SAYING I DO ON A BUDGET – LOW-COST DIY IDEAS FOR A WEDDING YOU CAN AFFORD

If you’re planning a DIY wedding, you’ve come to the right place.

We’ve already been there and have learned a few things since then.  Although we didn’t do everything ourselves, as we did hire some help for the entertainment and food, we managed to take care of other things on our own.

It’s all in the little details.

We had an “ideal” budget in mind and did our best to fit our Boho Chic wedding style within our price range.

A DIY wedding isn’t that scary or hard work if you plan ahead and make a list.  It’s a lot less stressful that way.

Admittedly, looking back, if we had had a little more money, we would have hired a wedding stylist and coordinator for the Big Day.  Instead, we took care of all the installation ourselves.  It was fun but I was running around on pure adrenaline.  By the end of the day I was exhausted.  Luckily, I was able to take a cat nap before getting my hair and makeup done one hour before the ceremony.

Here is a list of DIY ideas that we used to keep our wedding cost down from the invites to the party favours.

Wedding DIY invites and Thank You cards

If you’ve never heard of Canva, now would be a great time to check it out.  There, you can design all types of things for FREE. If you are not a graphic designer, don’t worry, there are already made templates where all you have to do is change your text, colour and add your own pictures.

We skipped the paper invitations as we live in a digital age.  Instead, we created a private Facebook page for our wedding once we had decided on a date.  Later on, we created a Facebook event through our page once we knew where the venue was going to be.

For the guests that didn’t have Facebook, we sent them an e-mail or called them.

However, we did make Thank You cards once we received our wedding pictures.  We used Vistaprint to make them and were satisfied with the result.

Ceremony

Traditionally, once the wedding ceremony is over, guests throw rice on the newlyweds or blow bubbles on them.  We had neither.

Instead, we used dried rose petals that we had brought back from Rabat which had cost us next to nothing. We prepared little bowls that we found in the venue’s kitchen and handed them to our guests.  I think my youngest ended up dumping the contents of his bowl directly in my hair. At least it smelled great.

Other ways to put a spin on this tradition:

• Throw bird seeds if it’s an outdoor wedding.

That way, it’s an eco-friendly and practical substitution. I doubt you will be recreating a scene from The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock, but just in case, avoid getting some in your hair.

• Lavender seeds.

Lavender smells great, but it can get pricy, especially if its only purpose you have for it is just to throw it into thin air.

• Make your own confetti.

By far the most cost-effective and eco-friendly option is to make your own confetti.  Use leaves and a hole puncher.  It’s as simple as that.

Seating cards

While strolling the aisles of my favourite bookstore: Chapters Indigo, I stumbled upon miniature envelopes. I figured they would be perfect to use for our seating cards. On the back end which opened up, we wrote a personalized message for each guest.

In order to have them stand up straight we used wine corks as stands.  We already had quite a collection at home and the rest was given to us by my mother-in-law.

Even though I hadn’t done a seating chart, I still made cards so that our guests could choose their seats.

However, since on the day of the wedding it was really windy (our wedding was outside), we had to come up with a plan B to display them. So, we used wooden clothes pins that we ran out to buy at the local store and string to keep them from flying off.

The cost: 14$

Wedding DIY Music

Create your own music playlists through Spotify and rent the sound system.  That’s the least expensive way to do so.

My husband and I made one big playlist of all the songs we liked.  We even asked our guests if they had a special song as well that we integrated to the playlist. The music range was well diversified ranging from Bet Midler to ACDC with a little touch of Bruno Mars.

Once the playlist was set, we separated it into different playlists with the help of some of my girlfriends:

• Ceremony
• Cocktail hour
• Meal time
• Desert
• Party

All the extra music we had we put it into the pre-wedding playlist.  We had enough music to last for days.

For a more in-depth look to keep your music budget down, read our article on Wedding Music & Entertainment.

Alcohol

Generally speaking, you can’t have a wedding without alcohol.  We wanted an open bar to make things easier and because the majority of our guest were sleeping where we had our reception.  No-one had to worry about driving and could cut loose. Therefore, we took care of the alcohol and the service.

My eldest son with the help of two of our guests, took care of the bar area during the cocktail time.  He didn’t mind, and even got a few tips!

A few months prior to our wedding we had a cocktail tasting party with some of our friends.  Everyone was responsible in bringing a cocktail they had made.  We tasted them all, took votes and the two favourites made the cut. It was a fun night and a good way for some of our guests to meet.

We offered two signature cocktails:

• Fiesta d’agrumes: Gin Ungava, San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa, and lime.
• Le Lolotte: Lemon Vodka, Grenadine syrup, Sprite, and lemons.

For the kids, we made homemade lemonade.

Read our article on Wedding Food & Alcohol for ways to keep that cost down.

