How To Successfully Be A DIY Bride
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending my cousin's fun and unique wedding in Austin, TX. I had been looking forward to attending her wedding since she announced her engagement for the following reasons:
1. I love her and Teddy (her fiancé) and was overly ecstatic to be there to celebrate their love and future.
2. It was in TX which meant a mini-vacay!
3. I knew I would get to see/spend time with my family. My cousins are more than just family; they are best friends!
4. It was Great Gatsby Themed! Anyone who knows me knows that I am ALL FOR themed parties!
5. I WAS A GUEST!!! (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE planning and coordinating weddings - it is my passion, but it was so nice to be able to relax and attend a wedding from the other side, as a guest.)
Ryan did such an AMAZING job (along with the help of friends and family) at the DIY wedding. She had around 140 guest attend and the wedding (top to bottom) only cost her $12,000. If you have ever planned a wedding, you know that this is very inexpensive - especially for 140 guest! How did she do it, you ask?!?!
Pick The Right Place To Party: Ryan's venue was $2,725.00 total and included tables and chairs. That is a great price, as venues are typically between $4,000-$7,000 (and sometimes that is just for the space). Ryan chose the beautiful American Legion - Charles Johnson House, which is an elegant pre-Civil War mansion which serves as the home of The American Legion Travis Post 76. The venue was the perfect look for the 1920's ... and who doesn't want to party in a mansion? :) We were able to access the building as early as 10am that morning and could come back the next day to clean up (every bride and wedding planner's dream!!!).
Dress To Impress - For Less: Ryan looked absolutely stunning in her non-traditional long black wedding gown and really brought that 1920's look together with her movie-glam hair and make up. Where did she get that gorgeous gown, you might ask.... $90.00 off of Amazon! This is a great example of how to pick and choose what is most important to you when setting your budget. Ryan knew she would only be wearing this dress one time in her life so she was able to allocate that money to someone more important.... like alcohol. Speaking of alcohol....
BYOB: I love venues that allow you the option to bring in your own alcohol. It might be a little more work but it really does save you a good bit... and if you don't run out, you get to take what's left home. This gives you the best bang for your buck in my opinion. Ryan + Teddy did their alcohol up right with two bars. The first bar was inside the cigar bar (YES! There was a cigar bar that was playing the original Great Gatsby Movie. I'm telling you, too much fun y'all), which served white & red wine and champagne. They even had a table of mini champagne towers for guest to grab as they walked in. Yes, please! The second bar was outside, on the front porch, and was stocked with kegs of three local/Austin beers; Real Ale Brewery's Fireman #4 and Thirsty Planet Brewery's Thirsty Goat.
"We always drink local and wanted to share some of our favorite local beers with everyone." -Ryan
Be A Boss DIY Bride: Ryan is extremely artistic and talented and she was able to design and personalize all of her stationery for her wedding. She designed her wedding invitations, koozie favors, guest book, wedding signs, 1920's wall decor, etc. and then had them printed at a local shop in Austin. This allowed her not only save money, but also make her decor that much more special. She also made her own table centerpieces by stray painting bottles and adding pearls, feathers, beads, etc. to get the Great Gatsby look. This cost her about $4/per table. She even had one of the most fun DIY photobooth's I have used! She had a huge mug shot background made with fun signs and 1920's props with a photographer who snapped your photo! Total cost: $176.00. Wow! Ryan said that at least 80% of her decor were DIY.
Photos by Meagan Elizabeth Photography
Let's Just Party: Ryan + Teddy decided that they wanted to have a small intimate ceremony with only their immediate family and their friend (reverend) who married them. This allowed them to save on the cost of chairs, decor, florals, etc. for the ceremony while still sharing their special "I Do's" with those closest to them and celebrating with family and friends (Great Gatsby Style!).
Make Your Own Music: Rather than spending $1,000+ on hiring a DJ or Band, Ryan and Teddy decided to rent a speaker system and spot lights for the dance floor/lawn (where games were). She made a song playlist that started out with the traditional 1920's swing music, then slowly moved to the 1970s/1980s dance music, eventually ending the night with today's dance music. This cost them a total of $120 to rent for the entire weekend and worked out perfectly!
"One of my favorite moments was at the very end of the night, we were supposed to be shutting everything down, but we had everyone come out to the dance floor and have one last giant dance together." - Ryan
Sometimes Less is More: Ryan + Teddy's menu was very simple but extremely delicious and filling. Staying true to Texas, they had a fun taco bar for their food! There was chicken, beef, rice, pico de gallo, toppings, queso dip, salsa, chip sand more for all of us to enjoy. They did not have passed appetizers during cocktail hour as there was no set dinner time, which I loved! Guest were able to eat dinner as they pleased from the time they arrived at 6:00pm until the caterers were packing up at 8:00pm.
Add Something To Remember: Ryan + Teddy had something so much fun at their wedding that I had never personally seen before, trivia! At 9pm, guest who wanted to participate were invited upstairs to play in a little table vs. table trivia. The themes were great and they incorporated Ryan and Teddy into the trivia, how fun! Ryan + Teddy do trivia every week at their favorite bar and when they saw that they do private events, they had to have them there for their family and guests to experience! Since they were able to save on so many other places, they were able to have something unique and memorable there that night.
Ryan + Teddy's wedding was one of the most fun weddings that I have ever attended as a guest. She is the success of a DIY bride. It literally was one giant party with family and friends and at the same time, everything that they both wanted in the night! I feel so lucky and blessed to have been a part of it.
What was one of your favorite things about your wedding?: "I would have to say it was seeing everybody in their 1920's get ups. I would say probably 95% of people who showed dressed up and being in that house with all the decorations made it seem like we were at a Gatsby party." - Teddy
Photos By Kristen Privette
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