Making for someone else’s wedding? Helen shares her top tips!

30 May 2022

Making for someone else’s wedding? Helen shares how to prepare for the experience of a lifetime.

It’s an exciting venture as a small business or individual to make decorations for someone else’s wedding. It can be incredibly rewarding to see the bride and groom, and their party guests are in awe of the things you created for the big day.

With big rewards comes big responsibility and it’s important to prepare for that. Helen from All Things Helen, shares her experiences and top tips on making for someone else’s wedding.

Over to Helen!

Tell us a bit about the wedding you created decorations for?

I created all the décor for my mum and her now husband’s autumn wedding last October. They had an intimate wedding breakfast at a beautiful hotel right on the seafront with views of the harbour. In the evening, all their friends and extended family joined us to celebrate at their reception too! It was absolutely the perfect day.

What did you create?

They decided to go down the rustic theme route so from the outset I was clear on the vibe they were going for (who doesn’t love a rustic-themed wedding these days)!

The first project I needed to make was their ‘save the dates’. It was a super fun, quick and easy project using pens, layered cardstock and vinyl (my favourite kind of Cricut makes btw).

Then I made their guestbook using a blank scrapbook, cute embellishments, vinyl and wooden letters!

Next on the list were the place name cards. They were super easy to make but looked so lovely with the rest of the theming. One of the biggest (and best) projects was all the signage! To keep costs down, we borrowed the blank chalkboards from a friend and picked up the pallet for free. We stained the pallet then I personalised them all with vinyl.

They wanted a little photobooth set up so I used a ready-made project on Design Space to create a really lovely set of props for people to pose with. Lastly, I made favour tags with stickers using kraft card and sticker paper!

Behind the scenes I was also working on the rolled flower cake, vase of 3D flowers, gifts for the bridal party and the ring box.

What was the process from ideas to finished decorations?

I pretty much had free reign with all the décor, as long as it fitted within the rustic theme of course. The rolled flower cake, vase of 3D flowers and ring box were all actually little surprises for them to see on the day (luckily, they loved them)!

For the most part though, my mum sent me ideas and pictures of décor she liked. Then we just chatted back and forth about colours/materials and how we could make it personal to them. We would also pop to our local craft store and pick out bits she liked then discuss ways in which we could incorporate those ideas in their theme. I also made different versions of some projects, for example the stickers and place name cards then they chose what they preferred.

Top tips – have a project checklist on your phone, laptop or in a notebook. I found this invaluable because I was able to keep track of all the décor and projects that I needed to complete. Also, try and stick to one project at a time. It’s not always possible I know but it saves getting confused about where your at with it.

What was it like creating decor for someone else’s wedding?

Crafting for someone else’s wedding was so much fun, I really enjoyed it! I loved coming up with new ideas, shopping for wedding bits and finding inspiration from DIY brides on socials. It was difficult at times though, just because you are relying on the couple’s decisions before you can create stuff for them. However, I totally understood that when planning a wedding there are SO many decisions to be made so I was mindful of that and just finished up other bits and bobs whilst waiting for the go ahead on new projects. That being said, I did feel under pressure at times, naturally. Of course, there are time constraints with getting things finished but also the feeling of ‘will they like this’ or ‘is this what they had in mind’.

Top tip – be honest with the person/people your creating décor for if you feel under pressure or if something isn’t right etc. That way, you can work the problem together! You’ll feel better for it and they’ll definitely be glad for your honesty.

What top tips can you give for anyone who is thinking of starting a wedding personalisation business?

1. DO IT. If you feel passionately about starting your own small business then definitely go for it.

2. Be unique. There’s so much on the market, creating something different, especially in the wedding sector would be a fab USP.

3. Be organised! It can be really hard to fit everything into our busy schedules so set ‘work time’ aside for your orders.

4. And most importantly in my opinion, get to know your clients/target market and what exactly it is they want. If they love your work, they’ll leave good reviews, tell their friends & keep ordering from you!

Top tip – make sure you have wedding dressing essentials with you on the day! Things like glue pen, extra ribbon/string or twine, sellotape, blue tac, confetti to fill any gaps, weeding tool/scraper and scissors.

Things to note before you start crafting for someone’s wedding…

Start by asking them to talk you through their perfect day so you can get a real feel for their vibe. Find out what ideas/inspiration they have, the theme (rustic, classic, boho, fairy tale etc), colour scheme, deadlines, budget, venue, things they like/don’t like, favoured materials and number of guests. Ask them if they want to be involved with the décor or are they leaving it to you.