Hello again, since I was last here a month has gone by. In my former life, before I was planning a DIY wedding, a month could pass by and I’d barely even notice but these days it would seem that every second counts. So, with less than two months to go I would like to say that most things are in hand and this is partly due to the fact that we have just started to say the occasional ‘yes please’ to all of the generous offers of help from our friends and family.
Purple Door Props + Amii and her fiance David, photo by Devlin Photos
Carlie my Maid of Honour and all-round wonder-woman has been such a massive support to both of us, from liaising with suppliers on our behalf, to helping us hand-ombré 100 white napkins. Aided that day by both glorious sunshine and Wizard of Oz-esque winds, we literally could not have done this without her.
From the start both of us really wanted to make everything really personal to us, so it was always important to us to do everything ourselves and where we weren’t able to, make sure that we utilised the brimming talent from Brighton and I’m happy to say, so far, so good.
Spottswood Photography via Wedding Chicks + Giottes via le Paper Studio on Pinterest
I suppose my top-tip with hindsight and less than two months to go is to accept help whenever it’s offered and don’t be afraid to ask others for help too if no-one is forthcoming. A ‘DIY’ ethos doesn’t have to mean countless sleepless nights covered in glitter and PVA glue with a to-do list as long as your arm, with the danger of sounding life a sub-par self-help book, a problem shared really is a problem halved.
Both images by Stephanie Messick (via herecomestheguide.com)
So with a fairly meticulous plan in our heads and a staunch manifesto ensuring we were pulling our weight, both of our parents started to mention to us:
“Well how will you cope, you know, on the actual day? You can’t be running around after people…”
Now, I mean my response to both sets was a blasé:
“Oh, it’ll be fine, don’t worry…”
But under my air of confidence, in my head I was thinking, how will we cope? How can we make sure everyone has a lovely time without actually running everything ourselves.
To be quite honest I’d been thinking this for a while but had been putting it to the back of my mind, favouring ticking the things off my list that I could actually achieve rather than address this huge gulf that was worrying me more and more, and then I met Liv.
Clayton Austin (via Green Wedding Shoes) + flower garland by LilleSyster on Etsy
Liv, aka Nitty Gritty Events is essentially our knight in shining armour, coming armed with a questionnaire and a clipboard she asked us all the right questions and came up with solutions to the ones that we couldn’t answer. She is effortlessly organised and nothing is ever too much trouble and I really am so happy that we’ve met her. Her story was quite similar to mine when we compared weddings, she thought she could ‘do everything herself’ too and then at the last minute had a wobble and she said hiring an On-the-day co-ordinator was the best decision she made. Just knowing that Liv is there holding our hand on the day is already making me sleep better.
I think it makes a difference too because our venue is just a little village hall in the middle of nowhere, so as wonderfully accommodating as the lovely Michele at Copsale Hall has been, it’s a part-time endeavour for her and they aren’t used to managing weddings.
Image source Griottes
As much as this really appealed to me at the start, a blank canvas where we can have whatever we like and aren’t tied to suppliers and decorations, it did start to become daunting when suppliers were asking how they could contact the venue beforehand and I had to tell them to contact me instead!
Well, this is in danger of turning into an Oscar’s acceptance speech isn’t it! I suppose my parting shot is, it’s OK to ask for help, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed and that on-the-day co-ordination is worth its weight in gold and eye cream (be gone sleepless night eye bags!) If any readers have experience of late-stage planning and some pearls of wisdom to offer me, I would be forever grateful!
Love Amii x
