diy weddings

Things to Consider When it Comes to DIY Wedding Decor

One of the most common searched questions in google, in terms of weddings, relates to the pricing of a wedding, and how one can save. Most couples turn to some do it yourself items or buy second-hand to try to not rack up such a high bill by renting or buying brand new.

Between buying used items from Facebook buy and Sell groups, bridal swap events, or making your own items, you could save quite a bit of money! There is nothing more special than homemade, one of a kind items, that fit your vision and theme perfectly. Although this can be a great idea for some couples, not all will have success with it, and there are some things you will need to consider.

Creativity:

Creating your own decor can give your wedding a special personal touch. However, not everyone is crafty and you run the risk of purchasing all the supplies you may need and then being disappointed with how it turns out. You just have to think about the quality of the items you are able to make vs. what you could have from a decor company, will you be happy with how your work turns out?
Another thing to think about is your time, as making all these different aspects for your wedding can be very time consuming. If you work full time, your evenings and weekends will now be consumed with making stuff for your wedding, leaving you with little time for rest or relaxation.

Setting up:

The more items you supply, the more you have to bring to the venue the day of. Some venues allow access the day before which means you would be able to drop it all off ahead of time, but that is not the case for most venues. This means with all the getting ready and organized the morning of, you will also need to assign people to deliver and set up all the items you are providing. Items could include vases, slabs of wood, candles, backdrops, floral arrangements, pillars, favours, card box, etc. Depending on the amount of items, you really have to consider if you have enough manpower to get it to the venue, AND have them set it all up the way you want it to be.

Tear down:

At the end of the night, is another thing that needs to be considered. Will you have the same set of hands helping at the end of the wedding? Packing up all of your DIY and personal items, and loading it up into vehicles to be taken home that night. Most venues do not allow you to leave ANYTHING there overnight, as soon as the evening ends, everything needs to go home with you. If you can’t guarantee you will have enough sober hands to help at the end of the night, this can cause some headaches for you when all you want to do is go home and get some sleep after the busy day!

** In terms of set up and tear down, most wedding coordinators and decor companies do offer a setup and teardown service, so please keep that in mind! If you do hire someone to set everything up, you just need to make sure you are making a detailed map and instructions on how and where you want the items placed. **

Wedding Coordinator versus Venue Coordinator 

When I chat to brides about their wedding and I ask if they are looking for a wedding coordinator  and I sometimes get the reply "no my venue has a coordinator." At this point I cringe internally.

Photo by Phat Dog Visuals Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing venue coordinators out there, but that is not the norm. Venue coordinators look at everything from the venues point of view. They will not be chasing if the cake does not show up, they will not be sewing the grooms button on because it fell off before the ceremony. They will not be checking that the dress/hair/makeup looks ok whilst you're having your photo's taken. 

Wedding coordinators are independent from everyone and are solely working for YOU and in YOUR best interests. They will create a timeline of events for your day and communicate it to all of your vendors, they will cue music, speeches, first dance etc. When something doesn't go to plan which happens at most weddings, wedding coordinators are skilled to find solutions or work around the issue to ensure that the day is kept on time. The couple often has no idea until after the day that anything has happened. And that is the job of the wedding coordinator, to ensure this day runs smoothly and you get to enjoy a stress free day! 

Photo by Sawyer Photography If you are starting to plan your wedding, do not assume that every service that your venue suggests is the best thing for you. Just because they are on the venues preferred vendor list, does not mean that they are the right fit for you. Ask questions to your venue coordinator regarding the timeline, cueing music, working with other vendors, managing the vendors, how often can you contact them, will they attend/supervise the rehearsal? All these things are included in a wedding coordinator's package. So do your research and ask the questions.

You are spending thousands and thousands of dollars on your special day, therefore it is so important to find vendors who you are comfortable with and who you feel you can trust to do a great job and take the stress away. 

This is what is included in our standard wedding day coordination package:

  • One Wedding Planners certified by the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada

  • At least one assistant coordinator

  • An initial meeting at no cost to you, at a mutually convenient location

  • One planning meeting prior to the rehearsal, normally at the venue of the reception 4 weeks before the wedding (usually 2 hrs duration)

  • Design an itinerary which once the couple has signed off it is distributed to all vendors involved in the day

  • Reviewing all vendor contracts

  • Unlimited communication from when you contract our services until your wedding day

  • Contacting all vendors to co-ordinate arrivals/set up/take down etc

  • Supervision and Direction of Wedding Rehearsal

  • Supervision and Execution of Ceremony and reception set up

  • On site direction of the Wedding Ceremony and Reception

  • Supervision of Photo session

  • We will arrive when needed and leave after the last major event (usually after the night table has been laid out)

  • Access for you and your guests to our emergency bag, because we are prepared for most situations

Christmas at a planners house!

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Us wedding planners are creative types and we never need an excuse to decorate! Christmas is the time of year to go all out with décor. Last year, I was very taken with the light blue and silver which seemed to be very popular. I like to try something different, and so I did.

I loved the winter feel of the ice blue with the silver.

For Christmas Day, I coordinated the table with the tree.

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My friends at With All My Heart Wedding Décor did a great job with helping me pick the right chair sashes. They also had the perfect colour napkin holders.

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The centrepiece was creatively designed by Select Flowers who did a great job bringing to life my vision.

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This is a great time for those of you who are DIY brides to try out things that you have thought of for your tables.