Flowers

Flowers can get pricy at a wedding.  There are a couple ways to keep the cost down which we talk about in our Wedding Ceremony article.

One easy wedding DIY is to provide your own vases for the flowers as that usually costs extra.

We used local microbrew beer bottles as our vases on our tables.  The labels are colourful and some are actually funny. Since it was a multicultural wedding, it made sense for us.  My husband already had quite a collection at home and our friends provided the rest.

However, we collected over 70 bottles, which took quite some time to fill up. Luckily, it was a team effort in getting them ready.

For our ceremony, we used plant pots from Ikea to put our flowers (Baby’s breath – inexpensive) in the aisle. The flower pots cost 6$ each and we can now reuse them on our terrace. After the wedding ceremony, the flowers were moved to our tables and the bar. Our florist even went into the surrounding garden to complete some of the vases and pots.

Another option would be to use mason jars or old spaghetti jars as vases.  You can find some for FREE by asking your guests if they have any to spare.

Furniture rental

Furniture rental is expensive when you need some.

Although our venue had tables, chairs, dishes, which we could have used, I for one didn’t want to run the chance of not having enough and wanted a certain look.  We could have saved a lot of money in the process without renting things out but it just wouldn’t have been the same.

If you can, for your tables, use wooden ones so that you won’t have to use or rent tablecloths.  That’s what we did but to keep the rental cost down, we used the chairs that were in the venue.  It was a compromise as when the guests would be seated, no-one would notice the not so glamorous chairs.

Some things are cheaper to buy than to rent, especially if you can reuse them personally after the wedding.  Such was the case for the string lights.  They were 4 times less expensive to buy and I got twice as much.  Now, we use them on our terrace as we needed some anyways.

The cost of lights: 325$ on Amazon (in 2018)

Read our article on the Wedding Reception for more budget-friendly ideas.

Kid’s table

For the kid’s tables we used the plastic tables from our venue.  We covered them with Kraft paper and bought crayons from the dollar store so that they could draw on the table.  Also, we used the dishes provided with the venue instead of renting out some for them and bought paper napkins.  It was our way to keep the rental cost down.

There isn’t much point on spending money on the kid’s table as they usually are the ones that leave the table first.

Candles

You can’t have a wedding without some candles.

Since our reception was outside, the idea of having little candles on our tables made sense and are always a nice touch. Also, remember to place mosquito repellant and lavender around your guests.

We used about 100 glass Riviera Yogurt jars that we and our friends had collected and put Ikea votive candles inside them. To give it an extra look, we had a glass painting activity a few months prior to the wedding with some of my friends.  My maid of honour already had the paint, all I had to get was the tiny paint brushes.

Afterward, some of our guests left with some, and the rest we use inside our home or outdoor terrace.

Did you know that on Riviera’s website you can order lids for the jars and also labels that you can personify? These jars are perfect for wedding favours.

Party favours

What’s a practical wedding party favour you can offer?

Some offer little plants, others matches, or candy, we offered wine glasses. It turns out that making your own personalized wine glasses cost less than renting them.  Who knew?

We used Wedding Star to create our own wine glasses.  The shipment was fast and customer service was great.  One glass arrived shattered and we received 3 new ones in less than a week. 

Not only our guests got to use them during the wedding but took theirs home, some more than one.

With the glasses we provided peel away labels so that our guests could identify their glass during the night.

The cost for 70 wine glasses: $200.

Finally, we created a little guest book so that our guests could write their addresses and some kind words. As it wasn’t very popular, and it’s not like we hadn’t reminded them to sign it, maybe you could save yourselves some money and do without it.

Wedding look

Do your own make-up and hair and save money.

I didn’t do my own hair. Instead, I found a local hairdresser who was willing to come down to the venue.  It cost me $60 including tip to get my hair up.

However, I did go for a trim and colour a few days prior to the wedding which cost me $225. Yikes!  Luckily, I only go to the hairdresser once a year.

Hiring a makeup artist will cost you roughly $100. My cousin did mine for free, and she is no professional.

I bought my own makeup at Sephora which I planned on reusing.  It’s possible to get your makeup done there for FREE if you purchase a product.  However, its doubtful that your wedding will take place next to one. 

 If you know what kind of primer and foundation to use and don’t have any at home:

• Head on over to Sephora and ask for samples, they are good for use up to three days and they are FREE.
• Make your own cosmetics.

As for the nails, I went to a professional.  Luckily, I had a gift card which I put to good use; so a mani-pedi cost me $68.  Of course, if you can do it yourself, it will be a lot cheaper.

Finally, to make your wedding a success and not bankrupt you completely, don’t be afraid to ask your guests for help with your DIY project or ask for gift cards as Christmas and Birthday presents. Gift cards for SAQ, Sephora, Salons or anywhere else you might have to shop for your DIY wedding will come in very handy.