Money-Saving DIY Wedding Elements That Look Priceless
Think you need to spend a fortune on your wedding to have the perfect day? Think again! There are lots of ways to save money on your wedding while still having everything you want.
It’s supposed to be the happiest day of your life. But putting together the wedding of your dreams can be challenging, especially when you’re on a limited budget. According to a new study conducted by Design Bundles, by incorporating five money-saving D.I.Y items into your wedding planning, can save up to $1,500 on the total cost.
Leaving money on the table for the honeymoon, first house purchase or just building a new life together.
Design Bundles provides a high-quality and professional marketplace for premium and affordable design resources. They analyzed the costs professionally for weddings based on a 200-guest formal rustic theme event and did a comparison to the same elements done D.I.Y. style.
From invitations to favors and everything in between, couples can experience the wedding day they desire for a fraction of the budget.
Invitations/Stationery
Doing D.I.Y stationery/invitations instead of using an outside company proved to be the largest saving item. It found a savings of $546 for D.I.Y. versus an average cost of $1,025 with a professional company. Online design templates cost around $12.80 with card stock for $77, four packs of envelopes, twine, a card trimmer, and a printer. This also means the couple could do all their printed items—invites, menus, programs, and thank you cards—and the total cost was only $478.
Taryn Young, of Idaho, who is doing D.I.Y. in four of these areas, says she finds her ideas on Pinterest and various Facebook “wedding on a budget” groups.
She created her invitations on Canva for free and printed them out at Walmart for 9 cents per invitation and used her Cricut to address the envelopes. Cricut is a digital dye cutting machine that can cut lots of types of materials.
“We are on a super tight budget so everywhere I felt I could cut corners, I did. I live in Idaho where the average wedding is $20,000 so I think I did pretty well by staying at just under $5000.”
Welcome Signage
Welcome signage is another area where couples can save. Using a metallic easel, an acrylic board, and floral garlands only cost $84.47. Whereas the cost for a designer or professional signage can run $618. Total Savings: $533.
“My signage is being made from acrylic sheets that I bought from Home Depot for about $30 apiece and I am using My Cricut to cut out the vinyl for them,” says Young.
Flowers and Centerpieces
Looking at tables and their design, centerpieces make up the third-highest savings area. Professionally-designed centerpieces cost about $637, and with D.I.Y options, it can be done for just $359.
The survey suggests purchasing cylindrical glass vases costing $7 each and baby’s breath flowers at $8.99 per bunch, placing the artificial ones in a bowl of water, and finishing it off with bow-tied burlap costing $1.97 per ribbon. Total Savings: $277.
Eleanor Harnett from San Mateo, CA is going to D.I.Y for her flowers, venue décor, and other elements. In addition to helping keep the cost low, she wanted to add her personal touches.
“There were just things we didn’t feel the need to for a professional to get it done. My fiancé and I made a priority list for elements of the wedding. For the most important things, we had it done professionally and for the less important things, we are going to D.I.Y them.
As an added bonus, Harnett says her Grandma is keeping up the family tradition of doing the floral arrangements herself, as she did for her mom and aunt’s weddings. “We went to a wholesale flower store and looked at the flowers we wanted. We also have picked out our vases from Goodwill and thrift stores,” she says. “We’re using books in the centerpieces too,” highlighting the couple’s love of books.
Young shares, “For my flowers, I bought them from Walmart, Joann’s, and Hobby Lobby and we’re doing 5 bouquets and centerpieces for 10 tables. All together the flowers cost $700 including the supplies to make the bouquets.”
Venue Décor
Venue décor is another D.I.Y element that can save money. The study found that for $591, couples can create an aisle runner elevated with scattered silky petals and an arrangement of pampas-adorned vases. A standing pipe can be sprayed with gold paint and supplemented by cascading eucalyptus flower garlands held by twine, which makes a wedding arch for only $310.
Harnett has decided to D.I.Y. the décor in her venue as well by making her bunting. She said she saw bunting in a craft magazine that would really suit the vibe and the venue and has been collecting fabric from remnant bins and family members’ donations to create it herself from a variety of colors.
Wedding Favors
Wedding favors are another way to add a personal touch and give a thank you to guests attending the wedding, without breaking the bank.
The study found that couples can save on wedding favors for their 200 guests by using a small-sized jute bag filled with gold-wrapped candies, $139 for all 200, then accessorizing them with dried lavender flowers held by mini pegs, and a handwritten “Thank you” tag.
These cost $1.33 apiece ($266) in comparison to $2.14 ($428 total) when done professionally. Total Savings: $163.
To compare the costs for materials for the DIY equivalents of these elements, the study used pricing from stores such as Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. Professional costs were obtained using a wedding budget calculator and then tabulating the difference.
“These crafts can serve as an opportunity to help couples relax as they explore their creative side throughout the process and create even richer memories as they save money,” a spokesperson for Design Bundles said about the survey. “Although D.I.Y can be time-consuming, these suggestions are expertly curated to save time and energy as they require little effort.”
Preparing for a wedding day can be stressful when trying to find a way to pay for all of the elements to make it great. Choosing the right elements to D.I.Y. at the wedding can be a great way to save money, but also add a personal touch for guests. Visit Design Bundles and Pinterest to get more ideas.
This post was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
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