The DIY bride

By James Gartler, September 26th, 2012

 If there's one thing weddings are good for, it's stirring up financial woes. As a certain Île-Perrot bride-to-be puts it, when it comes to shopping for gowns, halls and limousines, “you say 'wedding', and they hear cha-ching!”
In order to keep her big day from resulting in big debt, this tenacious twentysomething took control of the process, got practical about her purchases and managed to get all the planning done in less than a year. Call her crazy if you like.  We'll call her the DIY Bride. Here are her nuggets of wisdom:
1: Don't accept the first price someone gives you.
Couples have more options than ever when it comes to event planning, so comparison shopping can lead to big savings.  DIY's reception, for instance, will be held at a local golf course where the prices were competitive. “They were willing to work with us. For example, they won't be charging us extra to cut the cake and they won't be charging corking fees. Plus, they have beautiful gardens, making it easier for photos.”
2: Don't overdo the menu.
Since those attending DIY's reception will be enjoying “huge portions” of Italian-style food, she opted out of ordering an additional dessert. “I figured if we have dessert, no one is going to eat the cake that I'm spending $700 on. So the cake will be the dessert, and around midnight they'll wheel out a small sweets table that will accommodate about half the guests.”
It's a safe bet the other half will be too stuffed, intoxicated or exhausted to choke down an extra chocolate torte anyhow.
3: Don't throw extra flowers, or money, away.
“A lot of brides want to keep their bouquet for sentimental reasons, so they'll ask for an extra bouquet to toss and it's an additional cost.”
DIY instead plans to toss her actual bouquet, saving herself anywhere from $30- 75.
4: Get creative.
Drawing upon her arts background, DIY handcrafted her own wedding invitations with a scrapbook aesthetic — with the help from some of her closest friends. “We had a little assembly line going,” she remembers with a laugh.
The finished invites featured embossed images that recalled the couple's courtship.
5: Be a bargain hunter.
Since it's tradition to give guests a thank you gift, why not swing by a store like IKEA around Boxing Day — as DIY did — and pick up a couple of cases of discounted wine glasses to customize as you see fit?  By purchasing decals, DIY and her groom were able to create gifts that reflected their personal tastes.
6: Think locally.
When it came to finding the perfect gown, DIY didn't want to just go where everybody goes. “There's a girl who opened a store in the Pointe Claire Village and she'd only been there for four months. I bought all the dresses from her and it was a great experience. She carried the same brands. My dress came from Italy and it's gorgeous”
7: Stick to a schedule.
DIY may have been operating without the assistance of a living, breathing wedding planner, but she did have the Wilton Wedding Planner binder to guide her through the process. “That was an engagement gift I received and it really helped me stay on track as the months went by.”
DIY does caution, however, that taking a hands-on approach might not work if you've only got a few weeks to pull it all together. “One of my colleagues got married in four months and was happy to have a wedding planner to help her. I think it's personal choice.” If you've got the time and the patience, though, it is possible to pinch a few pennies when planning your big party … which just means more fun money for the honeymoon.