Because of my cold and planning purposes, we aren’t celebrating until this weekend. Instead Jay sent me flowers at work!! I'm a lucky girl! This weekend we will squeeze our Anniversary and Valentine’s Day together for more bang for our buck ;). Plus, this is our last dating anniversary NOT married so we have to go ALL out. SCARRY!!
Come back next Monday for all the details, because you won’t want to miss this trip ;). In the meantime, feel free to look at last years post for a recap of our first 5 years.
Now on to a subject that I feel has become very overrated by the wedding industry. Be warned, if your looking for an explanation of how I made (or someone else) made something for my wedding, then come back another day. Today I want to talk about what it means to take on wedding DIY tasks.
I have to start by saying I am very very lucky. My parents have the means so that we do not have to DIY out of necessity. Trust me this is a very good thing. I am sure I could find friends to act as our photographer (one friend actually did wedding photography during college). We could make our own bouquets and not use flower centerpieces. I have hosted several parties and could do my own catering. And my mother used to make her own clothes (aka could probably figure out a wedding dress, even if not totally traditional). But, we choose to go the "easy" route and hire professionals because I want to "enjoy" my engagement and spend my time doing others things (i.e. running, working out and training). Past brides can laugh at that since we all know there is nothing "easy" about planning a wedding.
I have plenty of experience in my past working weddings for the various facilities I interned at throughout college. Interning taught me on very very valuable thing, I wanted a facility who took care of a majority of the work. Thank you Elkridge Furnace Inn for taking these tasks on for me. Trust me, your food is 1000 times better than anything I could produce in mass quantities.
With all that being said, I am completely amazed by women who DIY a major aspect of their wedding. They amaze me because it takes a lot of trust, energy and commitment to coordinate such a large undertaking.
Regardless, most people take on some DIY project. These projects can be anything from making brunch for yourself and bridesmaids the morning of your wedding to attaching flags to pretty little straws (Have you met my friend Mrs. Adam's? She is amazing and enjoys and is good at this sort of thing, me not so much). Some tasks seem necessary to you, while other tasks seem completely frivolous to others. Bottom-line (and really the only important thing) is a DIY task should be fun and important to you. Don't do it because everyone else is and do it to your own skill level.
The majority of my DIY tasks are being taken care of by my "professional friends". Charlotte who is a champion crafter is making my hair piece and bridesmaids bracelets. Brianna (who has gorgeous handwriting) is writing out my invites. Val (an art teacher) is drawing my guestbook tree. My mom (who sews... remember her clothes) is making my table runners. Friends are mailing me postcards of places Jay and I lived or visited (the advantage of mostly traveling to visit people). And I have asked our families to provide us with photos of their weddings.
DIY does not have to be complicated. It does not have to be your entire wedding or for that matter any part of your wedding. DIY is something you do because you want it done. It's a labor of love.
