Weddingbee Blog

OK, hive, I am officially in DIY heaven (or hell, depending on how you look at things). I have a ton of projects on the horizon, so much so that it’s a little overwhelming—maybe I’ll just order all my decorations off of Etsy and save myself the trouble. But I’m pressing on with my projects for now, and I hope that I’ll have lots of fun tutorials to post about in the future!

I’ve actually just finished a project that I’ve been anxious to try for quite some time now, so today I want to show you how to make your own rustic wedding signs.

First, assemble your materials:

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• Wooden board
• Spray paint
• Sharpies

After you’ve gathered your materials, it’s time to set up your spray-paint station. I chose to work in the garage because the cement floor is already sufficiently dirty, though I still laid down some recycled paper that I didn’t mind getting paint on.

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Now you’re ready to start painting! A few coats, and you’ll be done.

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Ta-da! Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

So this was a tricky part for me. Instead of buying stencils at the craft store, as I had intended, I decided to try to find a free alphabet stencil online. Of course, I couldn’t find a free stencil that I really liked, so I thought to myself, “Oh what the heck, I’ll just do it by hand.”

I don’t really recommend this route. It was kind of a big headache and, spoiler alert, I don’t think the end results were really worth it. But, if you do want to do the signage by hand, I recommend lots and lots of practice! And definitely write on the sign in pencil before you go back over with your Sharpie.

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Once you feel confident in your writing, it’s time to fill in the rest with your Sharpie. This also took me quite a bit of time, as I had to go over each letter several times. But in the end, the Sharpie did get the job done!

The finished product:

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Conclusion: For a homemade wedding sign that is written by hand, I don’t think this is half bad. It was a much longer project than my clothesline guestbook, but spending an hour or so on a wedding sign really isn’t that much of a time commitment. I think the board and spray paint look great, but I’m not totally sold on the handwritten part. I can’t help but focus on the fact that it’s off-center and that it’s not as big and clean as I’d like it to be.

So I think the moral of the story is: invest in a good alphabet stencil. I know I’ve learned my lesson and don’t want to be writing the rest of my wedding signs by hand, so I’ll definitely be getting a stencil before making more signs. But all in all, this was a fun and relatively easy project, and I feel totally confident that I can make some really stellar wedding signs on my next go-around! Plus, this was considerably cheaper than buying pre-made wedding signs online.

Here’s a cost breakdown for those of you who are wondering if it’s worth the trouble to make your own wedding signs:

• Wooden board: $3.29
• Spray paint: $3.99
• Purple Sharpie: $1.59

Total cost: $8.87

Not bad at all, especially when compared to pre-made signs that run upwards of $35.

What DIY hitches have you encountered? Have you found that it’s worth it to do wedding projects yourself, or is it easier or more affordable to buy pre-made wedding decorations?