In a community of artists, seamstresses, metallurgists, and crafters, I am awed at the DIY talent that abounds on Offbeat Bride. So many of the women and men here lightly discuss projects they've done that would make my head explode. They sewed their own dresses! She made 400 book-page roses! He forged an iron bouquet/weapon of mass destruction! They friggin' self-catered!
I always fancied myself creative, but I don't have the passion, the patience, or the prowess to do the massive projects undertaken here on a daily basis.
It's not even that I'm bad at crafting, necessarily. I enjoy things like woodworking (though I can't, in my little apartment), and I am good at turning abstract concepts into working designs. But while I can follow directions as well as anybody and thrash my way through hands-on projects well enough if I need to, I'm not the type to, say, hand-emboss invitations that I could just order online.
I was discussing venue options with my boy today — venue is a top concern for us — and he pointed out that we've been steering toward buildings with a raw, urban feel, or wooden beams and lots of windows looking out upon nature. Venues, in a nutshell, that do most of the decorating for us.
While I absolutely drool over the meticulously-detailed, gorgeously-festooned weddings, frankly, making decorations just isn't appealing to me. I'd rather dangle a bunch of wholesale Chinese lanterns or drape some white organza strategically, and be able to call it done. Making the beautiful things just isn't worth the effort, to me.
I mean, there are some things that I want to do. We're purchasing folded invitations designed like a book, and I plan to buy library index cards as RSVP cards, stamp them with dates, and glue them into the “book.” I'm planning on making fruit bouquet centerpieces (think edible arrangements, only not $80 apiece), which is a pretty big project that has to be done with virtually no lead time. I may even make our cupcakes.
DIY Bride: an antidote for do-it-yourself overload
For those of us who love our DIY projects, they can be very fulfilling and/or very frustrating at times. To lighten the mood during those... Read more
But for the most part, my time is worth enough to me that I'm willing to pay to not have to DIY. I know that, for me, most DIY stuff would feel like a chore, and I would rather forgo décor at my wedding than spend 50 hours on wedding projects, and grow to resent it all.
We'll see how I feel once money starts rolling out of pockets and paralyzing me with horror — who knows, I might suddenly decide DIY is the way to go!
But to sum up: You guys and your crafty hands and hearts are very inspiring and wonderful… but for me, satisfaction may lie in convenience over gorgeousness.
