DIY, General Tips, Uncategorized
Event Décor: To DIY Or Not To DIY?
With so many seemingly small details that go into the planning of an event, it can be very tempting to want to do all of the event décor—and other event details—yourself. There are countless resources online (Pinterest, for example) rich with DIY tutorials and photos, so why not put your creative muscles to use and save some time and money?
Not so fast.
While some event décor details can certainly be accomplished with the help of some pretty stationery and funny props, other elements require a professional touch in order to ensure your event goes off without a hitch! “Small” details add up quickly, and the best way to eliminate stress and potential mistakes is to rely on professional expertise.
Here are our 5 picks for what you can DIY, and what we recommend you leave to the experts!
1. Invitations: DIY
The moment an invitation is received, an early first impression of the event is formed. Several websites, such as Greetings Island and Smilebox, offer high-quality, free customizable invitation templates that can be printed from the comfort of your own home, or printed professionally and mailed to you for a fee.
Alternatively, stationery stores are a great place to pick up lovely paper on which to print invitations yourself.
An Environmentally Friendly Tip: Go the paperless route and send your invitations in minutes via Evite! Invitees will receive their invitations electronically, and can RSVP on a website created exclusively for your event.
2. Catering: Don’t DIY
You may pride yourself on your baking skills and food presentation, but we recommend you save yourself the stress of attempting to cater your own event!
A caterer will take all of your event details into consideration and use their professional expertise to provide you with the best possible food options to meet your budget and preference.
It may seem cheaper to prepare all your own food for your event, but trust us, it’s not! Seemingly small details can add up extremely quickly, while a caterer can supply you with any equipment you need, help with set-up and take-down, and organize all the food while not breaking the bank.
When you prepare your own food, you run the risk of it not turning out as you had planned, creating a great deal of stress and chaos for yourself. Leave it to the experts!
3. Photobooths: DIY
You’ve likely donned a silly pair of glasses or held a printed speech bubble at a wedding or other event. And you still have the photo as a souvenir!
Photobooths are quickly becoming a staple at events such as weddings and parties, and the great news is—you can create them yourself! They are inexpensive, easy to assemble, and fully customizable to your event’s theme.
What you’ll need:
- A memorable backdrop (use a colourful curtain, or tack up a funny picture on the wall)
- A jar or basket of props (sunglasses, feather boas, and funny words printed on cardboard and attached to sticks will get the party started)
- A camera with an attached Fujifilm Instax Photo Printer (available on Amazon)
- A great customized hashtag, dependent on your event theme (general examples are #hollywoodparty, #springfling, or a combination of a hashtag, the bride and groom’s names, and “wedding” afterwards)
4. Flowers: Don’t DIY
It may seem like an easy feat to arrange flowers into stunning centrepieces and bouquets—at first glance, you probably think you can match the colors for a perfect look.
It’s trickier than you think!
A great deal of thought and care goes into every arrangement, and florists are experts. Purchasing, arranging, and placing flowers at your event should not be something you take upon yourself.
Share your vision and color scheme with your florist and watch as they use their expertise to provide you with the most appropriate, and gorgeous, flower arrangements.
5. Music: DIY
Music is a key element of any event, and good news—anyone can be a DJ with the help of a dependable laptop and some great playlists! If you’re keen on saving some money, you can take it upon yourself to organize several playlists for your event, through an application like iTunes.
Simply set up your laptop (with speakers attached), line up the songs you think will match the theme and overall atmosphere of your event, and let the music play! We recommend a few test runs before the event, to ensure the songs play in sequence and you’re satisfied with the playlists.
Need music advice for an upcoming wedding? We shared the secrets to creating perfect wedding playlist in a guest post by a wedding music pro.
It’s always fun to see a great DIY photo booth!! Gotta love those!