Here is my custom made wedding dress from Etsy. I love the sparkly ballgown look, I want to feel like a princess. But I have never seen anyone else with my dress type and I don’t want it to be gaudy! Please give me your opinions. I need to get it altered shorter. I am especially unsure about the fluff on the sides.

i understand this is a vague title! what i mean is, i can’t decide what i want for a welcome sign, or seating chart, or backdrop behind the sweetheart table. there are multiple ideas i like, like a an antique mirror or a framed painting, or a quilt or a fancy room divider, or stained glass or a tapestry. these are all kind of a similar vibe in my head, but i can’t make a decision on what i want, so im not sure where to start?

i do think the faux stained glass would be pretty difficult for my skill level, so that might narrow it down. but as for everything else i have no idea how to start making decisions - how did you settle on what you wanted so that you could start your projects?

I’m trying to make my wedding suite so I designed everything on Canva and changed the size to 3.125 for a png (for context, one of the things I’m trying to print is a 5x7 invite that I still saved with the 3.125 sizing). Once I saved it, I upload to Cricut design space and everything still seems fine. I resize it and then click make, deselect the bleed setting and somehow, it prints the words blurry.

I’ve tried exporting it from Canva as a pdf and then using adobe to change the file back to a png or jpeg to use on Cricut and it’s the same issue.

I’ve also tried changing my printer settings a ton (I have an Epson WF-7820 and I’m using 90lb card stock) and that seems to do nothing. I’ve double checked the print quality is 600x600 and changed the output quality to high as well.

I’ve even tried where I download the image from Cricut as a PDF so it has the 4 corners and it still somehow prints blurry. I also tried where I did that, re uploaded it to Canva and then put the design that’s from Canva on top of it and printed it through Canva and it still, STILL prints blurry.

I’m using 90lb card stock and I’ve made sure to adjust al my printer settings accordingly to accommodate the thickness of the paper. Nothing is working and I’m genuinely so confused. I didn’t even realize this could be a potential problem.

The only way it prints well is if I just print it as a pdf straight from Canva which would be fine, but my printer can’t print anything smaller than 4x6 so I can’t really print anything else exclusively through my printer without having to manually cut it which I’d really reaaally prefer not to do.

I’ve spent maybe 12 hours cumulatively on trying to figure this out and probably 50 pages of nice card stock. If anyone has any advice or tips, I’d be eternally grateful.

If anyone is making their own invitations suites, please let me know if there’s any specific settings you’ve figured out or if there’s something I’m missing. I swear I didn’t even think that this would be an issue based on all the videos and tutorials I’ve seen of people designing their suites on Canva and putting them through Cricut to be cut.

My (husband!!!!) and I are HUGE games people, and so we knew we had to include games throughout our day. We had a couple simple dice games available at cocktail hour, but the surprise game was playing DON'T GET GOT! during the reception.

Everyone's name tag was a pop up card that included their secret missions.

If you've never played the game, it happens in the background at a party or gathering, and everyone has a mission to complete. Some examples include "get someone to comment on the sunset" or "get at least 4 people to join a group photo"

I included a mix of conversational missions (get someone to say "they don't make things like they used to!!!) along with physical ones (get someone to high five you 3 times).

Most of our family and friends have played this with us at various events over the years, and it was soooo fun to hear people randomly cheering throughout the evening when they "got" someone. I also made sure that each person's mission was achievable for them, and that they wouldn't be embarrassed to complete the prompt. It was actually really fun to social engineer the whole thing based on who was sitting together, including some missions that stacked/complemented each other.

You definitely have to make sure you do this with the right crowd, but it was a huge hit with our group!

Everything was created in Adobe Illustrator. I hand painted and digitized the print for use on all the wedding stationery. Everything was cut out on a Cricut. Luckily I only had to make 65!!

Edit: Thank you to everyone who responded. Sorry if i haven't replied to you directly...I wasn't expecting to get so many kind and helpful comments! You all have some great ideas and AI/photoshop skills 👌 I ordered some proper shapewear, a couple ribbon/sash options and I have some alterations planned. Hoping I can knock them out over the next week or so and then I'll be back with an update.

