And now for the juicy wedding-week DIY decor details you’ve been waiting for.
From the moment our guests arrived, we wanted them to feel warm and welcome. We built a small wooden welcome sign and hand-painted a message for guests. The sign was made like a sandwich board (two boards joined with simple hinges), so we painted a departure message on the back: “Thanks for sharing our special day, please grab a glowstick to light your way to the car.” We set a galvanized bucket of white glow sticks nearby to help guests navigate our dim street safely. The sign and glow sticks cost under $30 total. Here’s John’s dad playing greeter next to our little masterpiece.
We wanted the reception to feel festive and fun without sacrificing style, so we set the tables with intention. Using a DIY approach saved us thousands, but it also meant months of hands-on work. Other than renting tables and chairs from a local vendor, everything else was done by us. Tablecloths and runners were simple white muslin and textured yellow fabric purchased at a fabric store, and most of the glassware came from Ikea. Buying these items proved cheaper than renting them and allowed us to create a custom look without worrying about rental fees for stains or breakage. Even the silverware came from a wholesale club. After the wedding we donated many of the serving pieces to charity, which felt great and helped with tax deductions.
Choosing fruit over flowers for centerpieces saved money and kept the decor fresh. We used grocery-store lemons and limes arranged in glass cylinders that cost about $3.99 each. We also found roughly 200 glass votives on Craigslist from a bride who sold them for $30 after barely using them. Festive lemon- and lime-patterned paper napkins tied the citrus theme together and echoed our centerpieces. (We may have over-bought those napkins—we still use them at home.)
Our garden-themed favors were simple brown mini paper bags filled with a single gladiolus bulb and easy planting instructions printed on the back. A photostrip clipped to the front tied the favors into our save-the-date and the actual photobooth we rented for the reception; one photostrip even showed John covered in lipstick kisses while we held a sign that read: Plant one… on us! *smooooch*
Place cards were handmade: we hand-stamped each guest’s first initial on a small square of cardstock, written their full name by hand underneath, and weighted the card with a small river rock. Many guests kept their cards and even the rocks, which reminded us that simple, personal touches can feel just as elegant as formal calligraphy and ribbons.
Another charming detail was our collection of beverage containers. To avoid plastic pitchers and achieve a more polished look, we asked a local wine retailer to save their used bottles (left over from tastings). They gave them to us for free. We cleaned the bottles thoroughly and labeled them by hand with a Sharpie—labels that didn’t rub off. Green bottles held water, brown bottles held sweet tea, and clear bottles held homemade mint lemonade (fresh mint plus lemonade = delicious). We also had bottles of red and white wine and vintage glass bottles of soda. Avoiding cans and plastic helped the tables look cohesive and photogenic.
The photobooth idea came from our love of photostrip memories. We considered a few novelty entertainment options, but a photobooth felt right for capturing personalities and creating keepsakes. Finding a rental was a challenge until a local entrepreneur launched a photobooth business about three months before the wedding. We booked her for the day. The rental included unlimited photostrips and an attendant; it was a splurge but totally worth it. The strips of friends and family laughing and making faces are some of our favorite souvenirs—many are tucked into a leather-bound album and a few are framed around the house.
To encourage guests to leave a few photostrips, we turned a big red metal garage door into an oversized magnet board. A stack of inexpensive magnets and a friendly reminder to save strips for us worked perfectly. By the end of the night we had more photostrips than guests—each one a tiny moment captured.
One of our favorite photostrips was the last one taken late that night after guests had gone. We hopped into the booth right before it was packed away—John had already changed into shorts and started helping with cleanup. That final strip captures the pure joy and relief of having pulled everything off.
…we can’t believe we actually pulled it off!!!
Drop by our Wedding Album tab to see more photos and details from our backyard celebration, from start to finish.