DIY weddings are going to be BIG in 2014 – more and more brides are choosing to create their wedding details to save money and add a personal touch to their big day. If you’re thinking of taking the DIY plunge, here are 14 crafty details that we’ve taken from our real weddings to inspire you!
Pretty pinwheels
Crafty bride Tabitha didn’t buy a single decoration for her bright and beautiful wedding day to husband James! We especially love the incredible pinwheel decorations, which were all made by the bride and her team!
“Everything you can see at the wedding, we made ourselves,” says Tabitha. “With my team of helpers we made over 1,000 pinwheels in all kinds of colours and sizes for the marquee. There were glittery ones in the disco room and coloured ones where we said our vows.”
Tabitha and James also covered the backs of the chairs in ribbons, and the bride made table numbers using oversized numbers covered in glitter. Tabitha’s brother made all the bouquets and table centres out of fresh flowers from a local market. “My husband is a big Star Wars fan, so we made the men buttonholes with lego men in them,” says Tabitha. See the rest of Tabitha and James’s wedding here!
Bridesmaid belts
Laura is another clever bride who DIY’d a lot of her day – she made the majority of the decorations herself over the year and a half that she and Wes planned their wedding. These included lots of bunting, paper, luggage tags, napkin holders and all the little signs, photo collages and lace details that made their day unique.
We love that Laura also made her own DIY changes to her bridal party outfits – she sewed a strapless bra into her wedding dress to give her more support, and customised her wedding ballet pumps with hearts from bracelets she found in Primark! To match her rustic vintage theme, Laura also handsewed floral lace belts to accessorize her high street bridesmaid dresses, which is a great way to add your own touch to an outfit! See the rest of Laura and Wes’s day here!
Playful place names
Tabitha and Daniel put their hearts and souls into finding the perfect vintage and beach-themed finishing touches for their wedding. “We bought lots of boats in bottles, collected shells, pebbles, and nautical trinkets to style our wedding,” recalls Tabitha. “The best part of the wedding planning for me was definitely hunting around car boot sales and markets with Dan finding unique pieces that would reflect us as a couple, and all at bargain prices!”
We particularly love Tabitha’s DIY Scrabble place names – these are easy to make, and can double up as playful keepsake favours! See the rest of Tabitha and Daniel’s day here!
Cute centrepieces
Decorated jam jar centrepieces are one of our favourite DIY wedding trends – it’s so easy to do, and you can customise them to match your colour scheme exactly! Lauren and Nathan went for bright, mismatched colours for their rustic countryside wedding.
“I wanted to do a lot of the decorations myself to give it a personal touch,” explains Lauren. “We collected over 200 bottles and jars that were all different shapes and sizes, and decorated them ourselves with ribbons and buttons.” See the rest of Lauren and Nathan’s day here!
Sweet stamps
This is one for the DIY novices among you – if you can’t create something from scratch, then why not customise premade items with a stamp to add a personal touch, like Sarah and Andy did for their quirky wedding day?
“For all our stationery we used a rubber bird stamp to decorate everything from invites to name tags,” says Sarah. “We still have that stamp and have since used it for our Christmas cards and change of address cards – friends and family now see it as our trademark!” See the rest of Sarah and Andy’s day here!
Dreamy decorations
All of the decorations for Lucy and Richard’s festival-themed eco-friendly wedding were either borrowed or homemade, with friends and family all lending a hand to make the day unique.
“Both our mums spent weeks making bunting out of old fabric – they did such a good job,” recalls Lucy. “Rich’s cousin also very kindly made our wedding cake and it was definitely the yummiest cake ever!” See the rest of Lucy and Richard’s day here!
A beautiful bouquet
Julie’s unique pine cone bouquet was a labour of love, created by her parents and new husband Mark. “I’ve always had a thing for pine cones and knew I wanted a pine cone bouquet right from the very beginning,” explains Julie.
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“My mum and dad collected hundreds for us and I painstakingly varnished every one of them. Mark then made my bouquet for me, after I explained what I wanted, and he also made the buttonholes – he is quite amazing really!” The white flowers were thoughtfully provided by the couple’s venue, which was a lovely surprise. See the rest of Julie and Mark’s day here!
Fabulous flowergirl dresses
Bride Rachel chose her two adorable nieces to be her flowergirls, so their mother (Rachel’s dressmaker sister-in-law) made their beautiful dresses as her gift to the couple.
We think this is a great idea if you’re partial to a little dressmaking, or you know a family member or friend who is – not only can you get your flowergirl dresses to match your wedding scheme exactly, but you know that they’re guaranteed to fit! See the rest of Rachel and Tim’s day here!
Terrific tablecards
Lindsey and Dave used a little bit of DIY to add personal touches to their music-themed wedding day.
“We made the table cards look like vinyl records, and all our tables were named after our favourite bands,” says Lindsey. For an extra little touch, they sprinkled music note confetti all over the tables and gave CDs featuring their favourite songs as favours. See the rest of Lindsey and Dave’s day here!
Confetti cones
Bride Sally mixed bought and handmade items to create her gorgeously rustic wedding theme. “I bought a lot of the reception centrepieces online, and picked the odd thing up here and there, if something caught my eye,” explains Sally. “A friend made the ‘Just Married’ bunting and we bought cosy beanbags from Cushion Lane for people to chill out on.
“The majority of the DIY items I made myself. I decorated 400 jars with ribbon, lace and pearls that became lanterns. These lined the aisle and decorated the Orangery. Also the confetti, confetti cones, dried flowers, Beanbag Toss games, table plan and all the signs were made by me.” See the rest of Sally and Matt’s day here!
A breathtaking blossom tree
Crafty bride Catherine and a team of helpers made a stunning ‘indoor’ blossom tree to fill their marquee. “We got so good at making pom poms by the end!” laughs Catherine. “They were attached by wire onto branches we’d collected from a fallen tree, to create the effect of a beautiful pink blossom tree.”
We think this is a super creative way to add impact to a marquee and bring nature indoors – particularly for weddings during winter, when you may not have as much choice when it comes to flowers. See the rest of Catherine and Ollie’s day here!
Fantastic favours
Laura and Ben had an amazing coastal-themed wedding full of DIY details, including bunting, pinwheel place settings, pink and white coconut ice and a wish tree covered with knitted sea creatures.
Our favourite touch was these delicious chocolate favours, made by the bride’s sister. Edible favours always go down a treat with both children and adults, and chocolate-making kits are easily bought from craft stores. See the rest of Laura and Ben’s day here!
A white wedding cake
Many brides are too nervous to make their own wedding cake, but we think that it’s worth a shot – particularly if you already love baking! Alternately, why not ask a foodie friend or family member to make it for you as a wedding present?
“We weren’t going to have a cake but two of our friends offered to make one as a wedding present,” says Rebecca. “We gave them free reign and they arrived on the day with a delicious fruit cake, which went down a storm (people do like fruit cake!).” See the rest of Rebecca and David’s day here!
Been inspired by these real weddings? Then check out our DIY Wedding section for more inspiration, tutorials and advice – or chat to other real brides on the Wedding Ideas Forum!
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