And now for the juicy wedding-week DIY decor you’ve been waiting for.
From the moment guests arrived we wanted everyone to feel welcomed and comfortable. We made a simple wooden welcome sign with a hand-painted message and used a sandwich-board design (two boards joined with hinges at the top) so we could paint a departure message on the reverse: “Thanks for sharing our special day, please grab a glowstick to light your way to the car.” A galvanized bucket of white glow sticks helped people navigate our semi-dark street safely. The sign and glow sticks were bought in bulk for under $30. Here’s John’s dad greeting guests beside our little masterpiece.
We wanted a celebration that felt festive and fun without sacrificing style, so we set the tables with care. Our DIY approach saved us thousands, but it also meant we did everything ourselves over several months. Besides renting tables and chairs from a local vendor, the reception setup was entirely custom. Tablecloths and runners were white muslin and textured yellow fabric from a local fabric store, and most of the glassware came from Ikea. Buying these items proved cheaper than renting and let us create a personalized look without worrying about rental fees for stains or breakage. Even the silverware came from Sam’s Club. After the wedding we donated much of the servingware to charity, which felt great and provided a tax write-off.
Choosing fruit over flowers, bought fresh from the grocery store the morning of the reception, let us create centerpieces that were quick to assemble—ten minutes max—and kept the tables looking fresh and chic while saving hundreds. Glass cylinders for the fruit centerpieces were $3.99 each at Michaels, and we scored about 200 votives on Craigslist for $30 from a bride who barely used them. Festive lemon-and-lime paper napkins from Target echoed the citrus centerpieces perfectly (full disclosure: we may have over-bought them and are still using them).
Our favors answered the recurring question: “What’s in those brown bags?” We used simple brown mini paper bags and placed a single gladiolus bulb inside each, with planting instructions printed on the back. A photostrip clipped to the front tied into our save-the-date and the on-site photobooth; one photo showed John with lipstick kisses while we held signs that read: Plant one… on us! *smooooch*
Place cards were handmade: we hand-stamped each guest’s initial on a small square of cardstock, hand-lettered their full name below, and anchored the card with a small river rock. Many guests kept their cards and rocks, which reminded us that simple details can be as elegant as fancy calligraphy and ribbons.
Another memorable detail was our collection of beverage containers. Instead of plastic pitchers we used glass bottles donated by a local wine retailer (leftovers from tastings) at no cost. We cleaned them thoroughly and labeled each with a permanent sharpie—labels that didn’t fade. Green bottles held water, brown bottles held sweet tea, and clear bottles contained homemade mint lemonade (fresh mint plus lemonade). We also had bottles of red and white wine and vintage glass Coca‑Cola bottles. Avoiding cans and disposable plastic kept the tables looking polished and photo-ready.
The photobooth idea came when we were brainstorming entertainment—cotton candy? fireworks? a sno-cone machine?—and remembered our tradition of documenting milestones with photobooth strips. For months we searched for a rental and finally, three months before the wedding, a local entrepreneur launched a photobooth service. We were one of her first customers. It cost $1,200 for the day, which included unlimited strips and an attendant. It was a splurge but worth it: the hilarious strips of friends and family are some of our favorite keepsakes. We collected them in a leather-bound album and framed a few around the house.
To encourage guests to leave photostrips for us, we turned a big red metal garage door into an oversized magnet board. A bunch of inexpensive magnets and a small sign asking guests to save some strips did the trick. We ended up with more strips than guests.
One of our favorite strips was the very last one taken late that night after most guests had left. We slipped into the booth before it was packed up—John had swapped his wedding pants for shorts and was starting to clean up—and the strip perfectly captures the joy of the day and that euphoric feeling of…
…we can’t believe we actually pulled it off!!!
Drop in on our Wedding Album tab below the header to see all the details of our big day from start to finish.