There are no rules about how DIY works for weddings.
As a full-service wedding planner, I'd be lying if I didn't say the phrase Do-It-Yourself (or DIY) has made me groan a LOT of times. When a destination wedding client wants to DIY parts of her wedding, I'm never quite sure what we're in for and what to expect. It could simply be that the couple wants to hand-make their invitations. Some want to recreate and ship centerpieces they found on Pinterest. A few think they're going to ship all the parts and pieces of something complicated to a remote tropical island and assemble them when they arrive.
With the exception of that last one, I have no objection to brides and grooms DIYing parts and pieces of their wedding so that they save money and give their special day a more personal touch. I won't do the work for them -- I have a whole section in my client guide that explains the "Y" piece of "DIY" -- as in, assemble, package carefully, and mail all your DIY projects to us completed by YOU and we'll be happy to repair as necessary (and it's always necessary) when they arrive and incorporate them into your wedding however you see fit.
What I do not advise -- whether you're DIYing your entire wedding without a planner or just making a few things yourself -- is putting ANYTHING off until the last minute, at home or for a destination wedding. Mailing yourself 100 little favor boxes that need to be stuffed with goodies, wrapped, and have bows and tags added is a massive time suck and pain in the butt during the week you're supposed to be getting emotionally prepared to take the biggest step of your life. Likewise, putting off MAJOR wedding planning tasks like writing your vows until the night before the wedding is a really, really bad idea... but that's another blog.
There is nothing wrong with choosing to DIY parts and pieces of your own wedding, and hire professionals to do the rest. Maybe you want to hire a planner to coordinate all of your vendors so that you don't have to deal with that stress, but you want to hand-make all of your décor and favors. Other brides and grooms want to actually DIY the planning of their own weddings, and in that case, I strongly advocate hiring professionals to take over some of the bigger tasks.
Just because you hired professionals to execute a few pieces of your big day doesn't mean you didn't DIY your wedding. It just means you did it the smart way. You figured out what would save you time (and in some cases money) and you hired pros to execute those pieces. If you try to plan everything, execute everything, and be the bride and groom all on the same day, you are setting yourself up for failure. And worst of all, you won't have fun at your own wedding!
You might be thinking it's obvious that you'll have to hire a caterer or a limo company because you cannot DIY those things realistically. But I'm suggesting that you go a few steps farther than that. The most aggravating piece of wedding planning for DIYers is actually getting the events executed smoothly during their wedding weekend and having a chance to enjoy their own wedding at the same time. It's a difficult balance but it can be achieved. Here are six things you're better off leaving (at least partly) in the hands of professionals:
- Do not try to do all your own flowers and décor for your wedding unless you have a professional florist in the family who is willing to take that piece over completely. If you're not using flowers for the centerpieces, you can make those well in advance and not have to worry (but that means not just talking about needing to get floating candles for the vases you picked up at a craft store on sale - you actually have to buy the candles ahead of time so you're not sending a hapless fiancé out on a panic shopping trip the week of the wedding). Anything that isn't alive can be completed a month prior to your wedding.
Until next time, happy wedding planning from Weddings in Vieques and Sandy Malone Weddings & Events!