Emily and Michael held their Do-It-Yourself wedding at the Briars on 21 December 2013. After their gorgeous wedding, Emily very kindly answered some questions about the D-I-Y process, which I’m sure will be of great assistance to anyone considering taking on the same role for their wedding.
Having a D-I-Y wedding is an enormous task. What elements of your wedding did you do yourself?
Crafty Additions:
– Save the Dates/Invitations were designed together with my Sister in Law who runs GCS Creative Occasions.
– 85metres of Bunting – cut out by myself, and my Mother in Law helped me with the sewing
– Table Cloth to match Bunting – also sewed by my Mother in Law
– Candle Bags – Designed by myself and made by my sister in law
– Lolly Boxes – Labels designed with my Sister in Law, and stuck onto each box!
– All the Lolly Table and Dessert Table Labels
– Direction Signs were made by my Husband
– GuestBook – Designed by us
I also had to organise the Food, Alcohol, Desserts, Waiters, Glasses, Chairs, Hay Bales, Games, and Mr Whippy.
Did you have much help?
Along the way my Sister in Law helped me with all the multimedia items (things that needed to be printed) – my ideas translated to her, then she would bring them to life! My Mother in Law helped a lot with the sewing. I otherwise slowly ticked things of my list. Family were the most help when needed, or when items needed to be purchased.
Where did you get your ideas from?
Pinterest, Wedding Forums and Magazines is where I got most of my ideas from. I would see something on one site and combine a couple of ideas together so it was exactly what I was after. As the wedding was in an old Rustic Barn, I was constantly searching shops and websites for ideas and items that would make the venue more amazing.
How long did it take?
I booked the Venue in the January and was married in the December. As it was a D-I-Y Wedding only 4 days before Christmas, I had to book the major wedding things (Celebrant, Musician, Food, Entertainment, and Photography) very early on to secure my spot! Once these things were sorted it allowed me to search for other ideas and start collecting!
Did it take longer than you expected?
I had a good 11 months of planning and collecting, I had a timeline and I knew what had to be done when.
Did you enjoy doing everything yourself?
I loved having my ideas and relaying them to someone that could help me and then seeing the final product. I am a very visual person, so by having only photos and measurements of the venue it was sometimes difficult to see how it would all work. In saying that, it was absolutely fantastic to know that we had an empty shell and we created a venue to be something that was all about my husband and I.
Was the end result what you had envisioned?
Exactly how I envisioned. Everything worked together perfectly. The only criticism may be that due to it being cocktail, some people may not have had enough food. Although there was plenty to go around it would have just been the position the food was in at the time. The place looked amazing during the ceremony and during the reception. The gardens were wonderfully set up around the Barn. The Games worked well set up on the grass. The Hay Bales were perfect seating for everyone. The musician throughout the night topped it off making it amazing!
Do you feel your family and friends appreciated the time and effort that went into making everything?
Definitely, every person that attended has contacted either my husband or myself after the wedding and said what an amazing time they had. The place was perfect for a wedding and it was perfectly suited to Michael and I.
If you had your time over, would you do it again?
If I had my time again, nothing would change! We had the most perfect day from start to finish.
When it came to setting up and decorating your ceremony and reception (which were both held in the same venue), did you need any extra help?
The entire day prior to the wedding we had A LOT of hands on deck. We had friends and family and (a marvellous wedding coordinator) help us hang items, layout chairs, carry alcohol, organise set up for Reception, unpack numerous car loads of items. It was an all-day affair with deliveries being dropped off. It took nearly a total of 7 or so hours of setting up to get it workable for the next day deliveries and for the ceremony. The Reception we tried to make as little ‘set up’ as possible, and a few items were having to be moved after the ceremony. With the help of my 3 Waiters/Bar Staff and wedding coordinator, they were able to deliver a perfect Reception space.
Without the extra help on either days, the wedding would not have been possible. Without the coordination on the wedding day AND the timeline of pack up with suppliers the following day, the day would have been completely hectic and stressful. With everyone’s input and assistance, it went to plan.
A huge thank you goes to Emily for taking the time to share her thoughts with me! I thoroughly enjoyed helping Emily and Michael create their vision and I hope Emily’s insights help anyone considering a DIY wedding.
Functioning Together 