In this day and age with Google and YouTube at our fingertips, it seems to be so easy to learn how to do something ourselves! This has been apparent especially in the world of weddings, where we’ve been seeing more and more couples choosing to DIY their decor, stationery, favors, and etc! As we know many couples have a wedding budget to stick to, including DIY items into your wedding day may be able to save you money. However there are a few things that depending on the couple’s ability and timeframe that they have prior to their wedding, it may be better for them to purchase the items.
If you’re not sure whether you want to BUY or DIY some things for your special day, a great place to start is to ask yourself whether you rather spend your money or your time on that particular wedding item!
Photo: Derek Wong Photography | Linen: The Wedding Linen Company | Venue: Halekulani Hotel
Pros of BUYing
Peace of mind that a credible professional has made the item
Ability to purchase and store the item well in advance to your wedding day
Save yourself time, time that you can spend in other areas rather than working on your wedding
What to BUY
Items that will be heavily photographed
Items that would cost less than the supplies and labor it would take to DIY them
Items that you want the skill of a professional
TIP: As some DIY items may actually be more expensive than purchasing them, we recommend breaking down the cost of the supplies as well as the time it’ll take for you to make the item and compare it to the cost if you were to buy it. As the better deal may actually be purchasing the item.
Photography: Caitlin Alohilani Photography | Hair & Makeup: Face Art Beauty
As the skills of every couple and the family & friends helping them to DIY items will differ, the points above are our general recommendations. One particular area that we see many Brides consider DIY-ing but we recommend for them to BUY, is their Hair & Makeup services. Especially if photography/videography for your wedding is a high priority to you, unless you are a professional/highly skilled in this area we don’t recommend brides to do this themselves as the type of Hair & Makeup done to best show up nicely on film may be different that what you are used to putting on. So for this wedding area we can’t “conceal” our opinion and highly recommend considering BUYing your Hair & Makeup services!
Pros of DIY-ing
Create your wedding item exactly to how you want it to look
Adds an extra special personal touch to your wedding day
Save yourself money, money that can go into different areas of your wedding budget
What to DIY
Items that can be made WAY in advance to your wedding day
Items that you/someone helping you is specialized in doing
Items that won’t be the main focus on photos (Flower Girl’s Basket, Ring Bearer’s Pillow, Paper Cones for Flower Petals)
Photography: Brandon Smith Photography
For a couple with lots of time to work on DIY-ing items for their wedding, this can be a great way to bond and do something together as finances! As the weeks and days leading up to the wedding can be the most stressful, we recommend for couples who choose to go down the DIY road, to try to complete their projects way in advance so that they don't have to worry about them right before the wedding. So if you want to DIY your own favors, consider choosing items that are non-perishable or have a long shelf life so that you can put together these favors weeks before the big day!
Consider RENTing!
Though we’ve been talking about what to BUY and what to DIY for your wedding we also want you to consider the idea of RENTing some of your wedding items! This option is a “goldilocks choice” as we like to call it because it’s the perfect choice between of BUYing and DIY-ing! Renting saves you both money and time as you are not purchasing the item to keep as well as not having to make it yourself too.
If you’re looking for a cost friendly option for your florals consider renting silk florals! We are happy to introduce our new company Borrowed Blooms Hawaii! Borrowed Blooms provides beautiful, quality florals available to be rented for your special day! As we are local to Hawaii you won’t have to worry about high shipping fees and be able to borrow the flowers and keep all of the memories! <3
