And now for the fun wedding-week DIY decor you’ve been waiting for.
From the moment guests arrived, we wanted them to feel welcomed and comfortable. We built a simple wooden welcome sign with a hand-painted message. Because it was a sandwich-board style (two boards joined with hinges at the top), we used the back to paint a departure message: “Thanks for sharing our special day, please grab a glowstick to light your way to the car.” We placed a galvanized bucket filled with white glow sticks beside it so guests could safely find their way on our dim street. The sign and glow sticks cost us under $30 total. Here’s John’s dad greeting guests next to our sign.
We wanted a celebration that felt festive and fun without losing any style, so we paid careful attention to the table settings. The DIY approach saved us thousands and meant we did nearly everything ourselves over several months. Aside from renting tables and chairs from a local vendor, the reception setup was entirely handcrafted. Tablecloths and runners were simply white muslin and textured yellow fabric from a local fabric store, and most of the glassware came from Ikea. Buying these items turned out to be cheaper than renting, and it allowed us to create a custom look without worrying about rental fees for stains or breakage. Even the silverware was purchased at Sam’s Club. After the wedding we donated much of the servingware to charity, which felt great and provided a tax write-off.
Choosing fruit over flowers for centerpieces—picked up at the grocery store the morning of the wedding—and designing arrangements that took no more than ten minutes to assemble saved hundreds of dollars while staying fresh and stylish. The glass cylinders for the fruit centerpieces were $3.99 each from a craft store, and we found about 200 glass votives on Craigslist from a bride who sold them for $30. We also found festive lemon-and-lime paper napkins at Target; their citrus print matched our lemon-and-lime centerpieces perfectly. Full disclosure: we may have overbought those napkins—we still use them occasionally.
As for the “what’s in those brown bags?” question: our garden-themed favors were simple mini brown paper bags filled with a single gladiolus bulb and planting instructions printed on the back. Each bag had a photo strip clipped to the front—tying together our save-the-dates and the photobooth we rented—with John’s face covered in lipstick kisses and a sign that read: Plant one… on us! *smooooch*
For place cards we stamped each guest’s first initial onto a small square of cardstock, hand-lettered their full name underneath, and tucked the card behind a river rock. Many guests kept their cards and rocks, a reminder that simple touches can be as elegant and meaningful as elaborate calligraphy.
We also focused on charming beverage presentation. Instead of plastic pitchers, we collected old glass bottles from a local wine retailer who saved them from weekly tastings at no cost. We cleaned them thoroughly and labeled each with a permanent marker—water in the green bottles, sweet tea in the brown ones, and homemade mint lemonade in the clear bottles (fresh mint plus lemonade is a winning combo). We also stocked red and white wine and a few vintage glass bottles of cola. Avoiding cans and plastic added a classy, photogenic touch to the tables.
The photobooth idea came from wanting a fun, memorable activity—something that would keep guests entertained and create keepsakes. After searching locally with no luck, a new photobooth rental business launched about three months before the wedding and we booked them. For $1,200 for the day we had unlimited photo strips and an on-site attendant. It was a splurge, but the hilarious strips of friends and family are some of our favorite mementos. We collected them in a leather-bound album and framed a few favorites for the house.
To encourage guests to leave photostrips for us, we turned a big red metal garage door into an oversized magnet board. With inexpensive magnets and a small sign asking guests to save a strip, the garage door filled up quickly—we ended up with more photostrips than guests.
One of our favorite strips was the last one taken late that night after most guests had left. We slipped into the booth right before it was packed up—John had swapped his wedding pants for shorts and was already helping clean up. That final strip perfectly captures the joy of the day and the euphoric feeling of…
…we can’t believe we actually pulled it off!!!
Drop by our Wedding Album tab under the header to see more details of our big day from start to finish.