With how expensive weddings can be, any chance to make your details budget friendly and personal by DIY will be super helpful. We did a lot of personal projects for our wedding and I loved that it made so much of the day unique. There’s a lot of information out there, but it can be hard to find and know where to start.

I reached out to Brittany who is an artist, mom, and bride in the Tampa area who did DIY and design for her own wedding. She shared that in her search for DIY projects for her wedding she found that most of it wasn’t wedding related so she wants to share her journey and DIY wedding work with others. Brittany wanted her wedding at a specific venue so she told her fiancé that if they could get married there, she would find a way to save money in other areas of the wedding. She’s always been creative and loves doing art/design projects. Her background is in graphic design, but she’s still learned so much more about DIY that anyone can learn no matter if you have an artistic career or not.

Brittany said, “Doing a lot of the projects myself has really been fun and I think it’s important for other brides to know that they are capable of doing the same.”

Here are some of the tips she gave:

• If you see something you want for your wedding but you can’t afford it or it’s not exactly what you want, you can always figure out how to make it.

• If you don’t have the right tools at home already you can rent them from Home Depot or ask your friends, family, and neighbors to borrow anything they have.

• Look into what you can buy on your own and get on sale.

  • Brittany got 150 dinner plates on sale for just over $50 and she can always sell them and get money back after the wedding.

• Don’t be afraid to ask others how to do something. If you see someone else who made something you want to try, reach out and ask them how they did it. You can also ask friends, family, and neighbors for help on the basics of building things.

• Look up hashtags, like #diyprojects #doityourself #diywedding #diyweddingdecor on Instagram or Pinterest.

• Go on Pinterest to see ideas and watch Youtube videos to learn how to use certain tools.

  • Brittany invested in buying some of the tools she’s using because she knows she wants to continue to use them even after their wedding.

• There are so many things you can DIY and find cheaper including wedding arches, signs, vases, decorations, invitations, etc.

  • Brittany is building their dance floor out of a wood frame base and a plywood top. She found a tutorial on Pinterest (that gives instructions and then she’s going to paint it her wedding colors. http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/how-to-build-a-dance-floor/

  • She’s also making a wooden circle arch for the ceremony, a backdrop for their photo booth zone, wood charger plates,

• “For decor, don’t be afraid to rummage through a thrift store. Just adding paint to something can make it look brand new.”

• Check on Etsy for some things because they can be DIY as well and you’re also supporting their small business.

• “You can also look for “floral markets” or “floral warehouses” in your area to order fresh flowers to include in your arrangements. Ask them about prices and what is in season around the time of your wedding.”

  • Brittany found artificial flowers, ribbons, and a custom return address stamp all for a great price.

• You can create your own invitations on Photoshop and then order them through a company like Vistaprint or you can use Vistaprint’s templates and make it personal.

I’m so thankful that Brittany shared so many amazing tips for other brides wanting to DIY their wedding!