Happy Tuesday, readers! This is my first article of my new column over on US Daily Review. Not gonna lie, kind of feel like the Carrie Bradshaw of weddings, you know, minus the fancy shoes and cool NY apartment. I will be featured there about once a week as their Weddings 101 expert so make sure you check it out! Enjoy!
The average
cost of a wedding in America is almost $30,000.
In a time of economic hardship, and with many brides and grooms now
footing the bill for their own celebrations, this sum seems a little
unrealistic. How much should you spend
on one day of your life? Of course, it
is an important day, but still, $30,000 could be a down payment on a
house. It could pay off student
loans. $30,000 could start a small
business or become a college fund for future children.
Many brides and grooms are searching for ways to lower that thirty grand
average, and the easiest solution is just three little letters: DIY.
For those of
you who are not part of “Generation Wed”, DIY stands for do-it-yourself. A term coined in reference mostly to projects
around the home, it is now the catch phrase of current wedding trends. Why pay for favors when you can offer your
guests homemade cookies? Why spend a
couple hundred bucks on an officiant when your bff can get ordained online for
free? Why hire a professional
photographer-- who can cost as much as $5000--when you can book a student for
under a grand?
These are
not random examples, in fact, they are all three things I did at my own wedding. The cookies tasted delicious and the bff
officiant didn’t leave a dry eye in the house.
The student photographer? Well,
she did a great job with the photos I was given, but lacked professionalism and
missed some major moments (like the bride walking down the aisle, for
example). If I could go back, I would
fork over some more cash to have higher quality pictures. All said and done, I had the wedding of my
dreams for under $15k. The DIY elements
of my day, for the most part, worked out exactly as I had imagined them.
Some wedding
professionals would shoot me for saying this, but I love a DIY wedding. Nothing makes a wedding more personal than
having friends and family involved in the creation of the big day. However,
before any brides begin the DIY wedding process, there are some things to
consider. Yes, I DIYed a lot of my big
day, but I also have a background in wedding coordinating. Before I even had my rock, I had been to
dozens of weddings and seen what works and what doesn’t. I also am lucky enough to have uber talented
friends and family. While I did rely on
some “non-professional” vendors, everyone who had a major role in my wedding
(florist, photographer, DJ) had experience in their arena.
My overall
advice for DIY brides is to think carefully about the areas where DIY can be
implemented. If you have a cousin with a
degree in graphic design, by all means, ask him to craft your wedding
invites. But if you don’t know how to
change the font in Microsoft Word, don’t expect to be able to design your dream
stationary on your own. If you ask your
brother to be your iPod DJ and he has never spoken in front of a crowd before,
don’t expect him to be able to smoothly emcee his way through major moments
like your first dance. Know your limits
(and the limits of your “friendors”) and DIY accordingly. If you are unsure about your skills in any
area, call in the pros. There are lots
of budget-friendly options out there and many vendors offer custom packages to
meet your exact needs.
Most
importantly: even if your entire wedding is DIY and vendor-budget-friendly,
hire a day of coordinator! Yes, I am
biased, but do you really want to spend the morning of your wedding hanging
paper lanterns and setting up place cards?
Find someone who can take your lovely, painstakingly hand-crafted décor
and set it up for you. It is one wedding
day decision you will not regret.
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