How to be a DIY Bride without Looking Like a Cheap-Ass Bride
Everyone loves DIY projects. We did tons of them for our own wedding. But there is a definite difference between DIY and cheap. Of course you want to save money, but you certainly don’t want to look cheap. Here are some tips to get you in there.
Attention to Detail
Craft projects are awesome, but you want it to look beautiful, not like it was slapped together. Be careful with that glue gun, don’t leave trails. If you’re sewing something, make your seams clean. Creating your own bouquets? Learn how to do it first, don’t just tie some daisies together and call it a day.
Use Quality Materials
Dollar store is not the place to shop for wedding materials. You can spot dollar stuff a mile away. It looks cheap, some kid in China made it, and by the way, it didn’t save you any money. What?? That’s right, decorating materials at the dollar store are far more expensive than wholesale or vintage.
When I say wholesale, I do NOT mean Sam’s Club. Still looks cheap. I mean wholesale decorating supply companies. Did you know that you can access their discounts with something as simple as a Mary Kay consultant card? Signing up with Mary Kay gets you 30% discounts on many wedding decorating materials.
It will also allow you to play with makeup prior to contacting your professional makeup artist for a consultation. Believe me, I DIY’d my makeup. It made getting ready for the wedding somewhat stressful and resulted in a less than stellar makeup job.
Work with Your Vendors
Do not, I repeat, do not haggle with your vendors over price. It is disrespectful and will set the wrong tone in your relationship. Many vendors will work with you to craft a package that meets your needs, but don’t haggle over price. How would you like it if your boss said, “I didn’t budget enough for your paycheck this week, so you’re going to have to take a 20% pay cut.” Plus, in the end you might be disappointed when the reasons you selected a vendor don’t materialize because they’ve cut back items to meet your price requests.
Look at the average prices in your market for the services of that type of vendor so you can create a realistic budget. Just because you want to pay $200 for a wedding cake for 250 guests, doesn’t mean they actually cost that.
You forgot- if you aren’t crafty, don’t try to duplicate Martha Stewart! Love the paragraph on haggling! I don’t thin that brides understand that this is a BUSINESS! We don’t do this for laughs. Please, respect the fact that we feed our families with the fees we charge. Thank you, Christine, for this great tip and all the other wonderful stuff you keep us informed about.
You would be surprised at how expensive DIY silk flowers cost, if you get the kind that look real. If you thought fresh flowers were going to be too expensive, you need to check out wholesale pricing for fresh cut flowers.
Like Ariane says, don’t just get a bunch of dasies and tie them together, unless you want a very casual look, but, if you buy from a company like ours, you will actually get real information on how to do the construction, so that they look like you wanted them to look.
***Do the stuff you know you can do, and leave the rest to the professionals. You’ll be less stressed in the end***