Wedding Wednesday - DIY Madness

It's Wednesday, and seeing as I haven't had a Wedding Wednesday Post in, well, nearly forever, I figured it was about time to have one.

To be honest, I haven't really done a whole lot of wedding planning/plotting as of late, with being sick and all. Only since my surgery have I really been able to get back in the swing of things.

Early on in the whole planning process, when planning a wedding seemed like a magical and exciting process and I was absolutely sure there would be absolutely no drama attached to our blessed day (ahhhh, nostalgia), I knew I wanted to DIY a lot of our wedding. And by "a lot", I mean a lot. I would look around at these blogs like Road to the Aisle, 2000 Dollar Wedding, Broke Ass Bride (not to mention my friend Kat...that girl is phenomenal)... I see all these brides and think "Gawd, how charming! How sweet! I could totally do that!" and next thing you know, I've got DIY aspirations that rival Martha Stewart.

When I added everything up and realized that DIYing would result in our wedding coming in around $10,000 lower than the minimum average for our area, that pretty much sealed the deal.

So, I tallied up all the pieces and parts, started ordering supplies, began setting up a wedding-related work station in our loft...

...and then I realized that I am quite literally INSANE.

I work two full time jobs. I'm in the process of trying to build a business out of our home. I have a full time lab schedule for my Ph.D. and I'm taking courses for the next 5-6 semesters. I've got two major health issues to battle with (one now, thank you Baby Jesus).  I've got a dog and a fiance (who also works two full time jobs) and a family in Ohio and yoga classes and a workout schedule and my sister's wedding and a research trip to Austria to deal with. What in the hell was I thinking?!?

Too late now, bitch - you ordered the supplies.

::headdesk::

So, for the next seven months, in and around my crazy ass schedule, I will be doing a multitude of DIY. In fact, here's the list (if any of my bridesmaids or my hubbie-to-be are reading this - run away, please):

Save-the-Date Postcards

Pocketfold Invitations

Rehearsal / Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

Mailing Labels for All Mailed Goods

Monogram Squares for Invites and Programs

Reception Floral Centerpieces

Cocktail Table Floral Vases

Ceremony Floral Vases & Gazebo Archway Decor

Table Numbers

Mad Lib Cards (for cocktail/reception tables)

Fan Programs

Favor Cards

Photoshare Cards

Menu Cards

Reception Card Box
Bridal Party Jewelry

Framed Scrapbook Page/Photo Collages for Bridal Party

Bouquet Wraps for the Bridal Party

Bouquet Charms for My Bouquet

Photo Charm Necklace for Mike

Toasting Flute Charms

Water Bottle Labels

Out-of-Town Welcome Bags

Homemade Cookies for the OOT Bags

Baskets for Favor Cards, Mad Libs, and Programs

Reserved Seating Signs

Escort Cards

Oh yeah, and I'm toying around with making my own fascinator and doing a monogrammed aisle runner.

::headdesk::

Now, all that being said, I do have some assistance in my quest for DIY stardom - the lovely E (of ChemistrE 101) and my bridesmaid Blondie have already offered their services in exchange for booze and cupcakes. Definitely do-able, but I also don't want to drive my poor friends into slave labor.

Oy vey, ay caramba and holy schnikes, all rolled into one...

Well, now that I'm done with all my griping, I could at least let you in on the general ideas we've got going, right?

Our wedding colors are navy, khaki and white. Very gender friendly, very beachy/nautical/oceany, and follows my only personal caveat about our wedding (absolutely, positively zero pink):

We're going with a vintagey-nautical/ocean theme. One of the major themes that will run throughout our paper goods and decor is vintage sea life sketches (recolored into navy and tan by mwah):

And handwriting/beachy script-style fonts:

We're DIYing our own flowers, using simple white roses for everything. We're doing very simple arrangements with floating roseheads/petals, floating candles, and tan stones, and our bouquets and bouts will be simple white roses. There's very specific reasoning for the flower we selected, but that's a WW post for another time. :)

The whole aim for everything we're doing is to make things very simple, very classic, and very us - nothing overly fussy or over-the-top. We're both very easy-going, laidback, non-fussy people, and our wedding will (hopefully) reflect that in a classic and classy way.

So, as of now, I'm working on figuring out what I should do when, and how long each task should take me. In the meantime, my loft looks like it exploded in cardstock, navy ribbon and glass vaseware.

So ladies (and a few gents out there - I know you're lurking :) )...

Ever done DIY projects like these? Did you do DIY for our own wedding? Any projects you recommend finishing early, or saving until later? Anything you wish you did, but didn't...or didn't, and wish you did? Are you willing to commit to manual labor for booze and cupcakes?



Intro image courtesy of Claudia Oliver Photography