DIY weddings have been common lately, and I absolutely love the control it gives a bride and groom over their own celebration. Many choose DIY in order to add a more personal touch to their event. Others choose to do a DIY wedding in order to cut costs.

However, after a trip or two to Michael’s, DIY can seem like you’re spending more than you’re saving! Here’s a list of a few ways to make sure that your DIY wedding stays within your budget and makes your big day extra personal.

1. Use a Wedding Resale site

Why buy new materials when you can get gently used supplies at a fraction of the cost? Wedding resale sites are places where newly married brides sell their wedding decorations, dresses, and more to people who are planning their weddings now. You can find anything from 100 mason jar glasses to 100 yards of pink ribbon at discounted prices!

There are several national sites where brides can shop for these items. However, there are also many local sites that allow brides to score great wedding necessities and save on shipping costs! In addition, make sure to check Facebook and other social media sites for pages that are dedicated to wedding resale. Check out this Facebook page for San Diego weddings!

2. Use Video to Create the Perfect Photograph

Want to save money on a photographer, but don’t want your friends and family on their phones during the entire ceremony? Try setting up a video camera (or two!) during the ceremony and recording your wedding. This way, you will have your own wedding video. From that, you can take stills from the video to create stunning photographs. For the group shots after the wedding, have a friend or a planner set-up and take the shots. This way, you don’t need to spend any additional money on a photographer and you will have your photos and video right away!

To avoid disaster on your day, make sure to test this technique before your wedding. There are many online tutorials that show you how to take stills from a video camera. Make sure to read these through and do a test run of the ceremony to make sure that the lighting and focus settings will yield the best possible photographs!

3. Send Invites on Social Media

This may seem like a cheap and cheesy idea, but hear me out. Instead of spending money to have engagement photos taken and then paying to have an invitation designed, printed, and mailed, use social media to your advantage! Take your engagement photos and make a flipagram set to your favorite song, or film a more personal invitation from the bride and the groom.

Once you have your video, flipagram, or photo designed, send it to your friends and family using email, Facebook, or any other electronic medium you’d like! This is a nice way to add a personal touch to invitations while saving money on printing and mailing. You could do the same thing for thank you’s, and personally thank each person in a short video from the newly married couple! This site has lots of options for evites, including animated messages that look like you are opening a real card. Additionally, they make paper invitations as well, so if you wanted to send a real invitation to the traditionalists in your family, you can!

4. Make Your Own Favors

Wedding favors are little gifts given to guests to thank them for celebrating your special day with you. While these are a nice thought, the cost of giving even a small gift to each and every guest can add up very quickly. One way to cut these costs is to make your own wedding favors!

Edible favors are always a hit, and are more likely to be used rather than thrown away or forgotten. You could make your own tiny treats for guests, like cupcakes, brownies, or cookies. Or you could try something more non-traditional like these spice jars from The Knot.

Other ideas that could save you money on favors include setting up a candy bar where guests could make themselves a goodie bag, or boxing up the remainders of the wedding cake for a late night treat for guests! If you’re interested in having us provide a candy bar for you and your guests, check out this page! Any of these ideas are sure to make sure your friends and family feel appreciated while not blowing the budget.

5. Cut Back on Greenery to Save Some Green

A wedding budget breakdown usually devotes between 5-15% of the wedding budget to flowers and centerpieces. That’s a huge chunk of change! By making a few adjustments to your floral plan, you can save that money for other splurges, like your honeymoon! The most important thing to do when deciding how to save money on flowers is to talk to your florist. They know how to cut the costs of wedding arrangements, and may have some out-of-the-box ideas to help you save money! In the meantime, think about these tips to save a bunch on your blossoms:

Ask your florist to reuse flowers from the ceremony for your reception as well. This will require some extra labor in between the two spaces, so be sure to factor that in when talking to your florist and your planner. However, reusing the flowers means reducing the number of flowers you need. How resourceful!

Try using items other than flowers! Some brides have been carrying bouquets of brooches, which is a fun way to add a very personal touch to your arrangement. For centerpieces you could try using lanterns, wooden décor, candles, or anything else that catches your eye!

If you’d still like to have large, cascading arrangements, try reducing the number of flowers and using greenery and herbs instead. These stems cost a lot less than flowers do and can do wonders to fill out a smaller bunch. Try using only one or three flowers with a whole lot of greens for a statement arrangement that will really wow your guests!

Happy Planning!!!

-Juliette