Craftier-Than-Thou: Feeling The DIY Pressure?
The ever-wonderful OffBeatBride.Com just posted a recent interview with me about my book and about the current state of the DIY wedding world. (Thanks, Ariel!)
One of Ariel’s questions, “How do you suggest combating the “DIY-er than thou” frenzy that some crafty brides work themselves into?“, has been on my mind quite a bit. It’s certainly been the topic of several conversations I’ve had with both industry pros and brides lately. I honestly don’t have a good answer.
I really want to talk with you about it. With all of the incredible DIY projects and how-to info coming online, does it help inspire you or does it cause more frustration? Are you feeling the pressure to be more crafty/original/indie/offbeat/xyz? How are you dealing with all of that? Or does it bother you at all?
I’m really curious if you’re experiencing what I think you’re going through. And I’m even more curious what advice you would give to others who might be feeling bad about not feeling/being crafty enough.
Here’s a quick poll. Please feel free to leave comments, too.
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I do feel a little bit of pressure to be a DIY diva, but a little differently. A lot of my family and friends find my pet projects to be very impressive, and so my track record causes them to expect nothing but great things from me.
With all these “special touches” that I see brides showcasing online, I find myself clawing to do something similar, if not better. I also have a huge family (my mom is the youngest of 13 and my father the oldest of 15!!) and all of my aunts and uncles had kids and we’re all trying to find some identity in our wedding, but it’s hard. Someone in my family has probably already done it! BLAH!
I know it’s petty but I do feel like I’m in competition with other peoples weddings. When I see some of the diy projects that people are showing off it does make me feel bad sometimes especially when they’re projects I’m doing. I feel like I’m not talented enough or creative enough. I hate it!
I struggle to leave things well enough alone. I go into craft overload mode! Thankfully FI reminds me I don’t have to do everything and sometimes having someone else do it is less stressful.
More than just feeling pressure to be crafty, I feel a pressure to balance my crafty side and my desire to be “green.” Both are really important to me. But I feel bad about the fact that, for example, I want my DIY invites to be printed on nonrecycled paper, and that I kinda want programs even though they’re a waste of paper…
I love this site and the ideas presented here. I recently thought of a great theme that calls out to me & my fiancee and it makes it so much more exciting and personal! (I’ll share later.) I haven’t quite figured out how to do everything, so I do feel a little bit of pressure but for the most part I’m excited about it all.
The hardest part to me is that we have a couple theme ideas we’d love to weave together and haven’t found a good way yet…
I have no pressure. This site inspires me to do my own DIY projects and i find myself in the craft store more and more. The DIY-er in me is simply to save some cash along the way. I could care less about being original…bottom line is budget.
I have to say that I feel a lot of pressure from my tight budget to do DIY. I have shaky DIY credentials, so I’m not really on a competition level. I knit and I do odd jobs around the house – now I’m going to design and print beautiful invitations!?
I am a little worried that I am trying to take on too many projects that stretch my skills – especially as I recently moved and do not have anyone close who can help with projects. On the other hand, I also am excited to do things myself!