A Wedding or a celebration appears to be THE perfect occasion for the DIY fans amongst lovebirds to bring to life all those gorgeous DIY ideas which are attractively displayed on Pinterest.
The DIY diehards should better cover their ears (or don't continue reading), as in this article we will explain why we are not a big fan of DIY decoration for your wedding and why DIY may not be the best idea for your wedding day.
Reality versus picture
The first and foremost reason why we think DIY decoration can lead to a good (as in ´big´) amount of deception, stress and disappointment is reality versus picture. A well-taken (and photoshopped) closeup of a professionally crafted DIY decoration item is something entirely different than the same home-made DIY item within the bigger picture of the whole wedding setup. It is exactly the same as a cheap (fast) fashion item. It looks gorgeous on the beautiful model with the perfect paradise backdrop. But once out of the package, the baggy tissue, poor stitching, bad fitting and without the photoshop options, the reality doesn't meet the expectation to the slightest.
So, although DIY weddingdecoration items look gorgeous on your Pinterest board, they usually do not achieve the same effect in reality.
Are you still here?
Hang in, because now that we have set the tone, we still have some more reasons why-not-to-DIY.
Budget-friendly?
Despite what you may think, DIY items are - in most cases - not more budget-friendly.
Some projects contain some up-cycle material (which is good), but it usually still takes lots of hot glue (and lets buy a new hot glue gun for the special occasion, because for a wedding you want to DIY in style). It takes some drives (and a few more) to the hardware store, custom sized wood (any kind) are not particularly cheap, and so isn't 12 meters of that oh-so fine looking natural fabric you have to have for your DIY backdrop. Let's not forget the amount of time you have to put into it (including the back and forth to the DIY stores, the assembly, and the cleaning up time). And count in some time for frustration. It doesn't always run as smooth as we may wish.
For a destination wedding you will have to take into consideration the items that you can prepare still at home and bring them with you, without getting seriously damaged, and the items that require assembly at the location.
In any case you you also will have to think about your luggage and the costs of another suitcase, just to get the DIY stuff from A to P(ortugal).
Last but not least, in order to make it look at least close to that Pinterest picture, you usually have to think big. Quantity matters when it comes to pompons, olive leaf petals in a cute little hand lettered paper bag, or painted, decorated, coated and glitter-dipped mason jars for candles and flowers.
DIY at location
The romantic idea of spending a creative afternoon pre-wedding day in the Portuguese sun with your sisters, mother and bride maids, often ends up in last-minute stress.
Darling, you are in Portugal, you are in a holiday-and-love-and-wedding mood, the sun is too hot and the swimming pool is simply irresistible. You burn your fingers (or melt down your well manicured gel-nails) by the hot glue gun and you burn your nose and shoulders as you totally forget to repeat your sunscreen.
Then there are some DIY decoration that requires a real last-minute assembly (e.g. when it includes flowers, food or beverage). No need to say that it takes some good prepping and instructions for #teambride and a realistic (!) planning.
In theory, it just takes a few minutes. In reality, it takes a tight coordination and organization to avoid that your bride maids are still running around with curlers in their hair when your first guests are already arriving (#truestory).
The reason why we say no to DIY decoration? For your own best, for your Bridal team, for your budget, for your peace-of-mind and for your flawless sun kissed skin.
