The antidote to a cheap wedding, The Broke-Ass Bride delivers bad-ass wedding inspiration to turn your budget wedding into a kick-ass and totally unique wedding… because its not about how much you spend, its how you spend it!
‘Memba those fabulous DIY Louboutin-inspired petal sandals we featured from Love, Maegan a few weeks ago? Well, today we’re feeding to your fix with a matching petal bag that’s as simple as it is sexy. Thanks again to Maegan for sharing! Make sure to check out her fabulous site and love her long time. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did! …..and away we go!
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If you’re engaged, you’ve probably made, or attempted to make, what we here in the wedding industry call a wedding “Inspiration Board.” An inspiration board is a mix of images that reflect what you desire your wedding to look and feel like, and what elements you want to incorporate into it.
The first board I ever made incorporated a host of images that matched exactly what I wanted our wedding to look like — or at least what I thought I wanted it to look like. I had the beautifully dressed banquet tables… with perfect lanterns… and DIY decor that looks entirely too professional to be DIY that I could actually recreate. I also included the dress I thought I wanted… and the giant hair flower that I tried to convince myself would look good on me… BUT in the end, this board gave me more frustration than inspiration. There was no way I could have recreated such perfection, and it kind of drove me nuts thinking that I could. Here’s the first board I ever made:
After I realized I couldn’t possibly make our wedding look like this board, I made another one. One that was more eclectic… one with more of a loose color scheme… one that inspired ‘look and feeling’ as opposed to total re-creation. One that I made out of magazine clippings instead of images I found on bride blogs. Check it out:
Britt Inspiration Board #2
However, even though I connected more with this board than the previous one, I still didn’t know how the inspiration would manifest in our wedding. I would look at this board and think, “ooo pretty, but what exactly am I getting from this?” And the answer was always, “nothing much. Well, maybe in terms of color scheme? Sure…”
In the end, I stopped looking at and making inspiration boards many months before the wedding. Instead, I turned my attention to the venue and based my decor decisions on the vibe of the physical space, and on what we were actually capable of achieving. That’s when I decided to scrap a strict color scheme and just let it ride. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted it to look as cohesive as possible, but we didn’t have the funds, the talent, or the patience to completely back that desire. But it was a great feeling to finally let go of the inspiration board parameters. It was then and only then that I could let our true personalities shine… and the results were better than I could have ever imagined… turns out I needed to follow my own “Just be You” advice and let our wedding reflect who we are and what we love — even if who we are and what we love isn’t the picture of matched perfection, or doesn’t showcase Martha Stewart-quality DIY.
So if you are having trouble sticking to your initial inspiration board, take a look at an inspiration board I made from the actual pictures from our wedding and from the elements that we incorporated. How do you think these boards compare? Personally, I much prefer the board from our actual wedding. The first two are pretty, but this one screams US. And who doesn’t want the most personal day of their lives to reflect them? So if you are having similar troubles with recreating your wedding inspiration board, I’m here to tell you it’s okay to let go and and above all, just be you!
Britt Inspiration Board #3: Our Actual Wedding
How many inspirations boards have you created? Did your actual wedding look anything like the inspiration board you initially created? If not, how did it change and why?
You did not just slave over a year’s worth of crafting for your wedding just to throw it all away in the end. No way. I allowed myself to throw away certain items, namely the ones that I couldn’t stand to look at anymore. Case in point: flag and crane strings had to go.
But for the most part, reusing our wedding decor and supplies for our home has been working out quite nicely. In fact, I would go as far as to say our home has never looked more stylish than it does now. And for a couple whose home decor has consisted of everything Ikea for the last 5 years, it’s nice to see a unique, one-of-a-kind change.
2 bouquets, 6 vases, 2 record sleeves, 4 painted bottles, and a hot pink reindeer. All used at our wedding. All re-used to make our home pretty!
We even used our cake topper and a pair of photo lounge shutter shades as decor!
I call this one: "pimp my bookcase."
Neon drink coasters from the wedding are now water catchers for our plants!
And this one I will of course call: "pimp my windowsill"
My bouquet, a lantern, and a couple tins from the wedding: Now being displayed as decor in our bedroom. Underneath our Bowie "Heroes" poster, naturally.
More bouquets, bottles, and lanterns used as decor!
Make any DIY signs? Use them as wall decor. Sure, "Parking Hitchfest 2010" doesn't quite make sense in the context of your home... BUT it will serve as a fun memory for us until we get sick of looking at it.
More reusable DIY signage! Our "Food Truck" sign brings a smile to my face everytime I sit down to play piano.
