D.I.Y WEDDINGS ~ What you need to know

Header image courtesy of South Bound Bride

So, you’ve decided to plan your own wedding and do your own decor… good on you!

Of late, I as an event designer, have been experiencing a lot of potential clients come to me for the decor and design, and once the proposal is put together and the ideas are given, they turn around and say:  “Thanks, but I’m going to do this myself, I saw something similar on Pinterest”…

Let me first say, as a Wedding Professional, it’s not OK to hijack someone’s ideas.  Having spoken to so many other industry professionals, this is a growing concern, which is why a lot of them are no longer providing proposals and images until a contract is signed.  But this post isn’t about that, that was just a side note.

Image Courtesy of blog.theknot.com

What we will be discussing is what you need to know when you choose to do it yourself.  Obviously the DIY is cheaper (kind of) than hiring the professionals, but what you don’t realise is that when it comes to the DIY Decor… you are more likely to end up with a DIY Disaster.

On more than one occasion I’ve had these potential clients and/or friends say “I should’ve hired someone”…

What you need to know, and prepare yourself for when becoming the DIY Decor Bride is first and foremost, those beautiful 5-minute DIY posts on Pinterest, are done by professionals who have had time and money to perfect that project…

What does that mean?  Well I don’t do math, but let’s say you’ve chosen to do some hanging lace lanterns… they say it will take ten minutes… for a professional… so you can say about 30 in all seriousness.  Next you’ve got the ten to fifteen tries before you finally perfect it, which costs time and money… but you’ve battled through and you have finally succeeded in getting one perfect!!! YAY IT ONLY TOOK SEVEN AND A HALF HOURS!!! YAY!!!

Now do another 50, or 100…  insert chirping cricket sound here.

Right : Pinterest Left: hollymatrimony.ca

I’m not saying “don’t do it yourself”, I’m saying, be realistic.  When you are doing your own Decor or Flowers or Planning, while you think it may be cheaper… Is it really worth the stress, the hours, the personal labour and the pain?  And at the end of the day, wouldn’t you want to enjoy your special day instead of stressing, decorating and dealing with problems?

Sometimes, hiring a professional might be the best route… but if you still think you should go at it alone, make friends with vodka… you’re going to need him.

And just for fun, before you delve into the Pinterest DIY Section… take a look at some hilarious Pinterest Fails on Pintrosity…

Image courtesy of Pintrosity