DIY Wedding Ideas to Save Money

by Carey Clive · Published August 8, 2020 · Updated August 11, 2020

Have you been placed in charge of all or part of an upcoming wedding? Are you working with a limited budget? If so, DIY wedding ideas are a great place to begin your planning.

Instead of investing in expensive invitations that will get tossed by most guests, why not make them? Use materials and colors in line with the wedding theme and create unique, memorable invites for those on the guest list.

You can find high-quality supplies in office supply stores and craft booking retailers. Use a laser jet printer for the text and remember to keep it simple. You want the invitations to appear attractive and frugal, not cheap and tacky!

Focus the correspondence on one aspect of the theme, such as using a snowflake shape for a winter wedding. You can use the wedding colors for tiny decorative shapes to break up the white space. However, you should avoid little sleighs or other items that demand closer scrutiny, thus detracting from the important aspects of the invitation.

While you are making these, you can also plan coordinating seating cards for the guests. Use the same colors, fonts and other artistic elements for a more cohesive presentation.

Just as you can create the invitations and seating cards, you can make your own centerpieces for the reception tables. The cost of flowers can add up quickly, especially for this type of event. You can find some simple centerpiece designs that use fewer flowers and that can be assembled by a novice.

Alternatively, you could opt for non-floral centerpieces. Water and fire are both popular elements that you might incorporate into your DIY designs. Would the sights and sounds of flowing water be in line with the theme? What about still water bowls with floating flowers? You might also float tea lights with or instead of the blooms.

More formal weddings with fewer children might want to use candles in various areas for ambiance. You can rent inexpensive holders from a party supply shop and decorate yourself with fake flowers, simple but attractive cloth draped safely away from the flame, or anything else that you can think of.

Once you know the theme and colors, you are ready to begin planning. However, you should not purchase items until you know how much you will need for everything. For instance, maybe you know that you are going to use blue spray paint for part of the decorations. Only purchase once you are sure of everything to be covered with it.

While you can go back to the store for more, products from different batches might have slight variations. This is particularly true when dealing with upholstery.

Make sure that you have sufficient time to get the DIY projects completed. Create a schedule and enlist aid as needed. Remember that it is about the big day and the joining of two lives. Don’t sweat the small stuff, and nobody else will either. Instead, focus on celebrating the union with the great DIY wedding ideas your team made!