Ideas!!

I would plan my own wedding ideas with the help of a MOH or family memeber. Everything else I'll pay for just not a wedding planner...

Photography is worth paying a professional.
I had a friend be my day of coordinator and it was perfect. So if you know someone 1) willing and 2) detail oriented, you can DIY that.
I DIY my bridal party flowers and hired someone to make mine. They were super easy, looked great, and saved a ton! I just didn’t want to risk making mine since they would be a focal point. I DIYd most of my decor. Mostly bought home decor from stores to put together tablescapes. I did my invitations, printed at Staples. . It was time consuming, but saved a lot and they looked great!
I think at the end of the day it’s going to up to you and what you deem important. If something is a priority to you and you want it to be of quality and look nice I’d hire a professional.

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THANK YOU SO MUCH !! I'm just going to figure out exactly what I want and need.

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I do have ideas and a theme already it's just actually putting it together lol

View Quoted Comment Got it ....so see if a family memeber or a close friend can help you plan....bc it does that alot to plan on your own i wouldn't suggest that at all. The part of saving on a wedding planner yes by having someone else to help

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Thank you so much.

View Quoted Comment Np and have fun while doing it...

It all depends on what you care about the most… Many people say that I am crazy because I plan to DIY with my photographer. My fiancé‘s father does photography as a hobby but he takes Great pictures so we’re just going to have him take a few pictures before our ceremony and a few during our ceremony but then for the reception we plan on putting Polaroid cameras and have our guests take fun pictures throughout the night and then they will put them in a basket and then my fiancé and I will create a wedding book with those. We are thinking about skipping limousine service and I will be DIYing and hair and make up . I’m a licensed stylist. We’re debating on DIYing most of the floral. All of the good floral vendors around where I live start at a minimum of 4 to 8 grand. Our venue has so much floral that is already there so that is helping us save a bunch. We did spend a whole crap ton on a DJ but hes one of the best in our state. You can definitely DIY a lot of the decor although I personally do you have a vendor for the decor because that’s also one of my other main things that I care the most about. Definitely don’t DIY any of the catering or any of the bartending. Food drinks and entertainment are the biggest essentials in my opinion and that’s something that you definitely want to spend the most money on.

Things best left to professionals:
Photography
Food/cake (most require licenses to be brought in)Music
Beyond that, decide what your skills are. DIY doesn't always save money because you have to factor in time and patience as well. If you're not crafty by nature, browse Etsy and pay the DIYers there.

I did a lot of DIY for our wedding. We were on a budget and wanted to add our own little touch. It was really nice because it became a family bonding project. We left the certain things to the professionals (food, cake, bar, photography, dj, etc.)


We created our centerpieces (a tree from our yard that we sanded down and coated with a glaze)
favors, small space decorations, our card box, place cards, our wedding program was on a mirror, and my mom put together fake flowers for the trellis for our ceremony that were moved inside. Our guests loved all the personal touches and thought it was special to see but only DIY if that’s what you would like to do. I love Pinterest for DIY ideas and Michaels has a lot of things for great sale prices and coupons! I attached some pictures to help you out. Just keep an eye out for projects that could take longer than expected, especially if you’re crunched for time!
I hope that this helps!

So far I’ve done some signs and our guestbook. But I’m planning on doing flowers and centerpieces as well. I’m attempting to make a card to go with the save the date magnets we purchased. And I’ve ordered blank canvas totes and some supplies to iron on a design for hotel welcome bags. I agree that you should definitely consider your strengths and what’s important to you. I have always been pretty crafty and received a cricut maker for my birthday last year that I am putting to good use. In my experience, some things do cost more than just buying it especially since I always buy extra materials so that I can practice a bit before the finished product.

I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s DIY but I would consider getting a day of coordinator if you can instead of doing logistics yourself

You can DIY almost all of it, but I highly suggest getting a professional photographer and professional caterer!

FLOWERS!

One flower shop here in STL charges $350 for just the bride's bouquet. SO I am getting my flowers wholesale, and putting them together with my mom and MOHs, and only paying less than $200 for literally all the flowers.

I'm paying a photographer, and we bought dresses, also i'm paying for a hair stylist for myself, but the rest of my wedding is DIY. One of my bridesmaid's does flowers as a hobby with her husband and they are helping me with arrangements. I'm doing all the decor myself. A friend is going to be my DOC, another friend is going to be MC, though I'm still trying to figure out if I can borrow equipment from a different friend for speaker/microphone or if I'll need to rent/buy something.

If you're wanting to save money and don't have a dress yet, I highly recommend trying out a bridesmaid dress that comes in white or ivory. Since they tend to be more simple, the sky's the limit with accessories (and my dress was only $168).

Veils at the bridal shop are WAY overpriced but you can find beautiful, affordable ones on Etsy. I love the idea of handmade things, but am not as creative or skilled as would like to be.

Speaking of Etsy, I bought the following things off that site for my wedding: jewelry, cake topper, sand kit (for a blended family), my bouquet, veil, hair accessory for my step daughter, freeze dried rose petals, an abalone shell to hold the rings, vow books....I think that covers it. Great option if you want to customize anything or have more of a "handmade with love" feel.