4 Crafty DIY Decor Ideas For A Wedding Or Party
As August and September seem to be the full on wedding season, I thought I'd share a few wedding DIY's that I have done previously for my own wedding, and the wedding of my friends Jamie and Stacey last year. There is so much cost attached to a wedding, and it's easy to cut corners and make your wedding more personal by crafting certain elements. These decor ideas below can also be used at a party or any event you may be hosting.
Wedding favours and confetti are two things that people often don't bother with as it can be expensive for just a token part of the day. However, if you are anything like me, you'll think it's the little details like this that can take the style of a wedding to the next level. When I got married seven years ago I really wanted good favours on the day, but when I visited a wedding fair beforehand I was pretty aghast to see wedding favours selling for £2 - £3 per favour. My wedding theme was vintage and I made these vintage-style wedding favour boxes for around £20 in total for 75 people. If I'd have brought them at the wedding fair for 75 it would have set me back £150 - £200!
1. how to make these simple but pretty vintage-style rose favours
My hand-made vintage-style wedding favours. Inside they contained homemade heart shaped soap.
The first thing I did was head over to Ebay and buy the number of favour boxes required (I found buying them here was the cheapest method). There are loads of sellers of favour boxes online, so do a few searches to get the best deal. The boxes come with instructions and are easy to put together over a couple of nights in front of an episode of Eastenders.
I purchased a metre or two of vintage lace from Ebay which came in at a couple of pounds. I also brought paper flowers, pearl beading and some ribbon from a haberdashery. I mismatched the boxes so some had ribbon and some had lace. For lace boxes, I measured the width of the favour box lid (including two of the sides so it went right across the lid) and cut the lace to size. I then stuck it on carefully with clear superglue. Next, I cut some pearl beading and stuck that on top of the lace in the centre. I then placed a paper rose over the beading to hide the beading join, and stuck that down with glue.
2. MAKE CONFETTI CONES FOR UNDER A FIVER
The confetti cones being used on the day of the wedding.
My friends Jamie and Stacey got married last September, and they wanted to provide confetti in cones for their guests as the church said they were only allowed to have biodegradable dried rose petals thrown in the grounds. Confetti cones can be brought quite cheap, but if you want something a bit personalised that can really increase in price. Like wrapping paper, the cones will be discarded after a few minutes of use, so it seemed wasteful buying them when it can be a simple DIY.
I brought some strong parcel/craft paper which you can get in craft shops or the post office, then used a square template (in my case a kids book!) around 20cmx20cm in size to draw and cut out a square:
I took one corner of the cut out square and folded it up by 1 or 2 cm. Making sure the folded corner was positioned at the bottom - I took the corner on the left and curled it inwards to make a cone shape. Adjust the shape of the cone by putting your hands inside the cone and gently widening the cone out from the top. The aim is to have the top corner which makes the top of the cone look centered.
The outside corner should be positioned around the back of the cone, so you cannot see the join when holding up the cone and facing it. Once you are happy with the shape, gently use a large stapler to staple the outside corner down so your cone is secure.
Once you've wrapped and secured your cone, reach inside the cone with something like a pencil or a chopstick and pull the folded corner open inside the cone. This will give your cone it's base to hold the confetti.
I found these adorable wooden hearts from Hobbycraft that I stuck with superglue on the front of the cones, which added a extra little touch. I then put all the cones in a basket with a ribbon ready to be filled with confetti and put by the church entrance.
The DIY craft paper cones ready to be filled with confetti.
3. how to make these pop art 'love' table displays with 7" records and spray paint
One of the Pop Art home made displays on the top table.
My friends wedding was a 60's pop-art theme, and they wanted something to reflect that on the top table. Using the Robert Indiana 'Love' design as inspiration, I created two of these 'Love' displays using really cheap wooden letters spelling 'love' from The Range. I also used Plastikote spray paint in Gloss Bright Red, a vinyl 7" record as the base, and some super strong glue.
I gave the letters three coats of spray paint and left them overnight to completely dry. The next day I stuck the letters on top of one another (the 'O' on a tilt) with strong wood glue, wiping away any excess. This glue was OK but I'd advise that if you have a strong heated glue gun to use that instead.
This Bright Red Gloss gave the letters a real sheen.
The display needed a stand, and as my friends love music I used 7" records. You can pick up old 7" records for a few pence at most charity shops. Note that there are different qualities of vinyl, so make sure you pick a sturdy 7" rather than a flimsy one. Cut out a circle of strong card and stick that on the underside of the record if you think it still needs extra support.
4. Do your own flower displays
Flowers for a wedding can really rack up the budget. Shave a few quid off your floristry bill by creating small flower displays yourself for areas that you want decorated like the bar and entrance area for a fraction of the cost. Think what container would suit your wedding theme, and what type of flowers would work for you. For my friends Pop Art wedding we brought up a load of anniversary Campbell's soup tins which were celebrating the Warhol image, and filled them with bright pom-pom dahlia's. We also used the old retro milk bottles with adverts on them. Both the tins and the milk bottles were brought as job lots on Ebay.
An Ebay haul of retro milk bottles with the old adverts for Twix, Corn flakes and Nescafe among others.
The flowers were brought in bulk the day before the wedding from Covent Garden Flower Market, which if you can cope with an early morning is a fascinating visit.
The pom pom dahlia's are so vibrant and worked well with the Pop Art soup cans - here they all are after being put together in my kitchen!
In total for all the flowers and the containers above it came in at around £100.
Something to remember when you visit a flower market is that they add the VAT on top when you pay, so add 20% on top of what the flower seller quotes you.
If you have a wedding coming up, what do you think you are you going to DIY for your day? Already had a successful DIY wedding? What did you make? Let me know in the comments section below!
