Lessons Learned from DIY-ing Our Wedding Decor

When we first started planning our wedding, I knew I wanted it to feel personal. Not just “pretty venue, pretty flowers” personal – but a wedding where you could see us in every single detail.

I’ve always loved creating things, so DIY felt like a natural fit. I thought: how special would it be to look around on the day and see pieces we had actually made? Not only would it feel more meaningful, but we’d get to keep things after and repurpose them in our home.

So we dove in headfirst. And when I say “headfirst,” I mean our list was long. We stained own table runners, built a ceremony/reception backdrop, created a seating chart with custom limewash columns, put together a folding coffee bar, made signage, embossed napkins, designed menus, and even did custom name tags for our guests.

Looking back, it was a mix of wins, pivots, stressful late-night painting sessions, and so much pride when I finally saw it all come together. Guests told us over and over how blown away they were by the details — and my dad even gave me a shoutout during his speech for how hard I had worked. I’ll never forget that moment.

Here’s what I learned from DIY-ing our wedding decor — the highs, the lows, and the advice I wish I’d had when we started.

The Projects We Took On

We weren’t shy about taking on projects. The runners were one of our last DIYs, and it was a huge job — staining planks of wood until they were the perfect warm, lived-in shade we wanted. We built our own backdrop that transitioned beautifully from ceremony to reception, and Alan helped me design and build and then I painted the limewash columns for the seating chart. Pearson (my brother) came to the rescue by staining all the runners with us and even 3D printing a custom piece for our welcome board when Alan was sick.

The bar was my favourite piece. It turned out exactly how I had pictured it in my head — one of those moments where you step back and think, “Yes. This was worth it.” More on this and photos of the finished piece soon.

Of course, there were things that didn’t go quite as planned. I had big Cricut dreams for custom signage on antique pottery and 3D printed pieces for our welcome wall… and then reality hit. My Cricut and I were not friends. We pivoted to printing foam board signage and grabbing a simple stand from Temu. And you know what? It looked great. Not Pinterest-perfect maybe, but perfectly us.

Photo by Jasmine Jones

Lessons Learned

Time Is Not on Your Side

We technically started early — February felt like plenty of time. But between getting sick shortly after getting engaged, dealing with nerve pain, muscle injuries, migraines (and Alan having an injury too), a lot of our early momentum disappeared.

So, like most couples, we crammed a huge portion of the work into the final two months before the wedding. Big mistake.

Our house turned into a workshop, and wedding planning took over our lives. The kitchen counters became staining stations, boxes of signage ended up in our bedroom, and my evenings were spent sanding, gluing, or Googling “how to fix X” at 10 PM. f you take one thing away from this post: if you can do it now, do it now. You don’t know what life is going to throw at you.

Another thing was the time it took to set up on the day of. We factored in all the groomsmen helping, but there was so much to set up and do, it was vastly underestimated how much time would be needed to set things up and ended up rushing poor Alan and his groomsmen morning of.

Manage Your Expectations of Help

We assumed more people would be hands-on with us. The reality? Everyone has their own lives, and no one will be quite as invested in your wedding as you are. I had to learn that it wasn’t fair to expect others to care about my creative vision as much as I did. And it also wasn’t fair to expect them to execute my vision perfectly — that’s a recipe for disappointment and resentment from the people helping you.

But there were bright spots. My bridesmaids Cindy and Rim stayed up late one night glueing and assembling the menus. Pearson came through with a last minute 3D printing job for the welcome signage. Find the people who really show up for you and be so grateful for them. But plan as though you and your partner will be doing the heavy lifting — because you probably will.

Creative Satisfaction vs. Perfectionism

I cannot overstate the satisfaction of walking into the venue on the wedding day and seeing all of our work come together. The runners looked beautiful, the coffee bar was exactly how I pictured it (minus the painters tape), and it all just… fit.

Guests kept complimenting us on the details, which felt like the best reward.

Not everything turned out perfectly. The limewash columns took ages and didn’t have quite the dramatic effect I’d hoped for because they were so spaced apart rather than as sculptural installation which was the intent. We rushed through a few projects and broke things along the way (Alan cracked a clear plexi seating chart piece and I burst into tears. More-so because I had spent 8 hours cricuting the names on the piece). But some distance and reflection taught me to let go of perfection and focus on the bigger picture: creating a wedding that felt like ours. I had spent so much time thinking of this as a creative project to execute I lost sight of what the day was (learn from my mistake here).

The Right People Matter

One thing I’d do differently is hire a planner who had experience with DIY-heavy weddings. I went with a friend — someone I trusted — but she wasn’t as design-minded or hands-on as I needed. We had a lot of things that didn’t turn out like we had pictured, things that got forgotten and weren’t laid out (including our charging station, signage to get people to upload their photos and the key to the lockbox with bar tips for us—the bartender had built in gratuity already— was left in the lock so who knows what happened to those…).

Lesson learned: just because someone is a friend doesn’t mean they’re the right professional for the job. Whether it’s a planner, florist, or photographer, find vendors who get your vision and will support you every step of the way. It’s worth every penny.

What I’d Do Differently

If I could go back, I’d pick fewer projects and focus on one at a time. Having multiple half-finished projects was overwhelming and stressful.

I’d also plan for storage space right from the start. We had decor tucked into every corner of our house, and it made it hard to relax or feel “off duty.”

Finally, I’d have even more backup solutions ready. One of the smartest things we did was having Plan B options for most projects — it saved us from last-minute meltdowns (just kidding there were still a few of those) when something didn’t go as planned. We ended up getting signs printed on foam core and it was wonderful because we still could get the size, but it was also done so much quicker and by someone else instead of the time intensive Cricut solution.

Tips for Future DIY Couples

If you’re thinking about DIY-ing your wedding decor, here’s my advice as someone who’s lived through it:

• Start early. Seriously. Earlier than you think.

• Finish one project before starting the next. It’s less overwhelming and prevents burnout.

• Budget for space. Whether it’s a spare room or a friend’s garage, make sure you have storage.

• Do a test run. Don’t wait until the wedding week to see if something works. And Google the best way to do something before doing it if you are unsure.

• Be ready to pivot. Things will go wrong — sometimes your backup plan is even better.

• Choose your team wisely. Surround yourself with people (friends and vendors) who believe in your vision.

On the day of the wedding, every moment of stress melted away. Seeing everything set up exactly as I had pictured it was one of the most fulfilling feelings I’ve ever had. Guests noticed — they kept commenting on how thoughtful and beautiful everything was. Alan and I felt so proud of what we had pulled off, especially after such a challenging year.

Letting go of the decor now will be bittersweet, but I love that so many pieces can live on in our home. Our stained runners will become furniture pieces, our signage can be repurposed, and our memories of those late nights together will stay with us forever.

DIY-ing your wedding isn’t for everyone — it’s a huge commitment of time and energy. But if you have a vision, a partner who’s willing to join in, and a glue gun that won’t quit, it can make your wedding day feel like no one else’s. And that’s a pretty special payoff.

Would I do it all again? Maybe. But I am glad today that I have all these pieces with me and photos and memories I can treasure forever.

Love, M