28

Jul

2010

Wedding Wednesday Discussion: D.I.Y weddings……….Good or Bad?

Following on from the success of the last Wedding Wednesday Discussion, Here is the next one.
D.I.Y weddings……….Good or Bad?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject, the whole wedding fair discussion is still going on, I’d love to get a good reaction from you on this as well.

So the whole D.I.Y wedding culture has totally taken over the wedding world, it seems everyone has gone DIY mad! But want I want to know is this a good or bad thing?

With so many amazing blogs and websites around now and so many big national magazines, the ideas and inspiration for today’s bride is more varied, with a whole lot more choice and selection, BUT this has come at a time when the economic crises has hit the industry badly, so it seems the trend now is for the brides to do a lot of these things themselves.
Brides are calling in favours from friends and family, and armed with sticky back plastic, a collection of jam jars, tin cans, tissue paper and a glitter gun, seem more than happy to get dirty and make it themselves.

I have spoke to the suppliers about it and yes it has effected them, companies such as stationers have been hit badly, as this seems to be the first thing that people cut back on……why buy them when you can spend endless nights up to your elbows in card, paper inlays and transfers. Favours again something people seem quite happy to do themselves. Candy stations…why hire or buy when you trawl through IKEA to find the right size jar! Wedding cars being borrowed from rich relatives, even cakes are being made by Auntie Sue, who insists that people do still want to eat fruit cake!…………and as for friends doing the photographs, please don’t get me started, I’ll be here all day! Suppliers have suffered, as couples find more and more ways to cut back.

But as the same time has this passion for DIY started the movement of more imaginative weddings? Blogs like Style me pretty, Ruffled blog and Rock n Roll Bride show couples it’s OK to be different, to make the day more personal, it’s these little touches that make their wedding stand out from the next. Brides and Grooms now seem to want to create something different, and make the day more personal and with the DIY element in full swing this is now much easier and more widely accepted.
I personally love seeing weddings where a bit of imagination has been used, instead of the generic centre piece, standard bit of stationary or useless favour. Isn’t this do it yourself outlook helping push the boundaries more, so getting rid of those staid, tired weddings that everyone has seen a million times?

So how do we strike a balance? How do the suppliers keep their business, while the couples keep their individuality………………..I’d love to hear your thoughts.

(Please feel free to leave your comments)

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Comments

    Alison Wren

    Unsurprisingly, as I own The Wedding Crafter which specialises in DIY stationery, I’m in favour BUT brides do need to be informed about what they are letting themselves in for. I believe it does make weddings much more personal and unique, but if the bride, groom, or most often the mother, is going to get incredibly stressed about it, it is not worth it.

    I would only advise brides to DIY the bits they think they will enjoy and to allow plenty of time.

    For my own wedding I did the stationery and borrowed a friends car (all of 2 minutes drive!) but called in the pros for catering, photography and flowers. Even though I love flower arranging and had done flowers for my sister’s wedding I decided I wanted to be relaxed on the day, not worrying about my roses.

    I think the trend will be around for a while so suppliers need to look at what they offer and possible ways they can tap into this market. But the reality is that wedding spending will be flat for quite some time.

    Reply
    Clare

    ooh it’s a good one! I’ve seen diy done really really badly! When done well then who am I to say.

    I’m all for adding your own personal touch but some weddings I have been too have had one too many dodgy diy doo’s (stationery particularly is often the first to be diy’d to really terrible results… is this mean?)

    I’ve seen some terrible diy’d venue dressing too which really puts a downer on the whole day especially when the Bride & Groom have gone to so much time, effort & expense for the rest of the day.
    If you’re naturally creative and have A LOT of time then I’m all for recommending diy option. But DIY takes time… and lot’s of it. Wedding pro’s (& I say pro’s) take days often weeks working on the one single aspect of the wedding (and that’s full working days making sure things are perfect).

    For the time, effort, problems diy-ers will encounter, if the budgets there, get the pro’s in! Every single time xxxx

    Reply
    Loulabelle

    I do like a bit of DIY and I’ve been busily collecting jam jars, bunting and personalising an array of other wedding related bits and bobs, but I think to DIY everything for your big day is quite a risk.

    At first I thought that I could do most bits for myself (even the bigger jobs like catering) but when I looked back at the list of things to do it was pretty unrealistic. So now I’ve found someone to bake my cake, an established caterer, a proper photographer (as should you really take a gamble with memories) and I’m now searching for someone to make my bridesmaid dresses.

    DIYing things can be very taxing so I prioritised what I really wanted to do myself and then worked out what I could splash out on thanks to my DIY efforts (that saved me a few pennies). Hopefully there is a balance to be found for the sake of both the industry and the couple.

    Reply
    Kelly

    I agree with Clare completely, to really DIY with a positive outcome you need a lot of creativity, an awflu lot of time and a lot of help.
    I’ve seen DIY disasters… mouldy, collapsing cakes, limp balloons and some terrified photographers.
    However, I have seen some very good DIY weddings and I have to share this… One recent DIY wedding aspect came from a bride who asked her guests to bake a cake. Over a dozen variations of cake arrived with wedding guests in lieu of presents and these cakes were all cut and served in the evening rather than a traditional buffet of sandwiches and sausage rolls! It went down a treat and I believe there was a little recipe swapping at the end of the night!

    Reply
    Adele

    Hi Kelly, a lot of brides are doing the “little things” more and more so and I have seen it done badly, and done oh so well.
    However, most seem to do things because they want to try and save money, when in essence it takes them more time, costs them more money, and they’re never truely happy with the final design – or how it looks.
    As for getting friends to photograph the wedding, I too do believe that this is a step that should not be taken!

    Reply
    Christian Ward

    I don’t think there’s anything wrong with weddings having a DIY aspect to them. In fact, some of the nicest weddings that we’ve photographed have been the ones where the bride and groom have been intimately involved with making all the little details, as they’ve worked closely with family and friends to get everything done and it’s been a fun time and some good memories for them to look back on. I think the caveats to all this are- how creative are you, and do you have the people and time to get things done. What you don’t want is extra stress as a result of DIY and for things to become just another task. You don’t want to look back on your day and think ‘I wish I’d hired a professional to….’ If you suspect that DIY is going to impact on the quality and your enjoyment of whatever it is you want to do yourself, and you can afford to hire a pro, then hire a pro and have no regrets. Assuming it’s in your budget of course.

    Reply
    boho

    Thanks for all the great comments, it seems most of you agree that DIY is great as long as it is done well.
    A bit of hand craft here and there dosn’t hurt any wedding, it is a great way to add a more personal touch to your day….BUT only do it if you are the creative sort who has the time and the patience!!

    Reply
    Sarah

    It has been very interesting to read all your replies to the great DIY wedding debate. I help manage a green venue in Cornwall that specialises in Eco DIY weddings and the couples who have held their special day with us here have all done an amazing job with their decoration, flowers, stationary, favours and catering.
    who’s to say what is good or bad, the main point of a DIY wedding is that the couple have exactly what they want on their very special day and are not dictated to or influenced by anyone.

    Reply
    roma

    I think the trend will be around for a while so suppliers need to look at what they offer and possible ways they can tap into this market.

    Thanks

    Reply

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