Creative couples, you can save money, add some truly unique touches to your wedding and have fun along the way with D.I.Y. choices - whether you're looking for glitz and glamour or opting for a more natural, whimsical feel to your day there are plenty of things you can try!
When starting out with D.I.Y. sometimes the simplest ideas make the biggest impact, so we'd suggest taking it easy – play to your natural skill set and start small – that way you'll be able to create beautiful pieces whilst also enjoying the process at the same time.
The first step is understanding the look and feel that you are hoping to achieve and then decide what you're happy to do yourself or would rather source readymade.
Invitations
One of the simplest ways to start out is sprucing up some plain wedding stationery with some personal touches. This could be hand painting, trying watercolour, adding gold leaf, using stamps or wrapping in ribbon or string.
Calligraphy looks beautiful on everything, whether that's your invitations, place cards or table numbers - it's also something that you can really get good with a bit of practice! If you're short on time, have a look into modern calligraphy which is easier to master and you can add your own personality to the lettering – perfect!
Favours
A small gift for your guests to take away is always a lovely touch and there are some amazingly simple ways to do it yourself.
Find some miniature bottles of your favourite spirits and add personalised labels for a brilliant gift that can double up as a place name as well!
Green fingered couples could opt for homemade seed paper or even potting flowers in miniature pots or mason jars, these can then be planted at your guests' home as a reminder of a loved one's special day.
Boosting sugar levels during a night on the dance floor is a great way to keep your guests moving! Mason jars, cute parcels or hessian bags are perfect for packaging up your favourite sweet treats, from fun pick and mix favourites to luxury chocolate truffles.
Venue Décor
Centre pieces can really help bring your theme together as well as show off your personal style and interests. Dried flowers are a key trend this year and selecting blooms to prepare them for tables can be a fun way to spend the day with bridesmaids or your partner in the lead up to the wedding! These flowers can also be used for buttonholes and bouquets which helps to bring the whole look together.
Bookworm couples could use their favourite books to create grouped centre pieces - different tables could be named after characters, titles, or places specific to a certain book. Fairy lights, painted bottle vases or candles could also be grouped together to create height and warmth in the centre of a table.
Other fun ideas for including within your venue décor are romantic chair end flowers, rustic pallet order of the day signs and vintage photo frame table plans.
Chalkboards and acrylic signage are also very popular this year (your new calligraphy skills will also come in handy here!) – for acrylic signage, stencils can be used, or you can design your own wording and place under transparent acrylic to trace. Painting the back to match your colour scheme is also a key trend and something fun you could do as a couple.
Entertainment
D.I.Y. entertainment is a very special way to make your day stand out from the crowd. A dance routine with your top table, husband or wife will get people laughing and dancing from the first song on the playlist and rehearsals are going to give you some great ‘blooper moment' memories!
If you have a musical member of your guestlist you could ask them to play a set or sing or a song throughout your day. A personalised written song could also be a great alternative to a speech!
Whatever you choose for your big day, just remember to make it special to you as a couple, and always remember the most important thing is enjoying your perfect day.