22 Sep 2012 FUNKY FRUGAL: DIY wedding ideas
by Tanner Cangelosi
My husband and I recently attended a wedding for some dear friends, Bronson and Callie Duke. It was such a fun atmosphere and so creative. This couple had done it right. They honored God, and their big day was magnificent.
I got the chance to ask Callie to share with 501 readers some of her crafty tips. Here are her “Top 10 Funky Frugal” wedding ideas:
1. Choose a location that is already beautiful. We chose Jamestown Ranch. They are family friends of ours with a tranquil home out in the country. The reason you do this is because you don’t have to work hard or buy lots of decorations to make your wedding beautiful and unique.
2. Choose the areas that are most important to you to spend money, such as your dress and photography. Choose to save everywhere else.
3. Set a price limit for everything and stick to it! It is really hard to stick to a budget, but in the end you’ll be glad you chose some places to save and were faithful to your decision.
4. Use your friends’ talents! We are blessed in our lives to know some of the most talented and giving people on the planet, so we had SO MUCH help with our wedding. We had help on our invitations, wedding program design, catering, décor, parking, you name it! Chances are you know some talented people too. Ask them for help!
5. Be willing to take on DIY projects to achieve the wedding theme of your dreams. Look through wedding magazines and Pinterest to get inspired with ideas. Then get to work! We used twine to tie glass bottles to sticks we found to line the aisle.
We made DIY wedding programs — little fans with a twine bow tied at the bottom, so perfect for an outdoor wedding! My mom made our flower girl’s dress, my garter and many other things. My dad built a dance floor and was the resident handy-man for any DIY stuff that required power tools.
6. Make your own cake accessories. I used some salt and pepper shakers that I got for a wedding gift as my cake topper. They were little white glass birds that my mom turned into the cutest little bride and groom by making a top hat and veil for them.
We made our own cake pedestal out of a candlestick and a round piece of wood and painted it sea foam green. I chose a very simple cake design so that it would cost less and feed more.
7. Decorate with less expensive flowers. We used baby’s breath, pink carnations and white daisies for the majority of our decorations. We had several Mason jars full of them everywhere. It was beautiful. My bridesmaids carried elegant bouquets of baby’s breath. The groomsmen wore baby’s breath in their boutonnieres. Simple and chic.
8. Borrow what you can! We borrowed food serving trays, drink dispensers, a table for communion, a sound system, white Christmas lights, a chandelier and much more!
9. Look for pieces at flea markets and thrift stores to personalize your wedding. You’re going to need something old and something blue, right?
10. Give yourself TIME. All of these projects are fun and a great way to save money, but not if you don’t have time to finish them. Make sure you don’t save all your DIY projects for the week before your wedding. That is when you need to be relaxing and celebrating!
