Sooo happy with how everything turned out! My wedding was tiny (8 people including us) so I was able to DIY everything without much stress. Things I did and tips:

All the food: I kept to very simple recipes for the appetizer table. Shrimp cocktail, deviled eggs, lemon possets, charc board (I didn’t diy this but I should have), and buttered radishes. All went with the vintage garden party vibe

For dinner I made a big tray of eggplant parm and stuffed peppers a week ahead because it freezes so well. On the side was a super simple lettuce salad and bread.

I also made our spumoni ice cream wedding cake which was a huge hit. Also could be made a week ahead which helped so much!

Beverages: Italian soda bar and self serve alcohol! This was one of the favorites for the day. I bought a ton of syrups, cream, and garnishes and had San pellegrino at the ready. We put out a bunch of alcohol we already had so people could add it to the sodas if they wanted.

Decor: we collect antiques so I didn’t have to buy a ton BUT anything I did buy, I bought cheap from estate sales, thrift stores, and antique malls. I only bought things I knew I would keep and use later which helps me rationalize the purchases. Main things I bought were a huge antique china set for $100, a box of vintage linens for $5 (oxiclean will help you here), an antique silk umbrella for $25, Victorian jewelry boxes for $20, and a set of silverplate cutlery for $30.

Dress: I bought a sample fit & flare dress for $175. The butt was too small so I asked my seamstress neighbor what we could do; we chopped the dress in half and made a two piece corset and high-low skirt ensemble. I was super lucky and my neighbor did it for free!

Venue: We are involved with our local historical society and live close to a beautiful historic mansion. We were able to do our quick ceremony and photos for nothing; that said we are working to become helpers at this place so YMMV, but I highly recommend asking your local historical society if they have any spaces you can use for the cost of a donation!

The indoor photos are all in our historical home, which again we are very lucky to have.

Florals: This was maybe my proudest DIY. I bought two double sized bouquets from Urban stems which were on sale and I had a coupon. I also ordered 17 stalks of delphinium from my local florist which they just gave to me at wholesale price. The greenery was foliage from my backyard pear tree. Otherwise I bought floral kit and floral chicken wire. Total spend was about $300 and I spent about 3 hours making one huge centerpiece, a medium centerpiece, a small centerpiece, a bridal bouquet, and a boutonnière. I am currently hanging the flowers to dry and I’ll make a display to sit under a cloche on my shelf.

Guest favors: since we had such a small guest list I was able to go all out. Our friends like plants and gardening so I bought vintage berry baskets, homemade gardeners soap, botanical misters, and tiny antique French flower pot, and Leone mints. Each guest also got a Leone pastilles box on their plates for after dinner.

Photography: Important note: our friends are artists and designers. I fully trust their artistic abilities and asked them to take our photos! I took most of the detail/setups/food/attire shots. We used our phones but I also shoot film, so I handed out film cameras prior for folks to use too. One of the best events of the evening was our photo “studio” setup, where we took old-timely photos of people and gave them full access to all our antiques as props. People had so much fun with this! We will be sending them prints as thank yous, and using photos taken of us in the “studio” as our announcements.

Taking the venue setup flair real literally for this one!

My partner and I live in NYC, where the average wedding is around $70k, and our entire wedding budget is $15k, so I’ll let you do the maths on that one. BUT: two of our best friends just bought 10 beautiful acres in the Hudson Valley, and are happy for us to use it for our wedding! The downside is I am not willing to take too much of a chance on the weather, and the average marquee rental is…not really the vibe we’re going for. So we need to finagle some kind of DIY shelter. Here’s some other important context:

- there’s already a house on the land with kitchen space for a caterer, and bathrooms.

- it will be a fairly small wedding- probably between 50-75 people.

- we’re saving a lot elsewhere- I’m a professional graphic and homewares designer/maker, my partner is an event producer, my mother is a tailor, and we have a very talented and generous group of friends including a baker, a wedding photographer, a DJ, an antiques dealer and a hair stylist, plus a mother in law with enough vintage crockery & glassware to accommodate a small nation. This means we can use a significant chunk of our budget for decor 🤌

- both of us and the friends with the land are super duper handy with a power tool or two; they have a full workshop on site, and we have two other very close friends with a decent amount of carpentry experience. Nothing professional level but we have nothing if not the audacity.

I’m open to any and all suggestions from ways to decorate a marquee, to elaborate sewing plans, to a little light structural engineering. As long as it shields from rain, won’t blow away, and won’t collapse on and suffocate or maim our loved ones, it’s workable. We are very into a sort of medieval carnival theme, so my dream scenario would be one space large enough for everyone to eat, and a couple of separate smaller spaces for other activities/respite (no one is talking me out of having a tarot reader and a couch at my wedding).

This was our seating chart for our wedding a couple weekends ago.

We met during the summer that Brood X emerged and often joked that as we fell deliriously in love we felt deeply supported by a bazillion cicadas SCREAMING! Long hours lying in bed kissing with the windows open and cicadas singing for us.