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My wedding is 3 weeks away and up until now I've been really happy with my dress. I put the bottom embroidered tier on and tried the dress on again and suddenly I feel like I'm wearing a huge nightgown. I think the dress looks pretty on the dress form but I feel so frumpy in it. It seems way too modest but at the same time, I'm old(er) and out of shape and I don't feel comfortable showing more skin.

I'm not really sure what I'm asking for here...talk me off the ledge maybe? Is it just nerves? Did anyone have dress regrets and it ended up being fine?

Has anyone found creative ways to decorate stair railings? Our venue has a short outdoor staircase that will be visible for the ceremony. We don’t want to do florals so I’ve been trying to think up ways to sew vintage curtains or something and drape that? But I would LOVE to see examples if anyone thought of unique ideas for making a railing beautiful. Thanks!

What's the best paper to print save the dates at home? I have a canon pixma printer. thank you!!

I wanted to share my experience dyeing a synthetic veil with RIT Dyemore -- I couldn't find a lot of information on this before trying so hopefully this is helpful for a future bride!

I decided last minute to wear a veil with my courthouse ceremony dress, but couldn't find a veil that matched the color (light champagne), so I dyed a cheapie bright white synthetic veil from Amazon and it turned out great! The entire process probably took about 30 mins and was very easy to do. Much easier than fussing around with tea staining / natural dyes and a bottle of dye costs like $6.

process / before & after pics

https://imgur.com/a/veil-dyeing-X9mkQLP

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what you need:

- medium / large sacrificial pot: THIS POT CANNOT BE USED FOR FOOD AFTER DYEING, so choose a pot you don't mind losing! I picked up a used pot from the thrift store for this purpose. The size of the pot depends on the length of your veil, but the veil needs room to stir / move around freely so make sure you have some space in the pot.

- sacrificial tongs: AGAIN, THIS CANNOT BE USED FOR FOOD AFTER DYEING, so choose a pair of tongs you won't mind losing! I had extra long chop sticks that I used but it was a bit tricky so I do recommend tongs

- bucket for rinsing: After removing your item from the dye water, you'll want a clean bucket of cold water to submerge the item in and rinse it out, I used a laundry bucket I already had

- RIT Dyemore Synthetic Dye (I used the color Sandstone for a cream color): The Dyemore line is specifically formulated for synthetic fabrics and much easier to use imo! The color range selection is more limited than the regular colors but the results are much more consistent in my experience. I used a few drops of Sandstone to dye a white veil to a light cream color. A pink or blue would be sooooo pretty.

- rubber gloves: Protect your hands! Dye should not come into contact with the skin

- Whatever object you want to dye: I tried 2 cheap tulle veils from Amazon and a pair of tulle gloves

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step by step guide / tips (basically just follow the instructions on the bottle!):

1. fill your pot with a generous amount of water and bring to a boil - leave enough room for the veil to be added later and fully submerged without the pot overflowing
2. add a few drops of dish soap, a few drops of dye and turn the heat to low - I eyeballed the water/color ratio and used just a capful of dye in my entire stock pot -- keep an eye on the color of the water itself and make it a little darker than what you want as your final outcome. Note that unlike regular RIT dye, Dyemore should be kept over a lightly boiling pot (keep the heat on low). The ratio is pretty easy to fudge since you can always take the item out early if it starts to get too dark.
3. add your item(s), continuously stir and start a timer - I only had to keep my veils in the water for ~5 minutes to get the color where I wanted, keep stirring and swishing the items so that the color is evenly saturated and take it out when it is a little darker than you want it (it will appear lighter when dry). If you have multiple items you want to dye the same shade, its best to dye them together so they come out the same color! the dye color changes over time so dyeing items sequentially (one after the other) will lead to different colors across items. If you add items after dyeing the first item, they will come out different colors. Sandstone is a mix of red/yellow and the yellow is absorbed more quickly, so subsequent items will turn out lighter and pinker in color if you reuse the same water (see this post for an example: https://www.reddit.com/r/dyeing/comments/jdqplw/rit_sandstone_dyemore_for_synthetics_one_turned/). I actually dyed a 2nd veil in the same water and it turned out a blush pink color instead of cream.
4. remove your items, place them in a bucket of cold water and rinse until the water runs clear
5. dry your item! I hung my veil in the sun and it dried super quickly since the material is so thin, you could also use the dryer on medium / low with a towel.

