When we got engaged, I didnt want to spend a crazy amount of money on one day but I also wanted a dream, instagram - worthy wedding. So, basically I wanted my cake and to eat it too. Weddings are expensive. Like, really pricey. They’re brilliant, beautiful occasions but can seriously cost the earth if you let them. I had a lot of fun creating plenty of DIY's for our wedding and you'd honestly be surprised how simple a lot of these are, so don't worry if you're not particularly arty.
1. Confetti
The first DIY that I think was an easy money saver was confetti. I microwaved every bunch of wilting flowers I could get my hands on for over a year. Microwaving them was far easier than other drying methods, 1 minute per rose head was enough to remove all the moisture but retain their colour.
The problem with purchased confetti is that it is often small from breaking up as dried flowers are very fragile. Drying whole petals makes for larger confetti which has a greater visual impact in your photos.
My mum and I also made pretty confetti cones from paper doileys I had left over from a previous craft project. All in all, boxes of colourful confetti in pretty lace cones cost me zero. Not a single penny. I must apologise for my smugness!
2. Kids activity books
Another DIY that cost me nil was the kid's activity books. I used free quiz generators online to make word searches and cross words and searched for free colouring in pages. My favourite page is this colouring in picture of Prince Charming and Cinderella that I doctored in Photoshop to look more like Karl and I.
I printed these on regular pinter paper and they were bound with twine I use to bundle prints for my clients. A really cute touch that only requires a printer, hole punch and ribbon or twine.
3. Personalised Leather Jacket
Beach Photos taken by Natalie Holt
This one looks seriously impressive and is surprisingly easy. I typed up the design in my desired font (dafont.com is great for free fonts) and traced it on old fashioned tracing paper with a soft lead pencil (just remember to flip your text backwards to make your life easier). It transferred no problem onto this blush faux leather jacket. I then simply painted it with acrylic paint.
4. Photobooth
Another really easy DIY was our photo booth frame. I borrowed this frame, removed what was inside it and the lovely Colin at Errol park helped me suspend it from the ceiling.
5. Cake and Dessert Table
Ok, I can't take credit for any of this really. This triumph belongs to my awesome bridesmaids! Abbie made our incredible cake, a two tier master piece in carrot cake and orange and white chocolate. We decorated it the morning of the wedding with fresh flowers. Yardley made 110 macarons in 4 flavours: chocolate, white chocolate, lemon and gin and tonic which were unbelievably tasty. She also made these pretty cupcakes with edible pearls. The adorable heart shaped iced biscuits were the work of Courtney. I'm so proud of my creative, thoughtful ladies! My dear Nana and Papa also created 2 batches of Scottish tablet.