Sure, we may not need to keep this "Photo Lounge" sign hanging around the house... BUT I wonder if another engaged couple would get some use out of it at their wedding???
You can also use your decor for functional purposes. I got the idea from Mrs. Broke-Ass herself (she’s so clevah!) about re-using our mason jars as drinking glasses. Just today I cleaned out all the wax from the jars (just use really hot water), washed ‘em up nice, and now we can use them for beverages!
These puppies are just *waiting* for me to pour beer in them!
And there I go! Reuse-ifying feels so good!
We also reused a few hand-painted bottles to act as book-ends.
Functional & beautiful!
AND lastly, we are keeping 2 of the 10 of our handcrafted beer bottle chandeliers to act as lighting for our dining area. We are hoping to use them as outdoor lighting… eventually… when we can finally find an affordable place in Los Angeles with a yard!
Home dining room lighting at it's weirdest... errr... I mean, "finest."
What the chandeliers look like all lit up! Can't wait to get a backyard!
Seeing all the wedding crafts come together as decor for our home has brought so much joy to my heart. I had planned from the start to reuse our DIY decor, and I am over the moon proud of ourselves that we actually followed through with the OG plan. I feel the payback on our investment already!
And for everything that we didn’t reuse — which was surprisingly very little — we will either Brideshare or sell. I will keep you all updated on everything we are selling/sharing. Please contact me if you would like to reuse any of our decor for your own wedding: i.e. bouquets, bottles, mason jars, signs, lanterns, etc. We’re happy to share!
How about you guys? Have any ideas for reusing wedding decor in your home? How about outside the home?
Maegan over at Love, Maegan might not know it yet, but she is my new best friend. Her site is a phenomenal resource for fashion, fun how-to’s and girl-crush worthy style, but what makes Maegan so irresistible is her down-to-earth warmth. We asked her if we could share a couple of our favorite DIY projects of hers with y’all, and this one is perf! For all you Louboutin lovahhhhs out there (and I knows y’alls out there)… grab a pair of old strappy pumps and some spare fabric, get your craft on, and redirect that $6 hundo into something else (or save it altogether). People, with DIY as easy peasy lemon squeezy as this, you can afford to make ‘em in every color your heart desires!
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…I am so in love. I think the only thing they’re missing is the red heel. I cannot wait to wear them! {…ps: because they are removable, I can also wear them as bracelets/cuffs, hooked onto my vintage chain necklace or even in my hair …I know!}
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Greetings, fellow Broke-Asses! Since I’m all marrified now… my new husband (swoon!) and I decided to join forces for today’s post and really give it to you straight about a few cheap wedding alternatives we chose, and why we may have chosen differently had we known what we know now. Don’t worry. We’re not suggesting we should have spent more money on said things. Imaginary money wasn’t going to come to our rescue. But, there are definitely a few ways in which we could have moved the budget around to make it all work.
Let’s start with DIY decor.
As you all know, we completely DIYed our wedding. From cutting the tablecloths to crafting the centerpieces, signs, chandeliers, bouquets and bouts on down to brewing the beer, we did it all. And it was certainly A LOT cheaper for the effort. However, transport for getting everything into the venue was slightly nightmarish. We didn’t expect or prepare for the enormous truckload of wedding stuff that we accumulated over the last year. It was like moving an entire apartment, almost.
Luckily, we made it through the transport storm… but the hardest part was yet to come. It was the clean-up and transport the day after our DIY wedding that was the hardest. Hangover + No Sleep + Physical Labor + Heat = No Bueno. Luckily we had the help of our amazing friends and family, but even with everyone pitching in, it took us nearly 3 hours to get everything packed up and out of the venue. And we still had to return the keg and unload everything into our 3rd floor apartment. (Craftstorm is back. Boo.)
Wait... you mean all that stuff we've been crafting for the last year has to be stored at our apartment until we find a new home for it? YUP.
Beer Bottle Chandeliers for Sale! Anyone... Anyone... Bueller?
The lesson here is simply this: If you don’t want to spend the next day cleaning, transporting, and housing your DIY decor until you figure out what the hell you are going to do with it all… then perhaps it’s a good idea to use some of the budget to hire a cleanup crew. Or, get hardy volunteers to do it for you, and have a plan ready for them so everyone knows what to do. You don’t want to wake up the next morning giving orders and making sure your keg deposit gets picked up. You might have loved ones, best buds, or kidnapped children doing your heavy lifting, but they’re all equally ignorant when it comes to your wedding — and they will attempt to escape unless you tell them what to do… and rightfully so
Next up: Lessons learned from honeymooning on the cheap.
