2014-09-11

The pressure is on for brides these days with Pinterest, Instagram, and a dazzling number of wedding blogs, all jam-packed with inspiration images, styles and ideas. But how do you know which style to pick? Should you try the DIY wedding option and make it yourself? Creative director at online wedding boutique Ruby & Diva Weddings, Carrie Southall, reveals the dos and don’ts if you’re a DIY bride…



DO edit

Make a list of all the details you would like to incorporate into your wedding decor, then cross of the last two. You will have sub-consciously written the ones that you like most first, and this means you’ll have more time and budget to make the first few details really amazing.



DON’T just look at weddings blogs for inspiration

High street shop windows, art galleries and interiors magazines all provide a wealth of design ideas and colour combinations that you may not have thought of before but end up loving!



DO start now

Even if your wedding is six months away, if you get a free Sunday afternoon, get going with the paper tassels! Anything handmade will always take longer than you think.

DON’T think you have to hand-make everything

It’s okay to buy some pretty paper confetti from Etsy, rather than punching it out yourself. The details at the tables will get the most scrutiny, so spend your time making these really special.

DO have a repeating colour or motif

Even if you want the eclectic, mismatched look for your DIY wedding, you’ve got to be careful to make sure it doesn’t look like a junk shop. Pick up on one colour and weave it into each area – this will tie everything together but still make it look effortlessly styled – much better than overly styled!

DON’T think you have to fill every corner of the venue

It’s much more impressive to have two or three focal points rather than spreading your decorations thinly over everywhere. Don’t be afraid of a bit of empty space! Paper pompoms are a perfect example – cluster them together in one of two areas for impact, instead of dotting them around.

DO think carefully about your helpers

It’s not definite that your bridesmaids will be willing to spend the afternoon before the wedding up a ladder, so make sure you have a team of friends that don’t have another commitments. They should know exactly what you expect them to know!

DO make the journey plan for each element

If you visualise paper pin wheels hanging behind your cake table, then work out every step that gets them there. Who is making or buying them? How are they getting to the venue? Who’s hanging them up? Keeping track of this will help fill in any gaps.

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DON’T think it comes together without serious organisation

Make lists, make sketches, and label everything. It’s important that anyone at the venue understands how you’d like everything to look just in case you’re called away. If you know how you want your message table style, do a practice run at home, take a photo, and pass it on to anyone who’s helping. It’s a useful reminder to you, too, when the pre-wedding hustle and bustle is under way.

DO enjoy it!

Afternoons spent crafting can be really fun if you give yourself enough time to enjoy it, not stressing about getting it done quickly. Get your friends round to help or just use it as quality downtime for yourself! It really is a lovely feeling to look around on your wedding day and seeing how the little details that you’ve spent time on have come together.

So this will help with the pre-wedding stress when it comes to making those beautiful DIY decorations that we love at Wedding Ideas – it is worth it we think! And we’ve got more ideas and inspiration for your DIY wedding too, on our Pinterest page and right here!

The post Styling SOS! 10 dos and don’ts to beat DIY wedding stress appeared first on Wedding Ideas.

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