Weekend Diversions

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

I’m delighted to announce the launch of Plumage, a fashion and beauty blog for plus-size brides.

J. Crew opened their first wedding boutique in Manhattan this week. Aisle Dash has a great write-up and photos of the boutique.

It’s a holiday weekend in the US. Know what that means? SALES. If you’re shopping for craft-related wedding goods, check out your favorite retailers for coupons, sales ads, and markdowns on summertime products.

Dudes! My Cricut Cake machine came in on Thursday. Guess what I’m doing all weekend?

An eternity of thank yous to our readers in the military, for your sacrifice and dedication for our country.

Wishing you all a safe and fun weekend.

xoxo,

Khris

Under $500 Bridal Ensemble of the Day: legallyspoiled

Posted by Khris in Inspiration Boards

This fun, flirty ensemble comes in at $479.00!

Dress $122 from eCrater
http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=6026697&keywords=t-length#

Veil $28 from Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/43804330/elegent-birdcage-veil-with-crystal

Shoes $88 from Zappos
http://www.zappos.com/rsvp-angelique-fuchsia

Clutch $148 from Nordstrom
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3089032?Category=&Search=True&SearchType=keywordsearch&keyword=sondra+roberts&origin=searchresults

Earrings $48 from Macy’s
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=463727&CategoryID=50695

Necklace $45 from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Sterling-Silver-Bezel-Set-Zirconia-Solitaire/dp/B002NWBRO6

Repost: Cupcake Wrappers

Posted by Khris in Food + Catering

This is one of our most popular requests recently: a cupcake wrapper. What is it? It’s a band of paper that wraps around the outside of a cupcake.

Instructions:

1. Download the template here

2. Print it onto a piece of cardstock

3. Cut it out and use it to trace the shape onto paper. You can fit multiple wrappers on a single sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ paper.

4. Cut out your shapes.

5. Use strong double-sided tape to adhere the cardstock

6. Decorate to your liking

Tips + Hints:

• Linear patterns like lines and plaid don’t work very well because the template is curved. It’ll look wonky.
• Use decorative scissors to cut out the top of the wrapper to add a bit of pizazz.
• Paper punches are great for adding a little extra cuteness, too.

If You’re New to DIY Bride

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Hey, Newbie!

My name is Khris Cochran. I’m the publisher and creative director of diybride.com and am the author of two do-it-yourself wedding craft books (with another one the way).

DIYBride.com was launched in 2003 as a way to for couples to share ideas, templates, and tips on creating a kick-ass do-it-yourself wedding no matter what one’s budget or skill level.

What fuels DIY Bride is our ability to put the tools, skills, and resources into our readers’ hands to empower them to create the best projects for them and to become active participants in their own wedding day. Our DIY projects can be found here.

Though this site I am able to counsel couples on spending their wedding money wisely, a topic I am most passionate about after near disaster paying off debt incurred post-wedding. I chronicle that experience here and here. Helping couples work within their budget and financial comfort level, whether it’s a $1000 wedding or a $100,000 wedding, is important to why and how we operate.

Real do-it-yourself couples, who are utterly awesome, are featured here. Couples can interact and share with each other in our forums which have recently been resurrected and feature a new gallery section.

DIY Bride can be found on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. To sign up for our newsletter, with subscriber-only news, deals, templates, worksheets and other goodies, please fill in the form below.

Thank you for being a part of our community and we look forward to sharing in your wedding day.

The 2010 Reader Poll Results

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Earlier this year I hosted a quickie survey about you, our readership.

Some of the results:

Our DIY Brides …

• Have beginner to intermediate craft skills
• Will make 4 or more crafts for her wedding
• Will spend between $500 – $1100 on their wedding crafts (Though approximately half of you do not have a budget for your crafts AT ALL. Seriously, we need to have a chat about this.)
• Will hire 3 or more vendors for your big day
• 40% have a wedding budget under $15,000
• 32% have a budget between $15,000 – $25,000 (The average US wedding budget this year is hovering around the $20,000 mark.)
• 28% have a budget over $25,000

Most of the data is pretty much in line with what I expected. The thing that surprised me the most was the change in budget demographics. In surveys past the average DIYBride reader was very much in the mid-range budget area. This year has seen a migration from mid-range to both smaller and more luxe budgets. It’s a fairly spread among all budget demographics now. That’s a very exciting prospect but also hugely challenging in planning out projects.

To everyone who participated: thank you! Your input is valuable and tremendously appreciated.