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happy dyeing!

We think we found our spot but it is in an old German beer hall and not the most pleasing to the eye. Wondering if anyone can offer any suggestions? The last photo was taken offline

We made our own ”stained glass” table numbers! The stands are from Michael’s and the signs were printed at Staples on transparent paper. It looked much better after layering 2 copies (the colour was a bit faint with just 1 layer).

I just had the DIY wedding of my dreams, and I'm so happy with how my DIY crepe paper flowers turned out!!

I had this on my to do list from the start, but in classic DIYer procrastinator style, I started two weekends before the wedding LOL!!! The small blue flower took about 45 minutes to make one, and the rest took even longer. Shockingly, the sunflower was the most time consuming one! It had to have been a minimum of 20 hours to create 12 flowers, especially because it was my first time ever working with this material.

Definitely not for the faint of heart, and I would not call this an affordable project. I spent $300 CAD on the paper alone, and then got a purpose made kit for the stands and flexible PVC pipe stems. If anyone needs any tips/tricks/links to the videos I used, I would be happy to help out!

So as the title says I want to cater my own wedding, I am approximating 150 people but rsvp's haven't come back yet so I can't be certain.

I live in QLD Australia for context on pricing. Some other special requirements are that we need to account for at least egg and nut allergy. My fiancee is allergic to egg so I want all the food to be egg free, I want him tk freely eat anything without worry.

We are looking to have platter style finger foods instead of a more formal sit down meal, it would end up being around afternoon tea time. Fruit platters, crackers with drop or vegetables, salami, sliced wraps and sandwiches. Salads and cold pasta salads, pastries for treats, lollies/chocolate sweets, donuts or cupcakes and slice or brownies, softdrinks, tea, coffee or water. That sort of things.

Even platters like that seem SO expensive like 10 wraps for $85 and not even able to accommodate for egg and nut free. Or the only egg free option is a vegan platters and my fiance hates a lot of vegan food, he really likes meat or the nut free platters is just fruit. The selection and cost is just wild to me. We will spend thousands of dollars for lacklustre finger foods and fiance and his dad will be stuck with little to eat at all.

So i want to make it all, it would be far cheaper and I can make sure my fiance is able to eat it all. That said every single person i have said this too is SO discouraging. Telling me I can't and even when they try to help and say oh you need to enjoy your wedding day and not be working, it is just so dissapointing.

Quite frankly I will have a terrible time looking at the food feeling like it was a waste of money and then feeling guilty that my finance the groom can barely enjoy the food either.

So what can I do to make this work? Is it possible? My wedding will be Feb 6 2027 so I have a while to plan for it.

Hello fellow diy brides! My fiancé and I found the perfect venue in an Airbnb’s backyard right next to their farm full of goats, alpacas, chickens and ponies. It’s owned by the cutest older couple, the husband is an elementary school teacher and the wife takes care of their farm and airbnb. It’s really wholesome and perfect for what we want. It’s a very casual, DIY venue and the contract really reflects that but we’re a little hesitant since the contract doesn’t seem to have a lot to it.

We haven’t looked at other more legit venues’ contracts so we want to know if there’s anything important that we should be requesting they add. I’ve already thought of including a rescheduling and cancellation policy. They also told us we can go until midnight without amplified noise so I want the contract to reflect that.

What else might we be missing, forgetting about, not on our radar? What would you add to this contract? Are there any red flags we haven’t caught?

I appreciate any and all advice and suggestions! less

Would you add anything else to this diy arch and arrangement?? Halloween is the date 🎃

Made all our floral centerpieces like 6 weeks ago because I was so anxious about having time. They're in boxes under a shelf and I keep opening them to check if they're still okay. Wedding is in 3 weeks. Is this normal or did I just create a whole problem for myself?

