Wedding Planning: To DIY or Not to DIY

A DIY bouquet. / Photo by Bosky Dell Provided

Be honest. You’ve had a #PinterestFail or two. And with the wedding world teasing us with all that DIY magic that other brides seem to pull off, it can be daunting to decide: Can I do it? Should I do it?

Maggie Lord, the founder of Rustic Wedding Chic and the author of The Rustic Wedding Handbook, offers us her expert thoughts on when it’s safe to do it yourself—and when you should leave it to the pros.

OK to DIY:

1. The Favors: From homemade cookies to a candy buffet, the wedding favors is a DIY task that anyone can do. Make sure you have a firm headcount for your wedding before you start on this task and be sure to leave yourself enough time to finish all of them. If you plan on making 150 cookies, you might need two days to do this, plus one day to place them all in a fun container.

2. The Decor: Thanks to resources like Pinterest and Martha Stewart Weddings, there’s an endless amount of wedding decor inspiration out there. This makes planning the perfect wedding decor just a few clicks away. Crafting your wedding decor is a good project to take on, since you can collect all of the items little by little over the time you’re engaged. Leading up to your wedding, it’s helpful to set up the decor exactly how you want it in a large space. Then take a few pictures so that on your wedding day you can have friends and family help you set up the items exactly how you want.

3. The Flowers: Creating all the flowers yourself is not the easiest of DIY projects to take on, but it certainly can be done. One trick is to work with only one or two types of flowers, keeping things simple. Consulting a florist about what will be in season and what flowers work well together is never a bad idea, but actually creating the bouquets and the arrangements can be done by yourself the day before the wedding with a few extra helping hands. Make sure you have a cool location to keep the flowers so they don’t wilt.

Go Pro:

1. The Food: Cooking for a large group of people is a talent and not something that should be taken on for your wedding day unless you’re a professional. Aside from aspects like making sure there’s enough food and that the food looks good and is replenished, you want to make sure the food stays fresh. Trusting a professional on this task is the only way to go.

2. Photography: After all the planning, the only thing left from your wedding day is memories and photographs. You will defiantly want to make sure you pay for a professional wedding photographer to capture your wedding day. It might look like a task that you can farm out to a friend or a family member, but in reality, the day’s moments are too precious to be left up to chance.

3. Music: From the ceremony to the cocktail hour to the late-night dancing, good music is key to making sure your guests have a good time. Investing in professionals who know their way around wedding entertainment means the perfect music will be played at the right time.

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