Tuesday Tips: DIY Event Styling

If you are thinking about DIY styling your wedding or event, check out our tips before you embark on your creative journey!

Create a mood board

Before you really get into the nitty-gritty of planning the styling for your wedding or event, create a mood board on a platform such as Pinterest. Pinterest is a fantastic tool to help with DIY event styling if it’s used well. There are so many inspirational ideas on there that you can create not only an overall mood board but mood boards for various elements of your event such as tablescapes, backdrops, entrance ways, catering, attire, etc.

Once you’ve added a few pins on your mood boards we suggest stepping away for a few hours or even better a few days before coming back to see if you still really like what you’ve pinned. You will no doubt start to see the formation of your event and wedding style by studying the colours or hues that you’re drawn to as well as the look or feel of the event by seeing if you have pins showing a more modern feel or perhaps you can see the rustic charm or vintage glam coming through on your boards.

A point of caution with Pinterest and creating mood boards is to be aware that you are using the ideas here as a starting point. You will often find that the ideas you’re pinning are far outside your DIY budget so will need modification before incorporating into your wedding or event. You may even find yourself overwhelmed with too much choice, at which point we would recommend reviewing your boards and removing any clutter so the style or ideas you are truly drawn to can shine through.

Create focal points…less is often more

Most of us don’t have a never ending budget when it comes to wedding and event styling so we recommend creating one or two key focal points or points of styling interest that really give the WOW effect, rather than spreading the budget too thin with multiple ideas and losing the overall vibe that you’re trying to create for your space. Areas that can be great for focal styling include entrances, archways, key signage opportunities, back drops or even catering stations, to name a few.

A handy tip when thinking about your table styling is to consider what food and beverage elements will be placed on the table. For example if you are having a shared platter meal you won’t require too much table styling or there will be no room for the platters to be served on what could become a cluttered table.

Using a motif or logo within your signage or decor is a fantastic way to tie elements of your event together in a cohesive way right from invitations through to thank you cards – this can all be done on a budget too if you’re savvy in design or by using an app such as Canva.

Think before you buy

It’s really easy to get caught up in online marketplaces buying other people’s second-hand DIY styling items. Before you ‘panic purchase’ anything make sure that you really do want to include it as part of your look or you may get to your day and find that lots of elements remain unused or you have had to go and re-purchase items as you’ve changed your mind, therefore not saving yourself money or time DIYing at all.

You may like to consider the potential resale value if the items prior to purchase too.

Forage for greenery (or anything for that matter!)

If greenery or florals are part of your wedding or event style ask around friends, family, and work colleagues to see what you can forage from their gardens.

Unless you’re lucky enough to know a florist we would always recommend using professionals for wedding bouquets as they know exactly what’s in season, how to create the physical bouquet, and how to tie your bouquet in with your overall style; and perhaps most importantly for a wedding, your dress.

Book a styling consult (early…)

At Collective Concepts we are huge advocates for engaging professionals early on in your wedding or event planning process. Even if you know that you want to DIY the styling for your event or wedding, whether it be for budgetary reasons or just because you will enjoying doing it yourself, we highly recommend booking an early consultation with a professional stylist.

A professional stylist will help you to consolidate your ideas into a defined colour pallet and style, discuss how to incorporate your style throughout the entire event, consider elements you may not be aware exist in the market, encourage you to make a plan to ensure you have everything ready for the day and can set up in time, and offer additional advice and expertise to help you create an event or wedding of your DIY dreams.

If you would like to be put in touch with some of the best stylists in the industry, get in touch!

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