Leah Ingram, author of “Tie the Knot on a Shoestring: Save big $$ While Celebrating Your Big Day in Style” (Alpha, $14.95), offered some ideas for the DIY bride, with a caveat: Don’t take on more than you can handle. “You’ll end up paying through the nose, if you have to hire somebody to fix what you finally figure out you cannot do yourself.”
invitations, programs and other paperwork. Crafty brides, with paper from office-supply stores, can easily make wedding-related paperwork. Even if you pay someone to print your invitations, you still have to assemble them, Ingram points out, “So, you might not be adding that much time to do them yourself.”
reception table centerpieces. If flowers aren’t important to you, then consider easy centerpieces that you can make yourself with candles and charger plates from a discount store. Or, Ingram suggests candy. “I’ve been to weddings where the centerpiece was a bowl of M&Ms or Hershey Kisses, and between courses we were munching the hell out of them. It was great,” she says.
hair and makeup. Ingram calls this an all-or-nothing thing. If you hire someone for yourself, then you need the stylist to glam up your attendants, as well, which can get expensive.
music. “A huge trend in DIY is the MP3 or iPod DJ,” Ingram says. “Get rid of your entertainment costs or DJ costs altogether, and hook up that little bugger with four hours of music, and you’re done.” This option, she adds, is great for those with no grand visions of a live band or those who’d prefer not to see their family forced to chicken dance.
underthings. Ingram is confident that most brides already have the bras, underwear and hosiery they need. “As long as it doesn’t give you panty lines or show through, you’ll be just fine,” says Ingram, adding that you don’t need those costly crinoline petticoats either.
– Roxanne Hawn
