DIY-ing

The knot says "14 months to go!" Except it was in all caps and big font. 14 months is a long time. Plenty of time in fact, to start thinking about what can and cannot be DIY. Also plenty of time to assemble the bride's and groom's parties. Start thinking about vendors. I've been thinking about dresses... of course.

Here are my ideas about what can be DIY:

• Save-the-dates
• Invitations
• Cake (because I bake cakes, Kyle and I do, from scratch, the old-fashioned way):

And this cake, our cake, doesn't have to be shaped any funny way, it just needs to be a couple tiers, and taste good! C'mon!!! My mom thinks I'm crazy... So does Kyle.

• Some of the flowers; like centerpieces and boutonnieres, again, everyone thinks I won't have time to do all this, but I say that I'm not going to be doing anything else for at least the week prior to the wedding, and that's when flowers and cake need to get done! Also, I will try to post, as time goes by, pictures of the general idea of what I want for centerpieces and other flowers, and you'll have an idea that I'm not trying to go big and bold, but simplistic and, well, homemade looking.
• Reception decorations... it's fall, nature is the most generous with its own decorations in the fall!
• Favors; my mom and I are both excited about this, we have lots of ideas and every single one of them is easy peasy!!
• Hair and make-up, at least my own, because my face can't take a lot of make-up anyway, and that's all make-up artists do is put too much make-up on you. It's going to be very simple, just covering up any skin tone uneven-ness and putting on some mascara, blush and eyeliner and maybe a little eyeshadow... but that's a stretch. Hair is going to be a cinch because all I'm doing is a semi-messy side ponytail. End of story.

Things that cannot be DIY:

• Dresses... any of them, and of course suits
• Photography, at least not completely, I am, however, relying on my family and friends for some nice candid shots
• DJ, I think, I honestly feel like all they do is play an ipod or an itunes library full of songs that I will have to put together... what exactly do they get paid so much for??? But I also realize that we need someone to let everyone know that this is the first dance, then this is the parents' dance, then this is the bouquet toss, then this is cake cutting... but I wonder if I care about sticking to some ridiculous regimented schedule... ?
• The rest of the flowers... maybe, the bouquets I am worried about even thinking of attempting myself, BUT I am really worried that the bouquets will turn out too girly and flowery, what I want is wheat stalks, a few wildflowers, maybe some thistle because it's hilarious and looks like a cartoon, perhaps some ferns, a little twig or two, and some pheasant feathers, wrap it up with some linen or twine... sounds woodsy, I know, but that's the point! This is the best so far:

But maybe a deep purple flower instead of the burnt orange. And please don't get me wrong, I actually still really like the burnt orange, but I'm thinking that one of my prominent colors is going to be a deep plum purple with maybe some burnt orange accents. We'll address color in another post... In fact, probably really soon, like in the next post.



Well, now I'm excited about colors so I will leave this where it is, just some thoughts about saving some money and being creative. I can't stress enough that the DIY aspect is really a 50/50; yes I want to save money, but equally important is putting my own stamp on this wedding, getting family, my fiance, and our friends involved, and having fun doing artsy and crafty stuff together!! C'mon, where's your spirit of adventure?! I'm saying it now and I will continue to say it: This is going to be fun!!