The Best Laid Plans…

The Best Laid Plans…

December 27th, 2009 @ 2:05 pm by Mrs. French Fries
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When I started out on this adventure called “planning our wedding” 15 months ago, I wanted to do it all, and had the time to get it all done. I had a very extensive DIY list, which included: invitations (and all wedding-related paper products), pomanders, napkins, a DIY photobooth concept, and many other projects that I can’t even remember.

Well…I think that John Lennon said it best: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” I had big wedding DIY plans… and, one by one, they’ve started to fizzle out as we’ve gotten busy in other non-wedding areas. We got a puppy! We worked on our house! We went on vacation! We rekindled our love of DVR! (OK, that one never really went away.) The point is, I managed to get the pomanders done (and I’m so proud of them!) but the other projects? Yeah. About those. I’ve procrastinated, and hemmed and hawed about them, and realized that while I might be crafty, I may have bitten off a bit more than I could chew.

The napkins? We might be renting linens, and they just wouldn’t fit with what we picked out. (I’ll be re-purposing the fabric into our guestbook… stay tuned for that!). The photobooth is still up in the air, but it’s kind of low on the priority list right now. And the invitations? Oh… the invitations.

You see, I had great plans for the invitations!

I was going to use a template by Mrs. Green Tea, and they were going to be stylish, unique, and — best of all! — economical, since they fit on a single 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock. And then, I made the mistake of going to Etsy, and perusing all of the beautiful invitations. And… I fell in love with one, and ordered a sample.

Once that sample invitation was in my hot little hands, I was done. They were unique, intricate without being overwhelming, and in short… gorgeous. I never would be able to replicate them on my own. Not in a million years. So… I contacted the seller, and got a quote. And honestly? It was pretty reasonable and I was thrilled. See also: the idea of DIYing our invites flying out the window. (I’ll post pictures of them when we get our mock ups!)

The way I see it… if it saves me time and sanity, sometimes it’s well worth it to hire a pro!

Did you have big plans for DIYing things for your wedding, only to end up using a vendor’s services in the end?

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14 Responses to “The Best Laid Plans…”

Member

Jamielee (message) 142 posts, Blushing bee

I think I might have the same problem, but perhaps I am in denial? My wedding is in July, just one month after yours. Don’t we still have plenty of time to get things done? Or have I bitten off more than I can chew, too?!

12/27/09 @ 2:14 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Rainbow (message) 1,535 posts, Bumble bee

I am all for paying for convenience. Some things I’ll do myself, but if I don’t enjoy it, or it’s a chore, I’d rather pay someone else to do it for me.

12/27/09 @ 2:23 pm (reply)

Member

UCLAMeghan (message) 118 posts, Blushing bee

I feel ‘ya on this one. I have a 16 month engagement and woke up the other day thinking about where all the time went - I am now down to 6 months with pretty much nothin’ done DIY-wise.

12/27/09 @ 2:33 pm (reply)

Member

KMSull (message) 6,442 posts, Bee Keeper

I bought myself a cricut for Christmas…and now I’m seriously considering returning it because I know that I just WON’T use it. Not for wedding stuff, not for making cute little cards, not for anything like that. I had some great ideas but they more than likely won’t look nearly as good as anything I could buy, and ultimately we’re on a time crunch.

12/27/09 @ 2:50 pm (reply)

Member

Charm bracelet (message) 1,935 posts, Buzzing bee

This is me too!!! I had 15 months of being engaged and I am down to 7 months with nothing to show. I have great plans but no time to do it. I always wonder how the bees have time for it. I am glad I’m not the only one. I might get a few stuff done before the wedding but not everything I had hoped for.

12/27/09 @ 2:59 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Guinea Pig (message) 1,377 posts, Bumble bee

I fully support buying things that you’re not excited to make (if you can, obviously)! And buying stuff that’s nicer than what you could make yourself - that’s usually what happens to me So far I’m only adding to my DIY projects, but seeing as we’re only about 4.5 months away, I’m going to have to start ditching some, I’m sure!

12/27/09 @ 4:01 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Hamster (message) 4,046 posts, Honey bee

I foresee my invitations following the same exact route as yours!

12/27/09 @ 9:42 pm (reply)

Hostess

Jessie516 (message) 5,480 posts, Bee Keeper

I wanted to DIY our favors myself–by baking cookies, but my mom and sister convinced me I’d be too stressed. I think they were right in the end–it was one more thing I could cross off my list.

12/27/09 @ 11:15 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Scissors (message) 7,343 posts, Bee Keeper

I still have big DIY plans, but I’m afraid that it’s getting down to the wire on some of them. It makes me nervous. I wish I could make up my mind about invitationy/std things. Blurg.

We were going to DIY the photobooth, but it ended up being a part of our photog package, so I’m actually glad that’s off our plate.

12/27/09 @ 11:50 pm (reply)

10.

Bee

Miss Cheeseburger (message) 1,020 posts, Bumble bee

YEEEESSSS… story of my life Can’t wait to see your invites!!

12/28/09 @ 12:10 am (reply)

11.

Bee

Miss Pug (message) 3,753 posts, Honey bee

after 2 hours fighting, and i mean fighting, with a gocco, i seriously considered buying invites. it ended up working out, but i totally understand dropping the diy projects!

12/28/09 @ 8:58 am (reply)

12.

Bee

Mrs. Mouse (message) 5,844 posts, Bee Keeper

I did the same thing with my invites!

12/29/09 @ 12:50 am (reply)

13.

Member

binza14 (message) 341 posts, Helper bee

My DIY plans are becoming more and more unreasonable as time runs out. I haven’t thrown in the towel yet, but I can guess that a few of the projects will be axed soon.

1/2/10 @ 4:28 pm (reply)

14.

Bee

Miss Cola (message) 2,868 posts, Sugar bee

I’m so glad I started on my DIY projects a year before our wedding! But even still I’m guessing one or two will get crossed off the list…there’s never enough time!

1/3/10 @ 3:56 pm (reply)