When we got word from Mike’s uncle that he we could stay a week for FREE in his private vacation condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico… we jumped at it. Didn’t even think twice. We were ecstatic. The problem with that is that we failed to check the weather in PV during that time of year. Which was pretty unlike us not to do… but planning a wedding is a crazy time — and when someone offers you something for free (in an industry that usually offers you nothing for free) you feel awesome, and you jump on the offer without fully thinking it through.
When we got off the plane in Puerto Vallarta, the weather was in the 90s at 100% humidty and it was during monsoon season. Hello, heat blanket we would never escape!
The monsoon was so out of control, the river level rose up and tore down the suspension bridge near our condo.
We probably would have chosen a different honeymoon option had we known this. We would have much rather spent our honeymoon driving up the coast of California in beautiful weather, and it would have been the same price, or even cheaper, as it was to go to Puerto Vallarta. The weather would have been more comfortable, and we might have enjoyed some true relaxation after a very long and emotional wedding planning journey.
Are you guys scared that your shoestring budget might be exposing you to some uncomfortable or disappointing outcomes? Has choosing cheap ever gone awry for you? Let’s make a contingency plan together!
When I set out to DIY our wedding, I had no idea what I was in for. I knew there would be a lot of trial and error, mixed with hair pulling frustration, but I also knew that I was capable of pulling it off. My heart was certainly in it, my attitude was positive, and therefore I was able approach the difficulty of it all with an open mind and a smile. The one project that I have been working on since April (4 months, people) is our DIY bouquets. I declared these bouquets finished at least 3 different times. The first time I declared them “finished” was at the end of April after my “Hey, Bridesmaids! Let’s Make Some Bouquets!” Party. Here are a few shots of the bouquet in PHASE 1:
DIY Bouquets: PHASE 1
More of PHASE 1
This first night of bouquet crafting left us all feeling successful. I was truly impressed with what we did. But just days after that night, I started to futz with the bouquets again. I saw little gaps that needed fixing and pieces that needed gluing. This was to be expected, though. We were DIYing bouquets blind, pretty much. You see, at first, we did the “glue-as-you-go” method where we basically took some pretty crap and glued it to the bouquet handle base, trying our hardest to keep it looking spherical. I’d say for our first attempts, we did a pretty damn good job.
But then I decided I wanted different colors than the materials I had on the bouquet. So instead of starting from scratch (which would have ended up costing us nearly as much as a set of real floral bouquets), I decided to paint over what I had. And this is what I came up with (you may recognize this picture from my previous DIY Bouquet post):
DIY Bouquets: PHASE 2
I truly loved this phase of the bouquets. In fact, after I completed said “phase,” I believed it to be the last and final. But no. I decided I wanted lighter colors. So I started painting again. And the I decided some of the bouquets didn’t have the right shape, so I began to reshape. And then I looked at a picture of a real bouquet, and I decided that the handles on my bouquets looked skinnier than everyone else’s. And I didn’t like that. So I found some soft cardboard used to pack fragile things with, rolled them into cylinders, then glued them to the current handle. Then I noticed that “real” bouquets have some sort of ribbon or lace wrap around the handle. So I went and bought some lace ribbon, wrapped it around the handles, and pinned it.
Annnnd 80 glue gun burns later, this is the final look of the bouquets:
DIY Bouquets: PHASE 3 - The (Actual) Final Phase
My bouquet: PHASE 3
PHASE 3: Complete.
I am very VERY happy with the end result. Don’t get me wrong, I would have been happy with the phase 1 result, but since I had time to tweak and perfect, I was able to let the bouquets evolve into my original vision.
Lessons learned:
There is no right or wrong way to make a DIY bouquet.
Do not feel pressured to make your DIY bouquet perfect on the first go-around. Give yourself time to let the bouquets evolve.
It’s ok to be a perfectionist — just make sure you give yourself enough time to be said perfectionist. I finished my bouquets 5 days before the wedding, people. This perfectionist likes to cut it close… So starting four months prior to W-Day was a must for me. Assess your perfectionist tendencies and plan your DIY bouquet plan of attack accordingly.
If you do not plan on painting your bouquet, make sure you pick colors you like and want to commit to. My bouquet colors changed completely from start to finish. Just look at Phase 1 compared to Phase 3. Same bouquet, totally different look.
Do a glue test to make sure everything holds. For example, hold your bouquet by the handle, upside down and shake it a tad. If it feels loose, it’s not glued down enough. Don’t wait until the last minute. You’ll find yourself in a hot glue gun mess.
Build from the center of the bouquet out. This way you can decide layer by layer how big you want your sphere to be, and you will have an easier time keeping the sphere even and symmetrical.
