Having a DIY wedding is a great way to highlight how unique you and your love are, while also showing off those amazing craft skills!  If you’re anything like me, you’ve been planning this wedding ever since you even got the slightest inkling that you’d found “the one.”  And, if I’m going to be completely honest, I really planned three (Pinterest is addictive, ok?).

Below, I’ve shared some things to help keep your sanity intact during while you plan your DIY day.

1. Plan ahead

After you’ve come down from that newly engaged high and enjoyed just being a fiancé for a bit, take some time to plan.  Sit down with your significant other and discuss what you each envision, share what you love and what you can’t stand, and start to put the pieces of the wedding day together.  When coming up with a budget, make sure you know how much can be put into your DIY additions.  Decide what you’d like to do yourself, and then make a list.  Hang it up, put it in your phone or create a Pinterest board; just put it somewhere that helps keep you on track.

2. Get started

Now that you’ve made your list, start checking it off.  Start early enough that you have time to get things done in small doses over time and don’t end up with all your work the week before.  Life will get in the way sometimes, but please don’t use that as an excuse for so long that everything piles up.  Just finishing your first project (then the second, then the third) will give such a great amount of satisfaction, and relieve some stress, that you’ll want to start the next!  Seriously, how awesome does it feel to put a big thick line through something on your to-do list?  Pretty dang awesome!

3. It’s ok to have help

Now, you know that nice list you’ve got going?  It’s ok to have help with that.  Even if you’ve sprouted an extra set of hands, cutting 300 place cards, making bouquets, or even just gluing sequins on by yourself is exhausting.  It’s likely your fiancé, maid of honor, mother, or friends want to help you with some of that infamous wedding stress.  For the sake of your sanity, please let them.  Even the non-craft inclined can fold paper or use a glue gun, plus it’s one less step you have to do!  Plan an hour, night, or weekend with one of those amazing people, pop in a movie, and get crafting!

4. Take a break

At some point, you’ll reach your limit.  It happens to everyone (my felt pomanders nearly had me in tears at times).  So, before you engage in any drastic behavior, take a break; go for a run, indulge in some chocolate, or find a nice quiet spot and relax.  Just do something not related to your wedding for a few minutes and take a moment to breathe.  Realistically speaking, the mind can only concentrate for about 90 minutes anyway, so you might as well treat yourself to something nice while it resets.

5. Enjoy

What’s the point of all your amazing projects if in the end you’re just grumpy, exhausted, and unable to enjoy what you’ve created?  Enjoy what you’re doing.  Personally, I tried many alternative bouquets (beaded flowers: look awesome, but take a crazy amount of time) before I found the one for me, and even then I purchased it from etsy to save myself some time.  Make sure you are taking some pleasure in what you’re doing; it’ll just make looking back on your wedding that much better.

 

When I look at my wedding pictures, I don’t see the countless hot glue gun burns or my misplaced paper cutter.  Instead, I see the covered books inspired by a post my sister found online, the beautiful dresses my mother and grandmother sewed, our favors that my friend assembled, the programs my dad so expertly folded, and so much more.  I hope this list will help you on your DIY wedding journey and allow you to see the things I do when I look back on our day.

Have something you’d like to add?  Please share it in the comments below!d