DIY WEDDING DECOR
Posted by Ashley Robustelli on
I got married back in 2015, and we planned the day on a serious budget! Our guest list included over 400 people, but our budget could not accommodate that many. That meant we did a lot of DIY for the decor! I often get a lot of questions about what we did and how we did it, so here is a list. I love how everything turned out and I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Disclaimer: there is nothing wrong with having a fancy wedding and a large budget! But we focused on creating a memorable & unique experience rather than spending thousands on fancy decor and uplighting and flowers. Because here’s the thing – guests may ‘ooo’ & ‘awe’ at your wedding when they arrive, but the experience is what they will take away from the evening. They will remember if your reception was boring or if they had a good time, not if the centerpieces were sub-par. And if they had a good time, they’ll talk about it for years to come. That is the case for our wedding. We get compliments about how memorable and fun our wedding was, and it’s been 4 years since we got married. This is just my two cents on the matter!
Faux Florals
I attended a wedding and watched the coordinator and families throw away gorgeous centerpieces of fresh flowers after the reception ended. It was heartbreaking to see them being thrown away and knowing they cost so much! At that moment I decided I did not want to waste money at my own wedding on something that will be simply thrown in the trash at the end of the night. So my mom & I created faux floral centerpieces for wedding, and we kept the arrangements to use in our homes afterwards (see one of them in the pic below)! I still use them in my home decor today, and we saved a ton of money doing this. Simply purchase floral stems from Hobby Lobby and Michael’s when they are on sale, and buy glass vases from Walmart or the Dollar Tree. You’d be surprised how pretty they can turn out to be! We went with all white flowers and they turned out great. (Note: while we used faux florals for the reception, my bouquet and my bridesmaids’ bouquets were real, fresh flowers)
To create an arrangement, select a focal point flower – this will typically be a large bloom (like a peony). Surround the focal point with smaller blooms of a different floral species (example: ranunculus). Next, add in greenery and foliage. And finally, add small textured and skinny stems to draw the eye and add contrast. Stick to your wedding color palette! You can find a video tutorial here on my Instagram profile. Look for ‘DIY Bouquet’ in my story highlights.
Framed Engagement Pics
To add to our DIY centerpieces, we bought metallic frames from the Dollar Store. Yep, they were only $1 each! We had some of our engagement photos printed and placed them on various tables. Such an easy and cheap addition!
Wooden Trays
My grandfather made DIY trays from reclaimed wood for the tables. He simply glued 2 pieces together that were the same length, and followed my gluing 2 skinnier pieces on the ends. Finally, he added handles that we purchased from Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off. Easy, cheap, rustic, and perfect for our tables! The floral arrangements and photos sat on these trays. You can find a video tutorial here on my Instagram profile. Look for ‘DIY Tray’ in my story highlights.
Entrance Tables
We decorated our entry tables using decor I was gifted at my bridal shower and other pieces that we put together ourselves. We purchased wooden crates from Michael’s (with a coupon, of course) and stained them to create display focal points. The lanterns in the photos are from the dollar store, the tray is from TJ Maxx, and also some of the dollar store frames that I mentioned above.
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Photo Booth
I knew I wanted a photo booth at our wedding (they were very popular at the time), but I didn’t want to spend thousands on one and its attendant. Plus, your guests want those photos on their phone anyway. They do not want to wait months until you receive the photos from the photographer. So we decided to create one ourselves! Luckily our venue had a gorgeous outdoor porch with a large pond and fountain and a backdrop of downtown. We used this as our photo booth backdrop! If your venue does not have a good spot like this, then simply create a backdrop using a colored/patterned/sequined backdrop and decor (such as a balloon arch, a phrase against the backdrop, large letters, etc.) The possibilities are endless for the design. Then we provided selfie sticks (again, these were popular at the time and could be purchased anywhere) and props. Photo booth props are now offered anywhere too! It’s also cute to provide some signs for guests to hold in their pics. I decorated a dry erase board with our wedding hashtag on the frame so guests could write their own messages to take photos with. It was a hit! Lots of guests went outdoors to take pics, and they were able to share them immediately since the photos were on their phones. This saved us lots of money while still providing this popular feature!
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Mercury Glass
We even DIYed the vases for our flower arrangements and candle votives using a DIY Mercury Glass method. You can find a video tutorial here on my Instagram profile. Look for ‘DIY Mercury Vase’ in my story highlights. It’s pretty simple: all you need is metallic silver spray paint, vinegar, water, and paper towels. Start by spraying the inside of the vessel with a layer of metallic silver. Then, mix a solution of 50% vinegar, 50% water in a spray bottle. Lightly spray a layer on top of the silver paint and let sit for a few seconds. Then blot with some paper towels (don’t wipe). The acid in the vinegar will eat away at the paint, and once you blot it away, it will look like mercury glass! This can also be done with metallic gold spray paint.
Faux Metal
Another piece of DIY decor we created was large metallic letters. I love this one so much and still use the letters in my home today! I get so many questions about where they were purchased – many are surprised to find out it is cardboard that we transformed! My last name begins with an R, so we purchased 2 large cardboard R’s from Joann’s. Then with paintbrushes and different silver paints, we created a ‘metallic’ look on the letters. First, start with a light silver paint. Add one layer on your piece and make sure your brush strokes are all in the same direction. Next, add fewer strokes of a darker silver. You can even add copper along edges and corners to give a rusting effect. You can find a video tutorial here on my Instagram profile. Look for ‘DIY Faux Metal’ in my story highlights.
Lanterns
DIY Lanterns are one thing we did not include at my wedding, but I wish we did! This is a more recent DIY that I created and is perfect for wedding centerpieces. You’ll need a saw, stain, and nails/hammer or a nail gun. Simply cut all pieces to size, stain them, and assemble using nails. You can add a rope handle if you wish! These look great with candles and greenery inside. You can find a video tutorial here on my Instagram profile. Look for ‘DIY Lantern’ in my story highlights.
Guest Favors
You can also get creative with your guest favors. I wish I had a photo of mine to show you! My mom and I individually packaged homemade seasoning for our guests to take home and make Alamo Firecrackers. We wanted to give something that guests would be excited about and could actually use once they got home! We made a large batch of the seasoning mix, and scooped servings into individual bags we found online (it was only a couple tablespoons per bag). We topped them off with a recipe card and a bow. They were adorable and I was so happy with how they turned out! If you’re undecided on what to give your guests, food is always a great option and can be relatively cheap too. Consider giving a dry food mix, seasonings, or family recipe cards!
I hope these DIYs give you some ideas and help you save money for your own big day!
A short clip from our big day
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