Make the handle of the bouquet LAST. I made 3 different handles before I landed on a style that worked. Trial and error: get used to it.
What are your DIY lessons learned? Anyone have similar experiences with crafting their bouquets? Have they evolved as much as mine have?
I am getting married in 18 days, and I am so not Zen right now. Honestly, I am frightened.
Right now, I can see the DIY centerpiece and bouquet craftstorm out of the corner of my eye and it makes me feel accomplished, BUT it also makes me feel incredibly overwhelmed. There’s this huge unorganized pile of vases, painted bottles, homemade bouquets, crane strings, flag banners, table runners, boutonnieres, dessert table-ware, CD case lanterns, and all the additional leftover supplies that will wait in the wings to be used as the day approaches.
In terms of style and aesthetic, I dig the look of what I have made. But what worries me is the fact that I have no idea how the hell this craftload will come together in the end — and whether or not it will mirror the picture of what I had envisioned in my head. I am NOT a design professional, people. The only party I have ever been responsible for decorating was the kegger pirate party I threw back in college.
Pile-o-crafts that I am still have no idea what to do with.
The full craft storm.
How is everything going to be styled? How will everything get moved over to the venue? Will I have to worry about things getting broken in transit? Will I have enough time to set the tables up to my liking? Will we have enough candles and fresh flowers (bought the day of) for the mason jars?
I think this is a good way to organize this stuff...
DIY’ing your decor is a big commitment. You first have to commit to buying the supplies to craft with. Then you have to craft. And you know your execution won’t be perfect on your first go around. So there’s that added fear of, “Dude. What if I can’t actually make these crafts I set out to make?” BUT I do not regret venturing down the DIY road one bit.
The scariest part about being a DIY bride is fear of the unknown. You will continually ask yourself this question: Am I doing enough to get everything done and put together? I still do not know the answer to that question. And I imagine I won’t know the answer to that question until I see everything set up in venue and ready to rock. Lil scary, but I know it will all come together in the end. We’ve worked this hard for 11.5 months… what’s two more weeks?
Considering DIY’ing the bulk of your decor? Here are some tips for a sane(r) DIY wed-planning journey:
Have a DIY plan of attack, but don’t expect yourself to finish every single project on your list.
Do not set unrealistic goals. Consider how much time you will actually have to dedicate to crafting.
Remember that you still have a job and other life responsibilities — things that may not allow you time to craft, or rather, have time for all the trial and error you will likely experience.
Try out 3 or 4 centerpiece projects and pick the one you can execute best. Even if that means doing something simple but elegant like mason jars with twine tied at the lip. If that project looks better than the poorly executed tissue paper flowers you made, then go with the mason jar project. Why spend extra time and money crafting something that you can’t pull off?
Start crafting at least 5 months before the wedding. Set small, daily goals. This way you won’t feel overwhelmed by the enormity of DIY’ing your wedding. Just take it as slowly as you possible can. Make a few things at a time and split up the work between your partner and your graciously willing friends.
What are your DIY tips? Anyone have similar fears/experiences?
The adorable Raechel and Joel are the perfect example of a couple who used their wit, creativity, and awesome friends to rock their budget savvy sensibilities to the max, and have themselves a “cheap wedding” that was in no way cheap looking.
To start with, just look at their insanely creative save the date video. (Caution: be prepared to fall in love)
Ok, so while you’re wiping the drool off your keyboard, let me hit you with this mindboggler: these two cuties threw a wedding fully funded by themselves for only eight thousand dollars. $8,000, people!
Raechel works in visual sales at Anthropologie and worked her store discount for her hair piece and earrings, and she picked up her dress from J. Crew, which she ordered online at Christmas time to capitalize on the seasonal discounts… What a smarty pants! Her bridesmaids were asked to find dresses inspired by champagne colors, and they ended up ranging in budget from $30 to just under $150…. while the groomsmen and the groom all wore mixy-matchy vintage inspired suits.
Raechel and Joel knew that they wanted to splurge on their venue so they reserved a good chunk of their budget for the art gallery where the reception was held. Their evening reception featured drinks and desserts only, the couple saved a pretty penny on catering that way.
Now get this: They actually bought all of the desserts at Costco, which was a big money saver and thanks to Raechel’s creative arranging skills, you can hardly tell they’re store bought! Another one of crafty secrets? All of the wedding decor was from Raechel’s favorite hunting spot, “Wanda’s,” an old grocery store which converted to a thrift store in the ’80s. She scored loads of old crates, silver platters, wooden hat boxes, and milkglass vases for around $50 buckaroos. Talk about getting bang for your buck!
