7 wedding D.I.Y ideas

 

​    When most people start planning a wedding the first thought is, 'what is my budget?' The second thought is, 'this isn't going to be cheap!' Been there, thought that. During the time of planning our wedding, we found little and big ways to help stretch our budget. 
​ Here are 7 small to big ideas you could do to make your Big day great without spending Big bucks!

See more of my wedding and how I got my wedding dress for under $100 here.

1. Make your own decorations​

Making your own decorations is a super easy and fun way to cut down on your bill. You get to customize the look you want so it fits perfectly to your theme, and you and a few friends can have a lot of fun while doing it!

Painting cardboard letters is another minimal decoration that can add a lot. This project only cost about $10! 
paper letters found Here 
Chalk paint found Here

​​       2. Make your own wedding favors

For the wedding favors at my wedding my mom and I made these super cute dream catcher key chains. We wanted something that people could get use out of, that wouldn't just junk up their lives.
See how to make your own here.
Original and cute. Pinterest has loads of ideas on cute wedding favors.

     3. Use pictures

Using pictures to decorate is a very sentimental way to decorate your wedding. I chose to use pictures of my grandfathers who have passed away, as well as my husbands great-grandparents. This was a way for us to remember our loved ones on our special day. Using pictures allows your guest to see more of you and just adds a much more personal touch.

       4. Making the dresses

I know this is a huge and intimidating DIY, but we saved hundreds of dollars by making the brides maid dresses. My mother is a saint and actually made all the brides maids skirts!
You can do it too- my mother is not a trained seamstress by any means.
Click here to see how you can make your own. 
My mom made my wedding dress also! See here

      5. Making the men's bow-ties

With left over fabric from the skirts we made the men's bow-ties. This is so easy, it only takes about 10 minutes and it will save you so much money. Bow-ties are not cheap. Plus it will match perfectly! 

       ​6. Invitations 

Your wedding invitations set the mood of your wedding before the actual wedding. A friend of ours who does print making made these for us, but you can download designs from Etsy and take them somewhere that does professional printing to save you a lot of money- and you can get what you want.
AshAndPaints is the Etsy shop we downloaded this design from

    7. Wedding bands

Rings are so simple, yet so expensive. I am not a high maintenance girl. I couldn't care less about wearing a diamond on my hand. My engagement ring actually had diamonds in it and it was beautiful but after a year of wearing it almost all the diamonds were gone because I had been so rough on it. I knew I didn't want a fancy ring and I was certain I didn't want to be in debt because of a ring. My mom makes jewelry, so she made these matching wedding bands for us. We saved hundreds of dollars by being fortunate enough that my mom could make these. 

I know not everyone knows a jeweler but there are some pretty affordable rings on Etsy. Having a handcrafted ring is special. You will have your own unique ring. 

Here is a link to an Etsy shop that has beautiful rings similar to ours.

Here is an Etsy shop that has more feminine handmade rings

   Everyone's wedding day should be filled with love and remember there is no price tag on love. I hope this post gave you a creative spark to maybe try and make something for your wedding. 
If you are in the Knoxville, Tennessee area or you are planning an event check out our photographer and venue

Photographer: www.brookssharp.com
Venue: www.morninggloryfarmtn.com