Last fall, I shared posts about our DIY outdoor wedding reception and DIY wedding food. Many of you have expressed interest in seeing more wedding photos, so I went digging and found some that had not yet been posted.We successfully planned a DIY wedding for 300 guests in only three months, but we couldn’t have done it without help from dozens of family members and friends. By DIY-ing almost everything, we not only saved tons of money, but we also strengthened our relationships with those who offered to lend a hand.
For example, after the rehearsal dinner at the church, the guests caravaned over to my in-laws’ house to hang out for the evening. While chatting and snacking, everyone helped set up tables and chairs that we had rented. The women tied bows of blue and purple tulle around the backs of the chairs, while the guys set out tiki torches (to repel mosquitoes) and filled them with lighter fluid.
The next morning, while the bridesmaids and I did our hair and makeup, Mr. Handsome, the groomsmen, and various other family members and friends finished setting up for the reception. When we walked into my in-laws’ backyard after the wedding ceremony, I was blown away by how beautiful it was…
My mom, cousin-in-law, and grandmother-in-law DIY-ed our flowers, and Mr. Handsome cut slabs of wood for each table. Someone even thought to lay out Off! Insect Repellent Wipes for the guests.
My sisters-in-law made clever chalkboard signs to display throughout the backyard…
And someone hung up this beautiful chandelier…
Many hands sure make light work. We were blessed that so many of our friends and relatives offered to help make our wedding such a memorable occasion!
Love it all. You had a beautiful wedding.
Thanks for the pictures
Thank you, Gabby. Glad you enjoyed the pictures.
Ellie
What does DIY mean?
Do-It-Yourself
Do It Yourself
Cool, but I can't imagine having 300 people in my back yard. My first thought would be bathroom facilities! How did you solve that problem? And did you have a rain plan? Is that a barn?
If I was going to an outdoor wedding I'd make sure and use a bathroom someplace before hand rather than expect someone to let me in during an outdoor ceremony.
You can't expect every guest to come "empty" or stay that way during a ceremony and reception…
First rule of being a good host or hostess is to make your guests comfortable and feeling at home. That includes making bathrooms available. So yes, how did you handle that for so many people? Even a commercial wedding venue would have to have rest rooms set up to handle that many people.
Yeah but you can't always control when you're going to need to use the restroom. After all at gatherings like this you usually drink a lot (I mean in general, not alcohol), and there might also be children or elderly people.
That's actually a good organisational question. Most people focus on the decor, but when you have big crowds services like that are a big issue.
Those are good questions. My in-laws don't have a huge house, but they do have 5 bathrooms, which came in handy. We had a rain backup off site. (The town has a banquet hall that only required us to pay about $100 to reserve it.)
Ellie
Even at that rate that would be 30 people per rest room in a two hour time period, which gives everyone four minutes each.
Takes me that long to get pantyhose to go up or down, LOL!
It looked great!
Good idea to add the OFF wipes!
And I like the lights around the fence. Very cute!
Love it. Thanks for the lovely pictures. The pictures remind me of some of the DIY stuff they did on Home & Family.
Thank you! Was that a home improvement show?
Ellie
Thank you Ellie for posting more pictures of your wedding and sharing percious memories of your special day. Everything is simply Beautiful.
Thank you for your kind words, Shela!
Ellie
Very cute! You can feel the warmth of it being a family affair. š
Well thank you! I'm glad to hear that. It was a very "warm" reception. š
Ellie
Looks beautiful. Glad you had the weather on your side too!
Thanks! It rained all week and even on Friday, and we were considering going with our rain backup. But everything dried up on Saturday morning, and we were able to have it outdoors.
Ellie
Praise the Lord!
Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing what family, friends, and teamwork can accomplish.