Weddingbee Blog

When I first started wedding planning, I wanted to DIY everything. I thought it would be cheaper if I did it myself and I wanted it to be personal. In the end, while I did have many DIY projects done, I also took some help from the professionals. The following photos encapsulate touches that we added ourselves and those that we left to the professionals.

DIY Altered Altoid Tins - Everyone loved these!

DIY Programs - These were also a big hit, but sadly, we had 50 or so left over! (Tip: It’s really not necessary to make one program for every guest.)

I never shopped for a cake topper. We bought Mickey & Minnie on our Disney Cruise last year and I thought it would work fabulously on the cake, so voila. We have a cake topper!

I asked my florist, Betty to add in flowers to our cake without any direction. I think she did a great job.

I also asked Betty to use her judgment on my bouquets. I wanted something rustic, green and with a few purple accents. Overall, I thought it came out great.

Betty made this flower ball for my flower girl.

DIY - We got back a good handful of great advice & blessings.

Table Decor - Our venue, Westbury Manor, took care of the table numbers, menus & linens. The only thing that I chose on this table were the containers (Japanese tea cups & Ikea vases).

Japanese cups below - I started out with 35 and only had 6 left from the wedding. I love using these cups for water and tea.

The menu - Can you believe that there were 7 entrees to choose from!?

Placecards - These were provided by Westbury Manor. I thought about making my own but decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble and besides, these came out nicely. One of the tasks I assigned Mr. Violet to do was to print out our guests’ names on these placecards, and I think he did a nice job.

DIY necklace and headband -

The view from back

Inspired by Jennifer Behr, I purchased 2 pieces of lace trimmings and black elastic band from M&J Trimming. I bought the beads next door. I carefully cut off any excess fabric that I didn’t need and sewed away. I really wasn’t sure if this headband was going to come out well since I’m not great at sewing, but I’m glad I gave it a whirl because it really made my otherwise plain hairdo interesting. (Although my MOH did a great job on my hair - I didn’t want to do anything fancy, just wanted jazz up my everyday look a bit.)

DIY Ring Pillow - I sewed it myself and my SIL helped me add the ribbons.

DIY Veil - made by my SIL. I was going to make it myself but then she offered to do it for me, and I’m so glad she did. It was perfect. She added tiny champagne colored beads to the end of the veil and it matched my dress nicely.

Ceremony Flowers - I didn’t know what my ceremony was going to look like before the wedding. I did not choose any of the flower arrangements - Westbury Manor took care of that part and I was perfectly happy with how it came out. In fact, I felt like I was in a mini garden. I just loved it and I’m glad I didn’t stress over ceremony decor.

Personal touches make a wedding more meaningful, and I certainly added my own special elements. However, we also knew that we didn’t have to do it all, and we’re so happy with how it all turned out.

What elements did you incorporate into your wedding with your personal touches and what did you leave to the professionals?