Completely DIY

Hello ?

Fellow Kata tent bride here! We're going DIY with everything else too, although our wedding isn't until 2015 so can't talk from experience yet i'm afraid.

I'm probably not much help on the flowers front either as they aren't something that are important to us really, so we're going to nip to the supermarket in the morning and buy up whatever they have for tables/random decor. We did a trial run a while back and it was perfect for the kind of mis-matched thing we were going for. It was just a case of plonking them in vases/jugs and took all of 10 minutes once they were home. We've also decided on having a lot of plants (such as lavender) as they're not going to wilt and droop in the same way. They also look amazing with the tipis (we think so anyway)

If you start doing as much as you can now, then hopefully by the time the day rolls around all you'll need to do is let people know where stuff needs to go.

If there is anything specifically that I can help with, just let me know and i'll do my best to help.

Edit: We went to the open day on Sunday and grabbed some photos whilst we were there to help us with inspiration and planning, they're here if you want a look: https://pavonephotography.pass.us/beautifulworldtents/

You can kind of see what I meant about the "random" flowers look

God that sounds just like what we're aiming for. I said to oh that we should go to co op on the morning or night before, but they are a little unreliable with their deliveries so I'm worried to just leave it to them (we live in a small town only 2 shops) and because there is no cmpetition florists are massively expensive! Yeah I've started buying bits now, making decorations we're also using bails from the farm for outdoor seating and using throws/making! And just found out PIL have a generator too so extra savings!

Also saving every wine bottle jar and any other glass container to make simple centrepiece. Pinterest is literally my bible at the moment!! Are you doing any of the food yourself? thank you for replying I am probably going to end up badgering you A LOT, same though if you're ever in need of advice or just a moan happy to listen and help if possible but you sound like you have it covered!

thanks again Xx

Hi! Ours is almost completely DIY. The only thing we're not doing ourselves is hiring two people to run the bar for us, other than that it's all done by us, family and friends. Sounds like you've got yours pretty much sussed, I would definitely say let your family and friends know what you're doing and I'm sure the offers of help will come flooding in, we've had so many offers of help, and quite a few of our friends are taking the few days before the day off work so they can pitch in, I don't think there's anyone we've actually felt we had to ask for help, it's all been offered very willingly.

We don't have a master plan with the flowers really, we are growing some and are planning to go to a wholesalers to buy the rest (a friend has an account with them).

Best of luck with all your plans!

I swear I replied to your post right at the start but can't find it now, weird!

I have shot a few weddings now where they have done the reception in the Parents garden and everyone chipped in and loved it. It was so relaxed on the day and the guests even did the BBQ on the evening. There were jars everywhere filled with wild flowers and the cake cutting was done in a summer house. It was amazing to be honest.

If you want to see pictures for inspiration then just let me know.

Bluebell that sounds lovely. I'm hoping our fam will be just as enthusiastic! Yeah veggie vampire oh father knows a guy who does hog roast and got us an amazing price, as well our local health food/vegetarian cafe make thebest quiches and salads so thinking if having a go at their recipes (requires me to eat all if their food to perfect it haha) we've bought some paper plates from talking tables they work out cheaper than hiring and are really pretty!!

I'm a bit of a hoarder and I've always had an eye for old and vintage things, my home is full of my grandmothers possessions so we have plenty of amazing vintage style props. And we have a peacock so will be using some feather to add a splash of free colour too!

on the DIY front so far I've made some bunting, recycled old books in to a paper heart garland. Started making a patchwork quilt (pre cut squares of eBay are really cheap) also started collecting glass bottles and jars and have spray painted some using Montana gold spray paint, bought from London graphics and will be mixing "midge lodge" style glue with food colouring and glitter see what that looks like. Twine wrapped bottles are lovely too! My oh is a tree surgeon so will be using wood with numbers burnt in to them for table numbers. There are a few more bits but that's all that comes to mind right now

im currently trying to get oh interested in colour scheme but he's snoring on the sofa haha!!

thanks for all the replies, glad to see some other b2b that can maybe swap tips and ideas with

x

Bluebell that sounds lovely. I'm hoping our fam will be just as enthusiastic! Yeah veggie vampire oh father knows a guy who does hog roast and got us an amazing price, as well our local health food/vegetarian cafe make thebest quiches and salads so thinking if having a go at their recipes (requires me to eat all if their food to perfect it haha) we've bought some paper plates from talking tables they work out cheaper than hiring and are really pretty!!

I'm a bit of a hoarder and I've always had an eye for old and vintage things, my home is full of my grandmothers possessions so we have plenty of amazing vintage style props. And we have a peacock so will be using some feather to add a splash of free colour too!

on the DIY front so far I've made some bunting, recycled old books in to a paper heart garland. Started making a patchwork quilt (pre cut squares of eBay are really cheap) also started collecting glass bottles and jars and have spray painted some using Montana gold spray paint, bought from London graphics and will be mixing "midge lodge" style glue with food colouring and glitter see what that looks like. Twine wrapped bottles are lovely too! My oh is a tree surgeon so will be using wood with numbers burnt in to them for table numbers. There are a few more bits but that's all that comes to mind right now

im currently trying to get oh interested in colour scheme but he's snoring on the sofa haha!!

thanks for all the replies, glad to see some other b2b that can maybe swap tips and ideas with

x

I love this kind of wedding and if you have have family and friends who are willing to muck in and lend a hand you will have a fabulous day.

Just make sure you organise your helpers so that they (and you) know what they are doing. And put someone trustworthy (and possibly sober) in charge on the day.

I did a wedding a couple of months ago where we couldn't get in to the reception venue until one hour before all the guests were due to turn up. At the appointed time about twenty of the B&Gs friends and family turned up clutching the decorations they'd made and set to work.

I'm doing a lot of DIY bits but so far it seems to be costing me more than buying ready made stuff. My lovely Mr & Mrs sign that I could have bought already customised for £20 appears to have cost me over £30 by the time I bought enough of a selection of buttons (ok, so I now have a million buttons left for other craft bits but it's £10 more than I needed to spend). My upcycled jars - they themselves cost nothing but I'm probably close to about £40 for materials to cover them and still on the look out for more.

I initially had the same idea about supermarket flowers the day before but apart from yellow carnations and orange roses our local one doesn't have much in the colours I want. For £50 I can get what I want and need from a local wholesaler who recommends delivery 2 days prior to the event.

Icklefee actually makes a really good point- DIY is rarely as straight forward as you think- otherwise it would have caught on years ago and never gone away ?

All worthwhile though when you see everything finished, looking amazing and you can think to yourself "wow, I did that!"

I definitely don't regret my decision to do it, I look at things coming together now and do get an unbelievable sense of satisfaction and am proud of my efforts despite being the least crafty person I know. It definitely isn't the budget option though and the £15 birdcages and fish bowl centre pieces no longer seem totally extortionate in comparison!