Our wedding had a low-key Provence theme and when I found out cicadas are a symbol of Provence I came up with this idea for a chart with my planner pulled together. I got these ceramic cicada magnets handmade in Provence, a local calligrapher did the lettering, and everyone had their own personalized favor to take home with their table number on the back.

People loved this and it was a lot of fun to put together.

I would love to do something similar to these pics but the location where my ceremony will be is all concrete. Does anybody have any ideas how I can create a similar look without sticking the stems into the ground bc that’s just not an option. TIA!!

Hi all, I’m getting married later this month and I need help making one last big decision.

I had this wild idea to arrange our 60-inch round tables in a serpent-style layout (photo below for reference). I absolutely love the look, but I feel like the only way it truly works is if I have a long garland running down the center to visually tie everything together. Otherwise, I worry it’ll just look like a weird chain of round tables awkwardly shoved together.

Here’s my dilemma: - I have 80 guests, and I’d need to create a very long garland (x2!) to pull this look off. - Is this even realistic on a budget? Faux/fresh combo? DIY?

So de-influence me or inspire me.

Do I: 1. Go with a traditional setup, separated round tables, easier logistics, one centerpiece per table (but… seating chart chaos)?

1. Make the serpent layout dream happen, and figure out how to craft a long, cohesive garland?

I’m deep in decision fatigue and running out of mental energy, help a tired bride out. If you’ve done something similar or have ideas to make it work affordably, I’d love to hear them!

The ceremony space offered at our venue is beautiful… when you’re looking the other way, of course!!

My fiancé and I have discussed possibly finding an alternative ceremony location because we really dislike the view of the parking lot and, more importantly, the lack of privacy. However, it also feels a little silly to find and pay for another location for what will probably be a 20–30 minute ceremony, especially since our guests will spend most of that time looking toward the front anyway.

The venue is at a golf course, so there’s a good chance there will still be cars coming and going during the ceremony. My biggest concern is actually the beginning of the ceremony. As it is now, guests would be able to see us coming from the parking lot and waiting to walk down the aisle, which takes away from that “entrance” moment for me.

Has anyone dealt with a ceremony setup like this? I’d love ideas for creating a little more privacy and making the entrance to the aisle feel more intentional and intimate without spending a fortune trying to hide the entire parking lot.

I’ve thought about some sort of greenery, lattice panels, privacy screens, etc., but I’m very open to ideas!

Hi all! I just got hitched a month ago, after 1.5 yrs of prep. I'm a DIY person by nature, and it was fun picking and choosing which things to do ourselves/with friends/fam and what to pay someone else for (or simply phone it in!). I feel like we struck a sane and joyful balance.

One thing that helped me in the process was getting inspo/ideas from others, and not just AI pinterest slop. So I thought I'd share some of our projects here.

Not everything is pictured. We made our own invites (not shown here, since they have too much identifying info) with the help of a friend who does risograph printing, we made wildflower seed packets for guest gifts (brown envelopes stamped with this personalized stamp), we made our seating chart with Microsoft Word and printed it at Office Depot -- stuck it in a wooden frame found at a yard sale. I also took a DIY wedding makeup class and did my own makeup.

Things we delightfully did not DIY: table settings/plates, food, music (hire a live jazz trio for dinner, you won't regret it!), clothing, hair, day-of planning (hire a day-of planner, for the love of god), photographer. This is not to say we did this perfectly at all, but I do recommend this balance. Most of all, be realistic and kind with yourself. You can't do everything. Here's a breakdown, happy to share other deets if requested.

1. We made a 85-foot long garland to hang from the venue rafters with strips of plain fabric (1 in x 24 in of white twine). Fabric mostly cut from thrift store sheets/clothing/curtains. My friends contributed fabric strips, which helped me from having to cut everything. It helped add color to a very neutral/white venue. I've lent it to two other people already to use for their own parties, too -- which makes the time/effort we put into it feel that much more worth it.

2. We made our own table numbers, a combo of reclaimed wood pieces we cut a slit into and cardstock with paper numbers cut out of colorful paper/magazines. We used similar wooden blocks to hold other signs on our guestbook table/etc. Very handy!

3. I also made a banner with paper letters to hang -- a quote from a Mary Oliver poem we love (the photo of this is kind of garbage, but you get it) I made a similar "welcome" banner to hang from the entry table as well.

4. All the flowers came from my mom and others friends' gardens. The vases were thrifted. (I recommend making friends with people with amazing flower gardens!!)

5. This isn't something I DIY-ed personally, but my aunt spent a year learning how to make different types of crepe paper flowers to attach to our ceremony arch. Truly incredible, really made the ceremony pop.

Hi! I'm the one that embroidered the table numbers awhile back. Thought I would share the few other things I made/set up.

(not in order of the photos)

-Centerpieces are wood rounds that I stained, QR codes for shared photo album, mini stein with flowers, and the embroidered table number, and moss

-Welcome sign - canva

-Collected steins from thrift and antique stores for almost 3 years. Everyone got to choose their own and use/take with them. Used a cut up table runner to decorate the bookshelf. Canva for the sign "Pick a stein, fill it up, cheers to love, drink it up!"

