To DIY Or Not

To DIY Or Not? That is the important question. Knowing when to draw the line. Here are my suggestions on what to DIY and what not to DIY. They are based on taking the following into consideration. This you will also have to do when deciding what is practical and what is not for you.

- what may be safely prepared prior to your wedding
- whether or not you have prior access to your wedding reception venue
- how much help you have at hand
- whether you are arts and crafts minded
- what your wedding budget is

Click on the related links:

- DIY Weddings
- DIY Destination Weddings
- DIY Honeymoons
- DIY Manicure And Pedicure
- DIY Table Settings and Chinese Wedding Banquet Table Setting
- DIY Wedding Cakes
- DIY Wedding Catering
- DIY Wedding Favors
- DIY Wedding Favors Part II
- DIY Wedding Fireworks
- DIY Wedding Flowers
- DIY Wedding Ideas
- DIY Wedding Ideas Part II
- DIY Wedding Invitations

What to DIY:

The first thing that every body can do is to be their own Wedding Planner. Here the question of whether to DIY or not, is a non-starter. Click on the following link for what a wedding planner does: wedding planner. You may also wish to consider doing some or all of the following yourself:

- save printing expenses by making your own wedding invitations. If you are not arts and crafts minded then there is a wide choice of pre-printed wedding invitations.
- make your own seating cards
- write or type out your own menus. If you don’t have a computer ask a friend if you may use theirs.
- make your own wedding favors/bonbonniere’s, alternatively skip them altogether
- make your own table decorations. If using flowers have a practice run, but for freshness this should be left until the day before and kept in a very cool place.
- write your own wedding vows: see following link: wedding vows
- provide your own music. Ipod’s can store an amazing selection of your choice. Alternatively you may wish to hire a larger stereo system/ MP3 player.
- bulk buy your own drinks. Check when you are able to deliver them to the reception venue and ensure they have enough time to chill properly. Remember you will still have to pay corkage.
- provide disposable cameras so that the reception photography is informal and guests may capture the moments for you.
- you may choose to make your own cake and either ice it yourself, or ask a professional cake decorator

In what to DIY or not, let us now consider:

What Not To DIY:

- catering is best left to the professionals. Unless you are having a picnic, “bring a plate”, or spit roast, it is simpler to let someone else organise it. Instead of booking a hotel, book a restaurant – do not tell them it is for a wedding until after you have made the booking and have their costs. If they insist on increasing the costs, ask why. What additional service will you be receiving? They probably will not be able to answer this question!
- superstitious or not your wedding dress is best hired or bought: eBay is an absolute must to search on.
- service sheets will be very long and tedious to write or type out. Instead ask the minister/priest to put the hymn numbers up on the hymn board and announce what is happening as he/she goes along.
- hire a photographer for the photos at the wedding ceremony
- if drinking forget the limousine and hire a taxi

As you can see, in considering what to DIY or not, there is very little that you are not able to do yourself. As there are no hard and fast rules as to how things should be done, break with tradition and set a trend of your own.




What To DIY Or Not