Angela + Bryan

Posted by Khris in Real DIYers

Ohio couple Angela and Bryan wanted a simple, low-key beach wedding. With a little creativity and some good-old DIY handwork, they created a lovely romantic destination wedding – on a budget.

In The Photographer’s Words: They came to Myrtle Beach SC, married on the beach and had a small reception at the Prince Resort Hotel where they stayed. On a budget, they decided to do the details themselves. Rather than chairs for the ceremony, she had beach towels in her colors, embroidered with their names and date. She made her programs from card-stock, glued to popsicle sticks, tied with ribbon and stuck into the sand. Thank-you favors were votives filled with seashells and blue gel. Her beach aisle, was lined in seashells and flowers. This was a low key but very romantic wedding. The couple was relaxed, fun and really enjoyed their day.

::::: Details :::::

Couple’s Names: Angela + Bryan
Wedding Date: 04/30/2010
Country: United States
Location: North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Photographer: Brooke Christl Photography
Reception Venue: Prince Resort
Ceremony Location: Cherry Grove Pier

Gift Guides

Posted by Khris in DIY Guides

Hi DIYers,

As DIY Bride begins to include all aspects planning a do-it-yourself wedding, we’ll be introducing new features in the coming days and weeks. The first new feature is a regular column of gift-giving guides.

“What gifts” you say? Most couples give their maids and men a gift for being in the wedding party. Moms and dads often get a token of thanks. Clergy, vendors who go above and beyond, special helpers, ceremony readers, ushers, ring bearers, and flower girls are also others who traditionally may receive gifts. Brides and grooms also sometimes exchange gifties pre-ceremony. I know Jason and I were caught off guard when we discovered all of these wedding extras were customary and/or expected – and we didn’t budget for them. So, you know, heads up! Save some room in your budget for this stuff and let us offer some inspiration for nifty ideas for all budget ranges.

The Gift Guides are collections of products that are perfect for wedding-related gifting. DIY Bride is proud to showcase handmade products from small and indie designers as part of our roundup of ideas.

If you’re a vendor who’d like to be considered for inclusion in our gift guides, we’d love to hear from you! Please use the contact form to tell us about your product and why you think your wares are a great gift idea.

Real Etiquette: How To Ask For Wedding Sponsors

Posted by Khris in Real Etiquette

Dear DIY Bride: My fiance and I are on a tight budget for our May 2011 wedding. We are considering approaching a local restaurant, DJ, and photographer to see if they’ll consider swap their services for advertising at our wedding. Is there a best way to do this? What advertising is best (mention in our programs, signs displayed on tables)?  [Original question edited for clarity.]

Answer: The short answer is that there’s no way to tactfully ask for strangers to fund any part of your wedding. Etiquette-ly speaking this falls directly into the land of “Do NOT do this” .

The long answer? Nothing makes vendors bristle more than being asked for to work for no pay – and rightfully so. Why do you think these vendors should fund your wedding?  This isn’t a sarcastic question; it’s an honest one. Unless it’s a charity event or you’re a mega-celebrity with huge press coverage at your wedding, there’s really no upside for them. They may get minimal exposure at your event and might get future business but that probably won’t compensate them for what they’re investing which is their time, resources, employee pay, supplies, insurance costs, overhead and reputation.

You can have an amazing wedding on a tight budget and without sacrificing your dignity.  I encourage you to look into things like cutting back your guest list, fun-but-offbeat wedding venues, eBay or second-hand gowns, and potluck receptions (or culinary schools for discount catering) to help save some cash.

Best of luck to you!

My Top 10 Tips For DIY Survival

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

I’m thrilled to have contributed my Top 10 Tips for a One-of-a-Kind Wedding over at AOL’s excellent Aisle Dash site.

1. DO be decisive. Nothing will sabotage your DIY experience more than being wishy-washy about your projects. Once you get a solid theme or project idea down, stick with it, or you’ll waste precious time and resources (and drive yourself crazy).

2. DON’T do too many projects. Once you get rolling with DIY projects, it’s easy to get carried away and want to do everything by hand. Resist that urge! Pick the projects that are most meaningful to you and stick with those. Weddings bring enough stress without the pressure of added responsibilities.

3. DO start early. Most DIYers vastly underestimate the time needed to complete big projects and end up stressed, over budget, and completely burnt out. My handy little tip: Expect each project to take double the time you expect to complete it and budget that into your calendar.

Please click the link for the full article.

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.