Does diy really save money ?

Im literally saving thousands doing DIY, but of course, it depends on WHAT you DIY. What did you have in mind?
One of the things im doing is a DIY wedding dress. It will cost 40$ as opposed to the idk how much people usually spend.

View Quoted Comment I’m mainly thinking of doing the bouquets and center pieces as DIY projects.

It depends on what you're DIYing.

What kind of centerpieces? The flowers can be DIY’d but I think it’s really important to have some help with that because you do not want to be running around setting up a ton of flowers on your wedding day!

View Quoted Comment Oh, for sure. Some of the glasswear/candles at the Dollar store and walmart are perfect for a wedding. Idk why people hire florists. Not hiring one will defiitely save money that you can spend on the actual decore, which may end up cooler because its what you envision, not someone else.

View Quoted Comment No, but family members can help out, or the FH who will probably be doing nothing at that time anyway

View Quoted Comment If you have help then I think the big thing to think about would just be like if you want flowers on a wedding arch and stuff like that because it’s harder to do. But if you can get flowers from a wholesale flower market it would be cheaper

View Quoted Comment Yah, thats true. Depends on if the flowers are your main decore

Dont just limit yourself to DIY meaning you have to purchase all the materials and start from scratch. I DIY’ed a number of things but I also bought things secondhand. I saved a lott of money on my centerpieces because I bought secondhand items another bride was selling after her wedding. Flowers + vases were $250 for 20 centerpieces. I got 12 beautiful pew flowers+bows for $25. Some things are not worth the DIY because of the cost of materials & time.

View Quoted Comment I never thought of this as an option !!! Thank you! Do you know where I can look for second hand stuff ??

View Quoted Comment Theres a couple different places. I would start on OfferUp in your local area, and also you can buy items online through offerup and have them shipped. I bought flower garlands and a beautifullll card box that I got online via offerup. Another place is an app called Mercari. This is where I got a bunch of wedding stuff for cheap and my pew flowers. Lastly you can look on ebay and facebook marketplace.


Sometimes ts a lot of work to toggle through all the different apps/websites but its worth it! I would do a search like twice a week to see what was new or check my notifications and luckily I found everything I was looking for, even if I had to spruce them up to fit my color scheme. I added a picture of my centerpieces. I bought them as is but need to add purple to fit my theme

Idk how much centerpieces usually cost, but I made mine for about $8 each.
I made mine and bridesmaids bouquets for under $10 each (mine is pictures below)

I know I'm saving a TON of money by not having real flowers at the wedding!

View Quoted Comment Just curious- what else r u making? I'm contemplating doing some of the stuff myself

View Quoted Comment I love knot designs and its so perfect bc we're "tying the knot". I just happen to crochet and macrame, so im doing little cool macrame pieces to hang everywhere from trees and stuff (outdoor wedding).
Weve talked about flying picture taking drones over the ceremony instead of hiring another photographer. The wedding arch at the ceremony will be beachwood with macrame hanging from it. We're making the STDs in photoshop, and printing them ourselves. That sorta thing.Even if you dont have the skill to make smt right now- The internet is a hell of a thing. You can learn anything from youtube. I learned to crochet off of it. My FH learned to sew off it.

I'm DIYing my centerpieces for about $9 a table, so I'm saving quite a bit there. I almost DIY'd my bouquets, but decided it was worth paying the extra $200 for professional

It can be a money saver especially if you can reuse the decorations that you make. I'm making my decorations. If we can't reuse them, I can gift them to the wedding party.

If you are thoughtful about it, DIY can definitely save money. One thing I would recommend is to really plan out your projects and what you will need before going out and purchasing a ton of craft items.

I also definitely recommend reaching out to friends/family who have gotten married recently who might give your their decor for free or greatly reduced costs. For example, our candle vase centerpieces, pew bows, unity candle holder, cake knives, etc. were all free to us.

As far as used items, Facebook Marketplace has a ton or there are specific websites for selling used wedding items if you do a Google search. Good luck!

DIY can definitely save you money! But don't bite off more than you can chew. I've been to a couple of DIY parties for my friends and my cousin's weddings where everyone helped make name cards for the tables and centerpieces! Both times the bride provided some snacks and we had music playing. It was a really fun time, so If you do plan A LOT of DIY then have a DIY party!

I saved a ton of money by DIYing and shopping sales