DIY Weddings ~ One designers story.

We love our DIY brides, we truly do.  They come in with so much energy and so many great ideas.  It's fun to sit and talk to them about their plans, their needs, their wants, and their big day.  We love helping them save money by ordering in bulk, seeing their eyes light up when they come in to pick up their flowers.  But every time we help one, in the back of my mind I worry for them.  I worry that they will become overwhelmed, that it will not come together as easy as they thought, that they will miss out on enjoying their big day, and most of all that they will regret it. 


I had a wedding last week, Bridal bouquet, 3 bridesmaids, 4 corsages, 7 boutonnieres, and one piece for the head table.  Her bouquets were petite, nothing overwhelmingly large or frilly.  Very simple, elegant, and not difficult to put together.  But even though it was not an over the top wedding with a ton of centerpieces, tons of flowers, and lots of extras it was time consuming.  It took me about 7 hours to complete this wedding, and if Sheryl would not have created  the head table piece it would have come close to about 8 hours.  I am not a slow designer and the bouquets came together quickly.  I did wait on some other clients, answer a few business calls, post a few things on facebook, took time to eat lunch, handled a few walk in sales people, and took a few trips to the cooler.  That is nothing compared to the craziness that is all around a bride on her wedding day.


As a bride you have to attend to all of the little details.  The last minute changes, the family coming in from out of town, last minute calls to your other vendors to make sure everything is just right, and not to mention you still have to get gussied up and walk down the isle.  Now add to that the stress of creating your own wedding.


Flowers come in flawed, some colors will not be exactly what you picked, some stems may be broken, some may not want to open on time, and some may not come in at all.  Not to mention the gathering of supplies, processing all of the flowers when they come in, and all of the little bumps in the road that will come your way.  


I do not want to sound like I am discouraging anyone from creating their own big day.  I am not, if you have the talent or know someone who does go for it.  But just know that it's not always as easy as it looks.  


Here is one brides story, she is a floral designer with years of experience.  She made the choice to be a DIY bride, a choice she now regrets. 


Read her story here.