Mr. Henderson didn't smile once the entire time I was in his woodshop class back in 2014, mostly because I spent every single period sawing table legs crooked on purpose and filling the band saw dust collection ports with empty bags of Takis. I was an absolute nightmare of a teenager, convinced everyone was my enemy, and I made it my personal mission to ruin his afternoons. When we decided to DIY our farm tables and benches for our tiny 60-person wedding this past weekend, I realized I owed him a massive apology. I tracked him down on Facebook, fully expecting him to leave me on read or tell me to lose his number.

Instead, he showed up on a Saturday morning three months ago with a handful of weathered clamps and a pocket full of chalk, looked at my terribly warped pine boards, and just sighed the exact same sigh he used to make when I set the sander on fire. We spent four weekends sanding, pocket-hole drilling, and finishing every single table together in my parents' muddy driveway while drinking terrible gas station coffee. He didn't charge a cent, and when I tried to slip him cash for the lumber runs, he just told me to put it toward the honeymoon fund and stop cutting wood like a maniac.

Watching him sit in the front row of our backyard ceremony eating homemade pulled pork while wearing a slightly wrinkled button-down felt surreal. When we did the speeches, I stood up in front of our sixty guests and confessed that the only reason these handmade tables didn't collapse under the weight of the potato salad is because a very patient man refused to give up on an unbearable kid ten years ago. He looked embarrassed, rubbed the back of his neck, and nodded. Now the wedding is over, the yard is clean, and I'm just sitting here staring at our dining room table wondering how anyone survives growing up without someone like that in their corner.

(For context, I’m an intermediate sewist and have taken a couple courses in apparel construction, fashion design and wardrobe, etc. It’s been a while since I’ve sewn anything.) I think it would be really special to sew my own dress for my wedding, but idek where to start in terms of look. I recently had a baby and while I still like my body it’s just very different now (like I can fit into many of my my pre-pregnancy clothes, but the fit isn’t the same). So while my normal go to’s are less viable now, I’m having a hard time figuring out what sorts of design elements I would want to incorporate because there’s just so much choice! The internet is full of beautiful dresses lol My biggest priority is that I make something flattering, and I would really appreciate knowing how you all went about figuring out what sort of dress you wanted for your wedding! Thank you!

How is this?? I’m back again after more changes…is it giving less unicorn vibes now that I have moved around the tall flowers? What else needs changed? I still need to get more/better greenery mine is cheap looking (can tell it’s fake)

SUPER LONG POST INCOMING, but I wish I'd had advice like this when planning my wedding, so I'm paying it forward!

I had a massively DIY wedding. To be honest, I regret doing so much because it was exhausting. But now that I've recovered, I think I would DIY again because I love it so much. TBH, I had a veritable army helping me, so it could have gone smoothly if I'd been more organized. In hindsight, I know how I could have prevented the absolute madness and burnout. IT IS MY DUTY TO PASS THIS ON because I know the joy of DIY and want you to be successful!

