How to DIY Your Wedding, Part 1

Beside the fact that it's been four months since I last posted anything, I feel like this post will explain why. Sort of. What this post won't explain is that in the midst of planning a wedding, I was also finishing up my Master's degree, switching jobs, and we were in the process of buying a house. Yikes. Can I just say . . . never try to shove basically every major life event (beside having a baby) into one summer? Just don't do it. Ever.

Anyway, our wedding turned out to be beautiful. I loved everything about it, and the amount of love and support we felt preparing for and celebrating it was incredible. We have the greatest support system, and I'm forever grateful for that.

Because of everything going on, and the astronomical cost to put on a wedding, we tried to cut corners wherever we could. I'm going to share the major things we (my mom and I) did in parts. I'm not sure how many parts there will be in this series, but we'll climb that mountain when we get there.

Today we'll tackle the centerpieces:

I looooved how the centerpieces turned out. I was able to get fresh flowers on the table without breaking the bank, which seemed impossible, but it wasn't. We used eucalyptus (save coupons for your craft stores), and Queen Anne's Lace from a neighbor who had a whole field of it. We stuck those flowers into those green foam cubes you can get basically anywhere, bought buckets from the Dollar Store and spray painted them black, and then assembled the flower portion. It took A LOT of time and flowers, but because the flowers were free, no complaints! I will say, though, Queen Anne's Lace is very delicate. Transporting them was tricky, and the bigger the flower, the faster they'll die. We picked the flowers the day we assembled them.

The boxes that everything sat in are made from paint sticks from Home Depot. I also got these for free, but there's a catch. I lied and said I was using them for a school project. I was a teacher at the time, so it wasn't totally unrealistic. However, my Home Depot didn't ask for anything in return. I'm sure if you were honest, you might still be able to get them for free, or at least a super discounted price. The directs we used I found on Pinterest, but can be accessed here. We used Walnut wood stain because I wanted a rich wood color, and they turned out perfectly. I think the most expensive thing was a staple gun! And even then, we were able to get one for around $30. The total cost for the buckets was $25, at $1 a piece, and maybe $4-5 for a can of spray paint. Floral foam you can also find at the dollar store and it works just as well.

Cost breakdown:

Paint sticks Free

Staples/Staple gun $30

Wood stain $8

Buckets $25

Floral foam $25

Spray paint $4

Eucalyptus $15 at $5/bunch with coupon. (We used approximately three bunches.)

Queen Anne's Lace Free

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Total: ~ $107.00

You can't beat that price, right? I was originally disappointed that having my wedding in July meant all the beautiful spring flowers had already bloomed, but it worked out perfectly. I love the delicacy and complexity of Queen Anne's Lace, and I think it worked to give an absolutely beautiful atmosphere to the reception hall where we had our wedding.

Here are a few more pictures. The next post will be the favors!