How to Incorporate DIY Decor into a Luxury Wedding

Today we are talking about luxury weddings. The term “luxury” wedding kind of turns me off, although it’s industry speak for any wedding where the budget is over a certain amount. That amount doesn’t really matter, because it could get you everything you’ve wanted in one town and barely anything in NYC. I like to use the term “luxury” when speaking about weddings to describe an event that certain vendors were hired that are not a necessity. Specifically, for the case of this post, event designers and wedding planners. An event designer and a wedding planner are NOT necessities when planning your wedding – therefore, they could feel like a luxurious thing to spend money on. Sort of when I pay the extra $15 for a fancy gel nail design or buy the guacamole that’s pre-made in the store. Sure, I could have done my own nails or made my own guacamole, but I was being all luxury by paying someone else to do it.

So, going forward, a luxury wedding is, to me, a wedding where money was spent on a wedding planner who offers design and/or an event designer. But, you ask, “what if I still want to DIY some decor?”, “will I be able to craft my favors simply because I want to?”

Of course you can. DIY decor definitely has a place in a fully designed wedding. Here are my favorite places to infuse some of that crafty goodness in a luxury wedding:

The place cards. I love DIY place cards because they can be made ahead of time. They are the little name cards that assign a guest to their individual seat (not to be confused with escort cards, which assign a guest to a table). You don’t need to wait until your RSVPs come in to get started on these. So what if you make a few extra for people who decide not to come. I recommend looking into doing handwriting on ceramic tiles, die cut paper on a Cricut machine, or digitally printed folded cards.

The signage. Along with the place cards, signs can be made well in advance of your wedding. Stain a big piece of wood and paint a welcome message for your guests. Sew some felt letters onto canvas to make a whimsical banner. Design coordinating signs for the bar, print onto cardstock, and display in a pretty frame.

Favors. Often given to guests on the way out, your favors are a great place to get creative with your DIY skills. Even if that means simply wrapping up treats in pretty packaging, a DIY favor is a personalized way to extend your gratitude to all of your loved ones celebrating with you.

Anywhere else. Let your event designer and planner know if you have a special DIY skill that you want to use for the wedding. Great at graphic design? Love doing woodwork? Know how to calligraph? They can help you brainstorm ideas on where you can get creative for your wedding using the skills you already have. It doesn’t matter if you spend a million dollars on your wedding, the best wedding decor are the items that have sentimental value to you, and often those are DIY projects by you or a loved one.

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