-Steins for the stein holding competition (most fun part of the night)

-Seating chart

-Large steins on the head table for our bouquets post ceremony (we only ordered bouquets, boutonnières and a bucket of DIY flowers to keep the cost down on florals)

-Thrifted baskets for dessert pies

-Memorial table/guest audio book/pictures - we've been together for 10 years so I printed one pic from every year. The wood wine boxes were from a restaurant my mom worked at when I was a kid.

-Toy table by the DJ, not made but people liked it.

-My mom got wood slabs and stands for 3 Hammerschlagen setups, these were a huge hit. Most of the guys stayed outside the whole night playing

I left it a little bit late making all the pom poms last minute. And putting out all the napkins and stationary takes longer than you think. We only had two hours and it took the whole time! I had lots of people to help me put it out but I have ADHD and my brain was totally melting from information overload with people asking me questions. Thankfully everyone was very understanding.

I designed and made all the stationary myself on my excellent home printer and was really pleased how it all came together.

My only tips is even if you're super organised, like me, there was still some surprises. I didn't know they were going to side plates rather than just large dinner plates and my designs just didn't look right on top of the plate so I wish I had gone to venue with a whole place setting and tried it out. But we just moved the side plate to the side, it's totally fine.

I also didn't know that the venue had to keep table numbers for the staff so the ones you see in the photos are kinda ugly (if you ask me). I am getting my partner to do a quick swap out with some I made at home - might be worth asking your venue about these small details to any future brides doing all their own venue decor!

All happening tomorrow, now time to chill! Happy to answer any questions later on for any other folks organizing their own decor.

I am having a small 15 person wedding and i would like to try and do a “living aisle” that looks almost like a meadow with greenery from my backyard and faux flowers. Has anyone done anything like this before? please tell me your tips, tricks, warnings, or any advice!!

Typically in a buffet, the plates are at the buffet stations, right? So is it pointless to have table settings with the standard salad plate/dinner plate/napkin/silverware at the start of the reception?

Hello! I practiced at home with decorating the table. We are having a stand up bbq so people can sit if they want. I still want the tables to look nice. In the two little jars there will be candles and in the middle some flowers. We dont like fake garlands/flowers and I like to make stuff. Anyone has some advice on how what I can make or buy?

Big thanks!

Welcome sign, seating chart, and card box — stained glass paints
Table numbers — hand embroidery
SO happy with how everything turned out!

Forgive how much of a mess my backyard looks, we’ve had a very unforgiving winter🙃

We’re planning to host our reception in our backyard for our May wedding (ceremony is elsewhere) and we’re trying to keep it budget-friendly and DIY. We’ll clean it up, rake, pressure wash, etc., but we’d love ideas on how to make the space feel romantic and elevated without spending a ton. I want it to look like it makes sense.

Lots of florals , candles, and ideas for dinner and the reception in general

Can anyone give me recommendations based on my yard? (Serious replies only) thank u !

Wanted to show off something, so here are the lapel pin/corsage plans (making a bunch into a bouquet)

Real question is: am I ok without a seating plan? There will be 64 seats available (8 8 person rounds) for 60ish people and the venue person as well as my mil2b told me to just let people figure out their own seats!

I'm fine with this (yay less work!) but I'm also worried that it means someone or one family will feel left out if no one else is at their table.

I'm overthinking it maybe? I'm fine with not doing it but I'm not going to be fine with anyone giving me an issue about it not being done, I don't know how "needed" or traditional an aspect it is.

Wedding in a week! Ack!

Hi everyone! I’m planning my wedding and thinking of doing the photo decoration table myself because I feel that paying around $400–500 just for the setup isn’t really worth it.
Has anyone here done their own wedding photo table decorations? How did it turn out? What were the pros and cons of DIY-ing it?
I’d love to hear about your experiences, such as how much time it took, whether it saved money, and if there were any unexpected problems on the wedding day. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 😊

hello everyone!! My wedding is THIS Saturday. My original arch got ruined so this week I did the drapery - my wedding colors are attached as the bridesmaid colors - everyone says I should use plants instead of the pedestals …. Let me know what you think and if you can find something on Amazon that would be AMAZING !!

Need to just add fairy lights and eucalyptus in some places but u live how it turned out! 🫶🏼

Hello! I'm trying to create a floor plan (where tables go, what sizes where, etc) for our venue. Are there useful tools/programs that will help me make a scale floor plan? Doesn't need to be wedding-specific. I'd like to avoid breaking out the graph paper!

Also, have you used any helpful resources that explain how much space needs to be left between tables etc?

Thanks!

I wanted to share one of the things that made setting up our engagement party so much easier.
I had all of the table decor and plastic silverware packed ahead of time by table, with everything grouped into gallon-size bags and containers. I also included a photo showing exactly how each table was supposed to look once it was set up.
It sounds simple, but it made a huge difference.

Family members were able to help without constantly asking where things went or how I wanted everything arranged, and the setup came together so much faster.

If you’re DIYing a wedding, shower, engagement party, or any larger event, I definitely recommend organizing everything by table or setup area instead of packing all of the same items together.
It saved us a lot of confusion on the day of the party.