DIY Weddings can save you lots of money but it can also be the more expensive option.

Things to remember before deciding on the popular Do -it- Yourself option.

In the last two weeks if run into the same challenges with two brides I'm working with.

They both have opted for a DIY wedding.

I'm a Day of Coordinator and some of the challenges with this is that as a coordinator, I come in at the tail end of planning to help brides make sure they have everything they need to have a smooth and well organized wedding day.

As a day of coordinator, my contracted work starts one month before the big day. The idea of beginning to work together one month before is to have this time to get acquainted with all the bride planned details and make sure I know all there is to know once we get closer to the big day. This service is largely popular for brides who want to save money on their big day. They opt out of the full planning package to just the month of coordinator. It can definitely save you thousands of dollars and I always encourage it for brides who really want to save money while planning their big day.

However, there's sometimes where a DIY bride might end up spending more than they hoped. And this is specifically when a DIY Bride decides on a DIY Venue rather than an all inclusive venue.

What's the difference of a DIY VENUE vs ALL INCLUSIVE VENUE?

All include venues include some or all wedding amenities such as:

Chair, table, linen Rentals

Silverware and glassware

Catering

Cake

Florist

DJ

And other small details like a seating chart or table numbers

A DIY Venue will only include the Venue and also the price of a venue might seem like you're getting a good deal (between $2k-10k or sometimes free if it's a relatives house) there's so much that must be considered.

For examples, one of my Brides is having her wedding of 150 guests at her uncle's house because he has a big backyard but some things that have come up in our conversations is that she didn't realize she needed to book servers to help clean through out the night since catering service is only buffet.

Services/ Costs

SERVING STAFF: serving staff is always a good thing to have to make sure food doesn't pile up on your guests tables, to make sure guests have water refilled to their cups, and to ensure the venue doesn't end up being a hot mess at the end of the night (something you shouldn't worry about after the festivities).