They went the friendor route by buying all of their flowers wholesale and enlisting the help of a buddy who loves doing floral arrangements. The bouquets were tied together and finished off with some vintage champagne lace that Raechel scored at a thrift store for super cheap, and they looked like the bomb diggity. Getting your florals wholesale is a very simple fix if you’re a broke-ass DIY bride.
Our favorite part? Raechel’s words hit deep in our hearts when explaining the day: their wedding was much more of a community event than a random mix of vendors. Every one of her friends were an essential part of something special by helping the wedding come together. Raechel and Joel sure know how to pick ‘em!
So what have we learned from Raechel and Joel? Work at a cool clothing store simply for discounts, have friends who are photographers, culinary experts, and floral lovers, and live off of desserts and sweet treats only! Just kidding, but trusting in your own creativity and leaning on your loving and crafty friends is a lesson from which we can all benefit!
How are you using your friends and family to make your big day special? Are you decorating the space yourself? Are wholesale flowers calling your name? Let us know and send us some wedding porn of your own for us to drool over!
Raechel and Joel left the party in style!
** On an administrative note, we know you love our real wedding features (yay!)… but we want to give our couples more of a chance to share their mindset and process with you, personally! So we’re working up a brief questionnaire to have future featured couples fill out, and we want to know what you want to know. To that end, please share a question or two in the comments below, and maybe you’ll see it answered in future real weddings on The Broke-Ass Bride. Thanks! **
When Devon from Eco-Proper (such a fabulous site!) contacted us about her heirloom handkerchief rose project, we jumped at the chance to feature it here. It’s absolutely perfect for weddings, affordable as all get-out, eco-friendly enough to earn you serious karma points, sentimentally sweet, and has so many possible applications!
Can you imagine a bridal bouquet made of family handkerchiefs? What a beautiful handmade wedding accessory. Le sigh! Dress embellishments? I swoon! Boutonnieres? Yes, please! Headbands for your bridesmaids? Oh my! Corsages? I die! Or even, (gasp) for non-floral centerpieces? They’d be gorgeous scattered on a table, or attached to manzanita branches. Oh man, I wish I knew about his when I was still engaged!
It would be so simple to find handkerchiefs for this project on the cheap…. at flea markets, thrift shops, or that trunk in the corner of your grandma’s attic. And remember, recycling old handkerchiefs like this makes for a green wedding! Or get really creative and invite your guests to send one from their family which you can incorporate into your wedding for some seriously meaningful decor. The possibilities are endless, and the process easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. So what are you waiting for? Say hi to Devon, then get crafting!
PS – have you completed our survey yet, and entered to win some sweet-ass prizes?! Time’s running out!
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Lucky me! I was given an entire stack of antique handkerchiefs that belonged to my grandmother, her mother, her grandmother, etc… (at least, I know they came from family). For my wedding, I wanted to incorporate family heirlooms and what better way to use these than to make a bouquet from them.
What you’ll need:
- Handkerchiefs
- A needle
- Some thread
- Beads of any sort (costume jewelry pearls were used here)
Here are the steps:
1. Fold the handkerchief in half to form a triangle…Fold back over itself until you’ve folded completely, accordion-style (shown above) *this is great way to give the look of more petals, and you can leave a little of the tip hanging out to grab for extra “stem” support
2. Starting at one end, begin with two folds and then start rolling
3. After rolling a rose center, continue to roll while twisting the remainder of the piece away from you. This creates the petals. …Once you get to the end, you can grab this piece to secure the entire flower or use it to create a leaf later
4. At this point, you will need to put a couple stitches through the “stem” of your rose just to make sure nothing will move around. I used a pearl at the end of the thread just to hold it tightly and add a little something.
5. Because the center of the rose was a little awkward looking, I decided to pull some beads through the very center to bring it down into the rose. Also, I was able to use some pearls from my family’s costume jewelry to add an extra touch.
This really became a rose with the last addition and a little fluffing! Even if you don’t add beads to the center, a stitch bringing the center down really makes a difference.
(to see the steps in action, watch this nifty slideshow!)
Also, if you have a handkerchief with a beautiful design in one corner, let that corner be the last bit left when you are rolling and you can use it to create a little leaf. Beautiful! I am well on my way to a bouquet!
*On a side note, I didn’t actually do any cutting of the handkerchiefs. So if I wanted to reclaim them for other use or just sentimental value, all I need to do is just cut the stitching!
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Peep more of Devon’s eco-excellence at Eco-Proper.com or follow her on twitter: @ecopropoer
