diy flowers

Don’t worry. I have definitely not decided to do my own flowers :)

There is, however, an interesting discussion going on in the comments section of a post over at 100 Layer Cake. The post itself is a “how to DIY a bouquet of flowers” but the comments have turned into a discussion about the pros and cons of DIY’ing flowers in the first place.

Most brides will agree that flowers are “expensive” and can be a big chunk of the budget, but a lot of the points made in defense of florists resonate with me more. I’ve read other posts about the cost of flowers (like this one and this one) and additional more big-picture feedback from consultants like Sean Low.

A few big names in weddings have chimed in, including Summer from Grey Likes Weddings and Nancy Liu Chin (with some more comments on her own blog). It would be a valuable read for anyone trying to stay relevant and up-to-date in the wedding industry.

My two cents? Honestly, I don’t know enough about the floral world to really give an opinion from the perspective of a vendor. However, as a bride and as a friend/coordinator to many other brides, I can say that flowers are a beautiful, inspiring part of any event–especially one as significant as a wedding. Foliage and floral arrangements add texture, color, and life to venues, outfits, entourages, and photos. I wish I could have allocated thousands more to flowers — but I restrained myself from doing so.

I’ve read (more than a few times) that the best way to control the budget is by reducing the number of invitees and guests. Don’t get me wrong, that’s totally true. The number of people at the wedding can dramatically increase the cost of … well, everything from finding a bigger venue, increased food & beverage costs, needing more centerpieces, invitations, save the dates, favors…

Although I know the principle to be true, I know me, and I know that I want my wedding to be about surrounding myself with people that I know and love — even at the cost of gorgeous flowers or creamy, letterpressed programs and menu cards. I often find myself drooling over those luxuries, but I wouldn’t trade 20 of my guests for bigger, more elaborate floral centerpieces. Nor would I trade another 20 of my guests to letterpress all of my wedding stationery. I just wouldn’t.

With that in mind, I can empathize with brides who try to DIY their flowers and/or ask their amateur friends to step in simply because they can’t afford to hire a florist. It’s a sticky situation, but setting priorities in the very beginning can be a huge help later on, as decisions like this are being made.

diy projects from once wed

I’m still not convinced that I’m going to DIY anything for my wedding, but at the same time, I know my budget isn’t going to allow for tons and tons of Etsy purchases, either.

Just in case I decide to sew or craft something (for the first time in my life), I’m going to bookmark Once Wed’s fabric pom tutorial. Speaking from experience, chinese lanterns are a really cute, colorful way to decorate… but also speaking from experience, hanging them up with nails and thumbtacks and fishing wire is no easy feat.

Once Wed also had this super cute fabric flower garland tutorial, but I think it involves a lot more crafting-skill, of which I am sorely lacking.

Now that I come to think of it, Once Wed also had a really pretty boutonniere DIY using herbs… I’m not sure how easy it’ll be to make them look as pretty as they do in the images below, but it’s probably worth a shot. I’m not too picky about flowers and such, so if anything, I’ll probably try to DIY or ask a friend to help me DIY my bouquets and such. Then again, maybe not.

A lot of the brides I’ve worked with have found themselves SUPER busy the last week before the wedding and I’m pretty sure the last thing they wanted to have on their To-Do list is a bunch of DIY projects. Since herbs (and flowers) don’t last very long, florists are generally the busiest riiiight before the wedding. Unfortunate!

Ideally, anything that can be done months in advance should be done months in advance… like DIY projects and printing programs and out-of-town guest baskets, etc.

Anyway, I’m still ring-less and wedding-theme/venue/date/anything-less… so it won’t hurt to dream a little :)

diy – calligraphy

To be completely honest, I have no idea where to start this blog. I have TONS of ideas from poring over blogs, helping friends plan their weddings, and dreaming up my own. It’s overwhelming to imagine putting everything to paper… so I won’t. I’m sure it’ll all come out eventually, but for now, I’m just going to post whatever I feel like.

The other day, there was a post on Oh Happy Day! about calligraphy and it caught my attention. I have no idea what my wedding budget will look like, but with the future-fiancee on track for dental school, it’s very likely that we’ll want to minimize wedding expenses. Again, I don’t know what this will look like, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t going to be budget allocated to calligraphy (or letterpress, but that’s another sob story).

Laura Hooper has pretty much exploded all over the blog world over the past few months, and with good reason. Her work is gorgeous! I love fonts, but calligraphy… there’s just something so much more enticing about handmade.

Look! Aren’t these beeeeeeautiful?

Anyway, the post referenced a tutorial over at Project Wedding that basically suggests getting calligraphy tools and practicing it on your own. I’m a little intimidated by the ink and the pens but really, really love the look of personalized paper goods. A quick Google search (look for another post about how much I love Google) took me to this page that looks helpful too… I’ll post any results, if I convince myself to do it!