the nail salon twice. Lauren had to "get back to meet Zach to sign house papers" on their new house which was true, just not that night.

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