November 16, 2010 Featured Bride Lauren W., Wedding Location: Wayzata, MN | Wedding Date: October 8, 2011

My do it yourself wedding!

Okay, so I consider myself pretty crafty, but not over the top. However, with our planning process I have found more and more how exciting, fun and affordable it is to do more projects on my own! With this post I will highlight some of the fun projects I'm currently working on! The supplies that are necessary for each of the projects can be found almost anywhere... including my guilty-pleasure, Target.

DIY Project #1 ~ Magnetic Chalkboards

For this project, I went to a bunch of antique stores and searched high and low for inexpensive metal trays. I found a jackpot in Waseca, MN at a small little Antique shop and bought 4 of them in all different sizes for about $1/tray. Then, I hit up our local Ace Hardware and purchased Chalkboard spray-paint. I put two coats of the spray-paint on the trays and let them dry overnight between each coat. After I was finished - I ran a piece of chalk across the whole board and "readied" it for use! Just like that... for under $10 I have four, magnetic chalkboards for directional signs, our menu and fun and creative decor. *Drill a hole in the top and put a colorful ribbon in it for a way to hang it wherever you'd like!*

DIY Project #2 ~ Centerpieces

I now consider myself an avid-antiquer. Charting my way through Southern Minnesota for work-travel, I was able to stop off at some awesome gift and antique shops. I found really neat items at each place and will be putting them all together to form our centerpieces! Our central theme is "the outdoors brought indoors" so I really wanted to find some neat, twiggy items that would be functional. So I found a bunch of twig wreathes and some fun colored beads of sorts to wind within them in our wedding colors. Finding these hidden treasures was so much fun! I'd definitely encourage you to go out and do some fun antiquing of your own to find neat ideas for cupcake holders, vases (for example: using mason jars for vases) and various decor items.

DIY Project #3 ~ Table runners!

Table runners are EXPENSIVE to rent... so instead of renting, we decided to use our color swatches from our party's ensembles to match up with fabric we found at S.R.Harris - a fabric outlet in the metro area. We grabbed the fabric we wanted and now it is just time to assemble the runners. This is where Grandma comes in! I will be using her sewing machine with her guidance to make these nifty creations. Kind of a fun, bonding thing too! Well, that's all for now ~ I will post some photos in my next post of the finished products! Until then - Happy Planning and get out there and DIY! :) Cheers! LC Other Posts You'll Love: LC Loves Etsy! First Things First: Wedding Ceremony Site, Wedding Reception Site & Wedding Photographer Our newest Bride-to-Be: LC of LCPhotography 10 Wedding Mistakes: Avoid them Wedding Planning Consultant Advice Now My Wedding Chat and Wedding Shoppe Inc. expert wedding bloggers are here to guide you throughout your entire wedding planning experience. Want more?  Like Wedding Shoppe Inc. on Facebook and Follow Wedding Shoppe Inc. on Twitter.