Hat’s off to the Do-It-Yourself Bride. Everything is personal and cost-effective when it’s handmade but be careful not to fall into the pitfalls of too much DIY.

Nobody understands a budget like we do at VOWS. We truly believe you can have the wedding of your dreams without footing the bill of your nightmares. A lot of our brides have told us that to save costs they plan on having a DIY wedding, or a Do-It-Yourself wedding. We have heard of brides making everything from the invitations to the cocktails and while DIY projects are cost-effective and add a personal touch we do have a few cautionary tales.

We have to start by saying that we love the idea of Do-It-Yourself projects. We’ve seen some bridal showers where brides plan a party complete with drinks and the bridesmaids or the bride’s family will come together to help the bride with her DIY projects. They can be a great way of bringing people together. Whenever something is made by hand, it becomes one of a kind and so DIY projects also make great mementos. We have recently seen a bride who used potato stamps to put her and her husband’s initials on cloth napkins. The napkins were used at the wedding and then she kept them as a memento in their new life together. Handmade objects are also more budget-friendly because you buy all the materials. With careful planning you can reduce waste and save money on labor by making them yourself or enlisting loved ones.

Unfortunately, DIY projects should come with a warning label. Too many times we have seen a bride that has taken on too much. Many blogs or magazines can make a project seem very easy when in reality it is time consuming or messy. We suggest doing a trial run of a small batch of your project before committing to taking it on full force. DIY is a big commitment, don’t make a bigger commitment than your vows on your wedding day! Even if the project is simple and doesn’t require too much effort a DIY bride has to be a very careful planner because planning a wedding is already so busy, stressful and time sensitive that taking on a project can only add to that. Buying your own materials for a project does give you more freedom but it can also get expensive in its own way. When considering a DIY project such as making your own tablecloths, it is always wise to first just shop around a little to make sure a handmade tablecloth is worth the money, time and effort.

We don’t want to rain on your DIY parade. We love and encourage any handmade efforts, but we think these are important points to consider before dropping all your vendors. As always, best of luck!