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Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The Wedding Series: DIY/Decor








The best part about my wedding day was seeing all of the final pieces come together, all the little details that I spent time working on over the course of the last five months. Beyond the dress, the venue and the food were all the best parts of the wedding that really put the whole day together.

Having a wedding on a budget meant DIY decorations galore. I wanted to spend as little money on the decorations as possible while still sticking to my theme and having décor that I really loved.

1. Family Tree

I knew right away that I wanted to somehow incorporate the people that came before us. This was especially important to me because my husband and I came from different parts of the country, meaning our family and friends had never really met before. Incorporating our family history allowed our guests to get to know where we came from.

I bought a bunch of frames from thrift stores and filled them with pictures of our parents, their parents and their parent's parents. I nailed them up to the trees that led down to the ceremony area. This way it showed the generations that came before the one we were celebrating today, plus it gave the guests something to look at and enjoy while they made their way down the trail to the ceremony.

The sign brought the whole idea together and was designed by a super creative and talented friend of mine,  Katelyn Kozak. Pro-tip #1: Use the talents and services of your friends and family. They often cost less and do an even better job. Plus, it gives them a chance to advertise the things they can do.

I loved how this turned out and it cost me a total of $20!






2. Cake Topper

I touched on this in my post about the cake but just to cover it again, I paid about $100 total for my cake. I had it made my a grocery store bakery for $75, added my own strawberries and fake flowers, and made my own cake topper.

The letters were made on pieces of cardstock that I cut out in a <> shape and folded over a piece of string. I used tape on the insides to ensure that they didn't slide down the string. The string was then tied between two pieces of wire to hold it up. It took minutes to make and looked so cute on top of the cake. Mine said "Mr. & Mrs." but you could make it say whatever you'd like. You could even make multiple banners for multiple layers of the cake!



3. Lining the Sidewalk

This was a last minute idea that my mom and I had while walking through Hobby Lobby. I'm so glad I decided to add these in because it added a small, dainty detail that cost me almost nothing. I bought dowels from Hobby Lobby and used 4" by 4" sheets of paper that matched my theme from a little cardstock pack. I simply used a stencil to trace and cut out hearts, put two horizontal slits in each one, and put them on the dowel. I made six of these that lined the sidewalk that led to the Family Tree. These cost me less than $10 to make.






4. Flowers

Featuring my beautiful niece. With the help of my mom and my aunt, I made all of the flower bouquets for myself and my bridesmaids. The bouquets featured larger white flowers and baby's breathe. Using floral tape and wire, we created these gorgeous flowers. While this was still one of the more expensive DIY's, it was still way cheaper than buying fresh flowers or even having bouquets designed by a florist. The total cost was around $100, give or take. Pro-tip #2: If you are going to buy fake flowers, wait until there is a sale on florals to buy the things you need since you won't have to make your bouquets at any specific time throughout the wedding planning process.




*all photos in The Wedding Series courtesy of Laura Nicole Photography

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