I have a friend who recently got engaged, and we have less than 5 months to plan all the wedding details, on a very small budget. I remember planning for my own wedding, that was also on a small budget (I was full-time graduate student then). I've been gathering ideas, and what better place to search for them than the world wide web?
Project Wedding recently hosted a Budget Savvy Bride contest, and I was so impressed and inspired by all the diy projects.
A Southern California wedding (like my friend's), with 125 guests, for under $5000? Yes!
The invitations, $300 for 150
She designed the invitations in Illustrator and printed them on textured white paper, four to a page, with an inkjet printer by setting the print quality to best. A black cardstock provided the background.
The inspiration for the cake from Martha Stewart...
to making it your own, using Meyer lemon pound cake, coconut swiss meringue buttercream and meyer lemon curd filling recipes.
Her tips for creating your own giant wedding cake:
1. Pick a recipe you are comfortable with - I highly recommend pound cake if you aren't experienced with making large cakes, because airier cakes are more likely to crack and cause major frustration.
2. Go to a cake store well in advance, because you are going to need large pans (some cake stores will rent pans to you for a fraction of the cost of buying them) and specialty ingredients.
3. Don't rely on your decorating skills too much, unless you are actually a cake decorator.
Cut Costs Not Corners spent some money on letterpress printing, but they cut costs by doing the following:
1. They used only one ink color for the letterpress printing, and the second color was printed flat. Based on Mika78's quotes, they saved $300 for 100 invitations.
2. The couple used a custom address embosser for the return envelopes. For only $24, the result is stunning!
3. Want to use pocketfolds for your printed invitations? Make your own! The couple ordered custom-sized cardstock from Cards & Pockets. They did the the scoring, folding, and designing, and saved over $50 for 80 instead of purchasing ready- made pocketfolds.
Joy's wedding is still in the planning stages, but all this for $3000? Wow!
She's very crafty, and also knows many creative people. This was how I saved on my flowers, wedding ring, DJ, and videography--- I was lucky to have such talented friends. Joy is going to make her wedding dress for $75, inspired by these Monique Lhuillier designs:
I'm dying to see the end result!
I love this tissue-paper pomander ($5 each) from a Tennessee bride
I want to use them for the church. I'm going to run this idea by my friend *crossing fingers that she'll say yes* :) Oh, and the diy instructions are here, thanks to Vintage Glam.
Do you have any wedding diy projects or budget- saving tips to share?
*All photos via Project Wedding
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Project Wedding recently hosted a Budget Savvy Bride contest, and I was so impressed and inspired by all the diy projects.
A Southern California wedding (like my friend's), with 125 guests, for under $5000? Yes!
The invitations, $300 for 150
The inspiration for the cake from Martha Stewart...
to making it your own, using Meyer lemon pound cake, coconut swiss meringue buttercream and meyer lemon curd filling recipes.
Her tips for creating your own giant wedding cake:
1. Pick a recipe you are comfortable with - I highly recommend pound cake if you aren't experienced with making large cakes, because airier cakes are more likely to crack and cause major frustration.
2. Go to a cake store well in advance, because you are going to need large pans (some cake stores will rent pans to you for a fraction of the cost of buying them) and specialty ingredients.
3. Don't rely on your decorating skills too much, unless you are actually a cake decorator.
Cut Costs Not Corners spent some money on letterpress printing, but they cut costs by doing the following:
1. They used only one ink color for the letterpress printing, and the second color was printed flat. Based on Mika78's quotes, they saved $300 for 100 invitations.
2. The couple used a custom address embosser for the return envelopes. For only $24, the result is stunning!
3. Want to use pocketfolds for your printed invitations? Make your own! The couple ordered custom-sized cardstock from Cards & Pockets. They did the the scoring, folding, and designing, and saved over $50 for 80 instead of purchasing ready- made pocketfolds.
Joy's wedding is still in the planning stages, but all this for $3000? Wow!
She's very crafty, and also knows many creative people. This was how I saved on my flowers, wedding ring, DJ, and videography--- I was lucky to have such talented friends. Joy is going to make her wedding dress for $75, inspired by these Monique Lhuillier designs:
I'm dying to see the end result!I love this tissue-paper pomander ($5 each) from a Tennessee bride
I want to use them for the church. I'm going to run this idea by my friend *crossing fingers that she'll say yes* :) Oh, and the diy instructions are here, thanks to Vintage Glam.
Do you have any wedding diy projects or budget- saving tips to share?
*All photos via Project Wedding