• Organize tablescapes in individual boxes, table by table. It would have been so much easier to hand this task off to someone else if everything had been pre-sorted. I had beautiful tablecloths, bird tchotchkes, glass plates, glass cups, little swan place cards, candleholders, and bud vases. It wasn't that complicated, but because my mom and I collected SO MANY different things, they were scattered across multiple boxes. We didn't know what we wanted to use, thinking, "We'll figure it out when we get there!" That meant unpacking a bajillion items we didn't need and having to repack them later. I couldn't delegate the task to anyone else, leading to a lot of frantic "WHERE ARE THE PLUM CANDLESTICK HOLDERS?!" It was a ton of wasted time that could have been completely avoided.
• Have EVERYTHING ready beforehand. From table numbers to handwritten signs—it's impossible to finish swan name tags while arranging flowers, setting tablescapes, and hanging decor all at once. Even with a small army helping us, it wasn't enough because they needed constant direction from me.
• Skip the thrifting for glass plates and cups. I loved finding them, but collecting enough for 100 people took forever. Honestly, they didn't make much difference since I already had beautiful tablecloths, so adding custom glassware was gilding the lily without enough bang for the buck. Cleaning and packing all that glass at the end was heavy lifting and SO MUCH WORK for my setup team. There are plenty of beautiful disposable options available. If glassware is high on your priority list, I totally get it—they can be gorgeous! Just make sure you assign a designated team exclusively to handle packing/cleaning with explicit instructions. Otherwise, let patterned tablecloths do the heavy lifting for decor since they're far easier to transport, clean, and pack.
• FLOWERS. OH DEAR GOD, THE FLOWERS. I have floral arrangement experience and I'm good at it, but I've never done it for large-scale events. I'm Type B to the max, and while I tried to stay organized, some things you only learn through trial and error. Here is what I learned:
  • Arch flowers: I didn't realize how HUGE the venue arch was, and I simply didn't have enough florals to make it pop. I should have MEASURED the arch and tested the arrangement at home beforehand. They looked okay, but they could have looked incredible. It didn't matter too much because rain forced us to the pavilion, but looking at thephotos, it's a slight letdown.
  • Ground/pedestal flowers by the arch: I built a large base of faux flowers in floral foam so I could easily pop in real roses for an extra touch. You don't necessarily need real flowers here, but I had ordered extra and liked the look. They turned out beautifully! However, when it rained right before the ceremony, my wedding planner had to move them under the pavilion quickly, which ended up looking cluttered and jungle-like (see the next bullet point for setup tips).
  • Plan the actual placement of bud vases and ground florals. I assumed we'd have time the morning of, but it was so hot that putting bud vases out early risked wilting them. We had to wait until two hours before the ceremony. By then, everyone had their hair and makeup done, so my trusted helpers couldn't assist without humidity ruining their looks. My day-of planner ended up handling setup, which stressed her out on top of managing vendors and the last-minute rain pivot. She also accidentally set out the wedding party bouquets, causing panic when we couldn't find them or even go out to look for them because the guests had already started arriving. Appoint a stylish, trusted person specifically to handle setup so you only need to do a quick quality check walk-through.
  • Hanging lines of flowers– these were so pretty. Not sure I regret it, but the fishing line flowers were so punishing and annoying to keep untangled! One thing as a DIY person, I have to learn to prioritize. Just because I have an idea doesn’t mean I HAVE TO DO IT if it takes SO EFFING LONG. 
  • Systematize your bud vase workflow. I wanted clusters of three bud vases (two clusters per table) surrounding a centerpiece jug with pampas grass. I should have counted every single bud vase needed, set them out on one table, and had the team assemble one style at a time assembly-line style.
    • For example: I make an exemplar bud vase for the team to copy. We all assemble 30 of Recipe A (3 butterfly ranunculus, 1 billy ball, 1 stem greenery). Then we assemble 30 of Recipe B (1 dahlia, 2 spray roses, 1 line flower, 1 greenery), and so on.
    • Instead, I bought way too many flower varieties. My helpers got creative trying to make every vase unique, which was fun but SUPER INEFFICIENT. It took a whole evening to process flowers and then the better part of two whole days to make bud vases, which is just ridiculous. Because I was the only one with floral experience, my vases looked great while others looked a bit janky. To make matters worse, the coordinator pulled from the front of the cooler during setup, so the jankier ones were put out while my nicer ones stayed hidden in the back because we made WAY TOO MANY. Count exactly what you need beforehand!
    • Don't over-order flowers. I ordered way too many, which wasted money.. The morning of the wedding, my aunts saw a literal jacuzzi bathtub full of leftover stems, insisted they couldn't go to waste, and started making extra arrangements. It was well-meaning, but having inexperienced people rush extra arrangements made the morning feel chaotic and overwhelming. I ended up having my sister-in-law hide some of the worse ones. It's better to let extra stems go than deal with unnecessary stress on your wedding morning!
• Alcohol: We hired a bartender but supplied our own alcohol. Looking back at mobile bartender packages, I would skip buying our own. While it seems budget-friendly, calculating quantities and hauling all that heavy liquid is a massive amount of work. We ended up with way too much leftover alcohol that we couldn't return (my planner thought Costco Georgia allowed returns, but they don't!). If you do buy your own, use a delivery service and ensure unused bottles are returnable so you don't lose money or end up gifting family endless handles of vodka.

