Thoughts about DIY WP

Hear hear!!

I think I could have found my things, but I love doing stuff and also loved the fact that I could get *exactly* what I wanted. And it wasn't just me on the DIY; we had DIY cake, my MOH was my MUA, cousin did the graphics, friend did the printing, Dad helped with some of the decorations, had a DIY dress..... the list goes on!

For me, not only did it mean we could get something spot on for us, but there was so much invested in it by so many people, it gave the whole thing an extra level of wonderfulness

You are totally correct, people wrongly think that homemade is cheap!

Most of the things I've made would have been cheaper to buy!

it's the same as having a village hall wedding, whilst hire is cheap there are many other things to pay for, I may as well have had a hotel package!

I thought I would do a fair bit of diy for our wedding but when it came down to it I just knew that instead of being made with love and care, mine would be made with stress and angst! So I decided that I woukd focus my creativity on enjoying putting things together (rather than employ a wedding planner, for instance) and being a relaxed person that is nice to be around rather than someone who has taken on too much for my skills/time and becomes the grumpiest cow known to mankind!!

I am in awe of some of the projects on here though and always enjoy seeing the results

Absolutely!! I don't think of my diy as cheap, but I do think it is personal and full of meaning for me and my OH. would we have got that paying someone else? I doubt it!

To be honest, my DIY projects were initially to save money but once I started, I realised that often they are not any cheaper but more surprisingly, I loved making everything! It is such a nice feeling knowing you've made something for the wedding. I'm not very 'arty' and my mum wasn't keen on the idea of me doing some DIY knowing I'm not 'arty' but I think she is impressed with my efforts.

I've never seen crafting come out cheaper than buying something similar from a shop. All the invitations, table centres and other decor that people have flashed recently are far more costly, and it is the effort that has gone into them that *makes* the wedding.

Pammy your invitations are a great example. We were sending out 150 or so and wanted them out within a fortnight of our sudden decision to book a venue and commit to starting the wedding planning - hence I couldn't really commit to starting to design and make them. I guarantee that your hand-made invitations for your small wedding cost more to put together than our 150 printed ones, for sure!!!

DIY is about putting something of yourself into the wedding. I made cushions for our relaxation area at a cost of about £13 each in the end. Nice cushions can cost as little as £2.99 in the shops ! I wanted to choose fabrics and put them together, use them at the wedding and then give them away to guests afterwards. Making stuff is part of the soul of planning a wedding.

Feeling rubbish now for not doing anything myself!!

Although to be fair, the DIY jewellery was definitely cheaper because I get everything at trade price, haha!

Oops, sorry Kimiu ?

DIY stuff does need a few skills AND time, as well as inclination.

Lacking any of these is nothing to beat oneself up about!

I thought I was crap for not bothering to make my own invitations when I came on here and saw how they *could* be done with a bit of effort. Time pressure and lack of creative ability would have got in my way though.

Please Don't!!! As I said before, not everyone can DIY in the crafty sense for a vast array of reasons, but I bet there's still a lot of you in your design and that's what matters. This thread was not intended to make anyone feel bad - but encourage those who felt they were doing things in a cheap way "just" by DIYing when DIY can be incredibly costly especially in time and emotion invested lol. x

No worries! ! I would start out with good intentions but end up getting stressed beyond belief which would then be apparent in the finished (or unfinished! ) articles which would defeat the object.

we are making place names and table numbers as we want piste markers like you see on the side of ski slopes and we can only find one place that makes them to buy....and they are ridiculously expensive to buy, but that will be our lot. Loads of our guests are ski bums so hopefully they will make them smile......even if making them makes me reach for the gin and chocolates! !

I hope our wedding still has love and soul apparent in its planning, diy or not, that's paramount for such a mega day I reckon!!

So you are doing some DIY just not done it yet lol!

And yes - love, hearts and soul all the way. xx

Gosh I sound so defensive. ....not intended. sorry!!!

I haven't DIYed a thing - I mean at the moment we're not planning a reception so there wouldn't be much to do, but even if we were, I wouldn't. I am cack-handed (technical term) and impatient, and it wouldn't be worth the stress. I'm putting all my experience and knowledge into sourcing beautiful vintage stuff instead (like my bag and jewellery), so you know, I think that counts in a way.

The only thing I have DIYed so far was my invitations. I loved doing it and couldn't have got the style and content I wanted any other way, also it did work out heaps cheaper than buying, but I had to massively restrain myself in the craft shop to make that happen! It is true the cost of all those 'little extras' can really get away from you . I'd love to DIY more but the NZ UK thing makes it tricky as everything either has to be posted/packed and carried or sourced and made in the 2 weeks immediately before the date. I'm hoping there will be a few bits I can leave.

The only thing I have DIYed so far was my invitations. I loved doing it and couldn't have got the style and content I wanted any other way, also it did work out heaps cheaper than buying, but I had to massively restrain myself in the craft shop to make that happen! It is true the cost of all those 'little extras' can really get away from you . I'd love to DIY more but the NZ UK thing makes it tricky as everything either has to be posted/packed and carried or sourced and made in the 2 weeks immediately before the date. I'm hoping there will be a few bits I can leave.

We chose to diy our invitations but for what it's cost us so far it may have been cheaper to buy them, I really don't mind doing some wedding diy I'm quite crafty anyway as I can sew, use the computer, and make cards and such and I work part time so I do have some spare time. We both feel that diy means we can have a more personal wedding, our invites mean more to us because of the hours we've put into doing them.

I've absolutely loved all the DIY. I cant remember what my dining room table looks like! Actually starting to worry about WHAT I will actually do with my spare time when we're married? What on earth will I find to stick rhinestones and ribbon to?! *shudders*

I've made a few bits for the wedding, as has my 11 year old daughter (she made all the invitations). I'm pretty rubbish at crafty stuff, so my decorations etc look a bit crap, but working on the assumption that people will just assume my daughter made those ones

I definitely agree on the DIY is not always cheaper point.

I'm a picky bugger and love making things so I was always going to make a fair bit of stuff for ours. I don't think we saved any money in the sense that I could have sourced things for the same or less than we paid but I wouldn't have the same as what we did have. For example our boxed invites weren't cheap to DIY but they cost considerably less than they would have done had we paid someone to create the same thing for us.

Same with the BM's dresses. I think they work out to be about £60-80 (plus a small part of my soul!) each with all the fabrics and other components but to have the same either made by someone else or the ones i based them on would have cost at least double that.

I'll be honest, I love a bit of attention and the lovely comments I got for the invites did make me feel quite fuzzy inside!

I think overall, we probably did save money; the centrepieces would have cost me more to have made as each one was different, and I reckon the flowers would have been way more had we not got them from a wholesaler and did them ourselves the day before.

Invites probably would have been cheaper to just buy, but I love mine, so I don't mind really

We are doing a lot of DIY not specifically to cut costs (though I am a tightwad so that helps lol) but because a lot of the stuff we want simply does not exist! For example we wanted rats on our invites, I wanted my bouquets with black and red roses and lace with no leaves and black stems...ok I could have paid professionals to make them but this way I am getting the level of weirdness I want and the personal touch!