Singaporebrides | Weddings 101

January 2023

A Guide on What You Should and Should Not DIY For Your Wedding

By Audrie Soh

Share this article on:
Facebook

Here are the nine things you should and should not DIY for your wedding.

While DIY weddings may be pretty to look at, many couples underestimate the amount of work, effort and time that goes into DIY-ing a wedding. Planning a DIY wedding is not simply about buying props and styling spaces. More often than not, DIY-ing takes up a significant amount of planning, coordinating, time, effort and manpower. In some cases, it might even cost more than hiring a professional to do the work.

However, that isn’t to say that you can’t successfully DIY your wedding as you had originally envision to. All you need to do is to identify whether it is more cost and time efficient to DIY or leave it to professionals. To help you with this, we’ve listed out nine things you should and should not DIY for your wedding.

What You Should DIY:

1. Wedding Stationery

Save-the-dates, wedding invitations, place cards, menu cards, seating plans, church solemnisation program – these paper items are a great starting point if you are looking to DIY your wedding with your personal touch. Depending on your budget and preference, there are a number of ways to DIY your wedding paper goods. You can work with a professional wedding stationer to craft a customised visual for your stationery set, or if you prefer to do it all by yourself, you can create your own template and visuals using design apps or websites. There are also websites with a variety of ready-to-use designs that you can choose from based on your wedding theme or vision.

2. Guest Reception Table

If you’d like to personally decorate and style your wedding, we’d suggest you try your hand at a smaller and more manageable area like the guest reception table. Take inspiration from similar themed reception tables and start sourcing the items you’d need to decorate the table with at least one to two months ahead.

Try to keep the decorations simple yet aesthetically pleasing, as you may need to delegate the actual decorating to your bridal party, who will be doing the footwork for you as you get ready for your grand entrance.

3. DIY Photo booths

Everyone loves photo booths. It’s a great way to bond, take home a unique keepsake and above all, it’s great fun for both the young and old! If you would like a photo booth at your wedding but are tight on budget, don’t worry, you can always DIY one.

With a coloured backdrop, a bunch of fun props and a polaroid camera, you can easily create a DIY photo booth corner for your guests to enjoy throughout the celebration. Remember to leave enough polaroid films on the table! Alternatively, you can use a regular digital camera with a tripod for your DIY photo booth. Designate one or two members of your bridal party to help your guests snap their photos and print it out for them to take home on the spot.

What You Should Not DIY:

4. Florals

Floral arrangement is an art in itself; it is more than just choosing your favourite blooms and fauna, and putting them together into a bunch or vase. Some flowers are also more delicate than others and require a special equipment or environment to keep fresh. So, unless you are a professional florist, or have had some form of training in floral arrangement, you should steer clear of DIY-ing your own florals.

Save yourself the pain and money (yes! it might just be cheaper to hire a professional florist to work with your budget than to DIY!), and skip the DIY for this.

5. Photography and Videography

Your wedding is a once-a-lifetime event. Even if you could replicate the look of the wedding, you cannot re-create the same moments, memories and emotions you felt during the celebration. So, save yourself the regret of not hiring a professional photographer and videographer, and hire one for your big day.

6. Wedding Planner/Coordinator

As much as you would like to undertake the daunting (and for some, exciting) task of planning and coordinating your wedding, our advice to you is DON’T. Not only is planning and coordinating a wedding stressful and time-consuming, you are only going to be a bride there and then. The only role and responsibility you should assume on your big day is to be the beautiful, glowing bride. Leave the coordinating and worrying to a professional planner or coordinator who has managed similar events in the past, so you can enjoy your day to the fullest, without any worry or stress.

7. Wedding cake

Baking a cake and baking a wedding cake are two very different things. Even if you are an accomplished home baker, this is a task you might want to leave to the professionals instead of DIY-ing. Not only would you need to bake a cake bigger than what you are used to making, you’d also need a large enough refrigerator to store it. It would also need to be done close to your big day for freshness, and you’d need to arrange for manpower to transport it from your home to your venue without ruining it. If that isn’t enough to discourage you from baking your own wedding cake, I don’t know what will!

If you would still like to bake for your wedding, you can try making something smaller and manageable, like cookies for favours for your guests. That way, you’ll get to add your own personal touch to your big day.

8. Hair and Makeup

Our advice for brides is to just sit back, relax and enjoy the day, instead of hurrying around completing tasks like doing your own hair and makeup. While you may be skilled in day-to-day makeup looks, you might need the help of a professional wedding makeup artist to doll you up for your once-in-a-lifetime.

Besides, it isn’t everyday you get to be pampered and made up like a celebrity, so soak in the moment and enjoy it!

9. Wedding Music and Live Band

We know it’s tempting to skip out on hiring a professional DJ or live band to cut back on your wedding expenses, and replace it with a self-curated playlist for the wedding, but we suggest you resist the urge and engage a professional.

With a professional DJ or live band, you get more engagement with your guests. Not only will the DJ or live band play songs that complement the current situation, they may be able to accept song requests from your guests during the wedding. Your guests can request a song and dedicate to you as a show of their appreciation, or you can request for a song to thank a particular or all of your guests for taking time out to celebrate your union.

Feature image from Shi Hui and Zewei’s Cosy Wedding at Keyaki Garden Pavilion by Lam Wang Photography

All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeBrides.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram for the latest article and promotion updates!