Things that went well: 

• Trader Joes is amazing for flowers, and honestly, if you go at 9 am the MINUTE they open, you can get all you need. I got so many butterfly ranunculus, dahlias, and gorgeous filler flowers and foliage. I didn’t need to overcomplicated it with a bunch of Costco orders too. The only thing I do recommend ordering extra of is those real luxury flowers if you can't find enough locally. I didn’t have enough dahlias from Trader Joes because they have so few, so I went three different days to collect them, but still ended up ordering a batch from Petal pickers. These were GORGEOUS. If you invest in a few luxury flowers, they do so much heavy lifting.
• Bud vases instead of centerpieces. Of course, the bud vases had their issues, as I described, but they are SO MUCH EASIER than centerpieces, and honestly, so many luxury flowers get lost in big centerpieces and I feel like centerpieces get taken for granted by guests. I recommend ikebana style and bud vases to really showcase a few luxury flowers. I’ve never really noticed or appreciated big centerpieces, but a statement dahlia in a charming little bud vase? So delightful. 
• Designing my own invitations and wedding magazine with Canva. I loved creating a custom magazine because I could include a QR code for the seating chart, photo sharing, menu, engagement photos, love story and personal touches. People adored it, and it served as a wonderful favor!
• Take-home gold swans with name tags. These made adorable favors. I ordered mini swans on Temu, spray-painted them gold, and attached custom Cricut name tags.
• QR code seating chart matching our tablecloth pattern. QR code seating chart which gave me the flexibility to update the layout last-minute due to tricky venue pillars. It gave me peace of mind and provided a seamless place for guests to upload their photos! Also, one less thing to DIY.
• Welcome sign custom-designed to match the tablecloth pattern.
• Chicken wire photo frames. We featured childhood photos of me on one panel, him on the other, and photos of us together in the center.
• BIRD THEME! I collect bird art and tchotchkes, so this was a blast. Our ring bearer carried a big nest with a chirping bird toy (he loved squeezing it as he walked down the aisle!). Inside the nest was a painted egg holding our rings, styled to match the bird artwork in my wedding magazine.
• Bird-themed gallery wall. I combined my personal bird art collection with downloadable Etsy prints framed in reusable picture frames.
• Heritage table. I handed creative control of this to my mom, and it was so special seeing vintage photos of our grandparents and great-grandparents. I used Gemini Pro to restore and upscale older photos.y.
• Short poems and stationery placed in place card holders to add pops of color across various tables.
• Custom koozies featuring our pets, which I had fun designing using Gemini.
• Camper photo booth. Hiring a retro camper photo booth added so much charm and whimsical fun for our guests!
• The CAKE! My mom baked the top layer for our cutting photo, while the bottom tiers were faux icing-covered foam (with sheet cakes served from the kitchen). We decorated the top together with fresh flowers and added a $2 Temu "Just Married" topper.
• The overall day was magical. Even when it rained during the ceremony, all the hard work I put into styling the pavilion paid off as a gorgeous backup space.

I haven’t managed to find a local wedding venue within our budget so I’m starting to think outside the box. Has anyone hired a large Airbnb to hold their wedding reception??
I have started thinking this might be cheaper however I would need to pay for outside caterers, renting tables, plates etc. I would also need to hire some kind of staff/waitresses to serve the food/drinks?
I just don’t know where to start really. Has anyone else done this or considered it? How did you find it??
Thanks for any responses,
Stressed bride x

I'm using basic card stock for the tests to see how the die cut turns out. I'll have to be much more careful next time. Rip bottom left corner 😔 I'll also be doing print tests for the info and stuff later.

I recently ordered about $200 worth of flowers from Shein after watching some videos of other people suggesting to steam them and then arrange them yourself. I was kind of skeptical about the quality of these I have to say, after steaming them they look just like the Hobby Lobby flowers I was going to buy for $9-$13 a stem. And that’s WITH the 40% off sale. This is a much better deal, you can buy them in bulk, the color range is amazing, AND Shein automatically shows you the cheapest similar deal when looking at any listing. Highly recommend for anyone who’s doing their own florals!

Hi all, we are having a rural backyard wedding. We've decided to use 60" round tables but aren't sure what to do about linens. The standard poly cotton linens that are available for rent feel too formal for a wedding with a dress code of "colorful/wear whatever you want." The dinner site is half on a patio, half on the grass, surrounded by wildflower beds. Any ideas? Thanks!