One of my favorite DIY inspirations that keeps popping up at backyard weddings is the homemade photo booth. Remember being a kid at the arcade and cramming into the photo booth with your BFF (or cute boyfriend) and snapping silly/goofy/crazy photos that still make you smile today? Professional photo booths are all the rage at today’s weddings. But at $1,000 and up for the rental, it’s a bit too pricy for many couples. Keep it simple (and economical) by creating your own backdrop for photos and assigning a friend the (fun) job of snapping guests’ photos. Read on for more tips and how-tos when creating this easy DIY project.

photo credit: thewedhub

Choose a location: First, decide where you will set up your photo booth. Make sure to choose a spot away from the crowd – you don’t want your photo booth distracting guests from your first dance or cake cutting. An out of the way corner near the guest book is ideal.

Create a backdrop: Create a stylish backdrop for your guests to pose in front of by purchasing fabric in bulk (3-4 yards should be plenty). Upholstery fabric works best because of it’s weight. Depending on your location (a backyard wedding, for instance) you may be able to simply nail or tape the fabric to a wall or deck. But, if your reception is being held at a rented venue, you may need to construct a simple frame to which you can attach the fabric (check with your local hardware or home improvement store for helpful hints). For a more stylish and cohesive look, coordinate the color and design of the background fabric with your wedding colors.

Set up your camera: Here’s where you have several options – ranging from super simple to more involved. One easy way to take the pictures is to assign a friend/guest as your photo booth photographer. Some guests would relish this assignment – you just need to figure out who they are (maybe a niece or cousin who might be without a date?). Another option is to pay a friend of a friend an appropriate, but budget friendly amount (say $50?) to take on this role. Have your designated photographer use  a point and click digital camera to take the photos during the reception. Close down the “booth” the last 45 minutes of the reception so that he/she can print them off on a digital printer (make sure to provide extra ink cartridges for printing).  Want to make it even easier? How about breaking out the instant camera? Did you know there’s new generation of Polaroid camera that will be on the market soon? You can pre-order the latest model of this classic camera now. Fuji film currently sells a similar product – the Instax camera – that prints instantaneously. Talk about instant gratification!

If you have more time and energy to devote to the photo booth project, you can achieve a more “professional” result by checking out software programs that allow you to use your webcam to take and load pictures right on your laptop. The photos can be automatically shared on Facebook, Twitter and photo finishing sites such as Snapfish. Another bonus of these programs is that they run automatically, leaving your guests unattended (and uninhibited) for more candid photos. Visit the website sevenEightcline for one such software program and helpful hints on setting up your photo booth.

photo credit: sevenEightcline

Accessories: For a fun and lighthearted twist on the photo booth idea, purchase silly props at a local novelty store and watch your guests ham it up! Suggestions include: plastic glasses, fake mustaches, feather boas and silly hats. Provide guests with a small dry erase board or chalkboard so that they can include a message.

photo credits: (left) a backyard wedding; (right) wedding bee

photo credit: ruffled.com

photo credit: hostessblog.com

Sharing: Last, but not least, share all your fun and funny photos with friends and guests. Here’s one creative idea that I love: the clothesline photo display. It’s pretty much self-explanitory — just string clothesline (a fence or decking works great) and attach photos with small clothespins. It’s perfect for a backyard wedding! Try to set up your display near the exit, so that guests can take their photos with them when they leave (remember, unless you choose the “Polaroid” option, you will have all the pictures saved on your camera or computer). Don’t have a good place to string clothesline? Set up a display table (or use the guestbook table) with a large framed cork board to show off photos.

photo credit: the Knot

photo credit: weddingbee

There’s nothing more treasured than memories from your special day. The DIY photo booth helps you capture those memories in a relaxed, fun and economical way. I’m willing to bet that the photo booth will be a hit at your wedding and these will be the photos that make you smile for years to come!

photo credit: thoughtfullysimple

If you are looking for a way to personalize your wedding, consider making your own cake, or a cupcake tower.  It is not as daunting as you might think if you make the cake and then decorate it with professionally made sugar flowers.

Sugar flowers are sweet and stylish and add an amazing look to a wedding cake.

Sugar Flower Cake Shop in NYC sells over 30 different types of sugar flowers that can be shipped anywhere in the country.  Here are some of my favorites:

The price point for the flowers depends on their intricacy.   Really large ones that make an incredible statement as a single piece on a large cake are priced around $100.  Small decorations for cupcakes are usually $1.

Thinking of giving it a try?  Test your baking skills with Sugar Flower Cake Shops Owner, Amy DeGiulio’s favorite cupcake recipe.

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1-1/2 cups self-rising cake flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place all ingredients except for the milk into the bowl of a food processor.  Combine until smooth.  Pulse while adding the milk gradually.

Fill 24 cupcake baking cups with batter.  It may seem that there isn’t enough batter, but keep scraping (use a rubber spatula for the best results)!  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cover with your favorite icing!

Amy’s Baking Tips:
(1)  Always start with room temperature ingredients, specifically the butter.
(2)  If you can’t find or don’t have self-rising cake flour, mix up a batch:  a quick ratio is 1/4 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt per cup of flour.
(3)  Try to source ingredients locally, especially the eggs and milk.  You will be amazed at the difference in the quality of your results!

If you want to see more of these beautiful sugar flowers, check out Sugar Flower Cake Shops’ gallery. You won’t believe how pretty sugar flowers can be!

All photos courtesy of Sugar Flower Cake Shop.

photo credit: marthastewartweddings.com

Here’s a DIY wedding design trend that’s easy to do and easy on your budget: tissue paper flowers. Check out the inspiration photos below. Aren’t they fun? Limited only by the amount of time you have to create them, paper flowers can add a big, whimsical, visual impact to your wedding décor. True, no one is going to mistake your tissue paper flowers for the real thing, but they can offer festive style at virtually no cost.

photo credits: flickr; marthastewartweddings.com; wellsphere.com; northridgemedia.com

Hang them from the ceiling for a magical effect, or cluster them in vases for a creative centerpiece. They’re the perfect accent for your rehearsal dinner or casual wedding reception. Coordinate tissue paper colors with your wedding palate. All you need to get started is the tissue and pipe cleaners.

photo credit: marthastewartweddings.com

I’ve provided a link to directions for making your own simple tissue paper flowers.  You can also find paper flower kits (that come with pre-cut tissue paper and all other supplies needed) at local craft stores and online. Martha Stewart Crafts used to sell a great paper flower kit, but it seems they have discontinued it (I did find some available on Ebay though). Visit Martha Stewart Weddings online for inspiration and instructions for making more elaborate flowers and larger “party poms.”

photo credit: Etsy

You can also find a great selection of paper flowers online at Etsy. These come preassembled – it just takes a little bit of time to “fluff” them up. Even if you decide to use a craft store kit, or buy from an Etsy retailer, the cost is still very economical for these stylish accessories. What else do I love about these faux flowers? They won’t end up in the trash can days later. You can reuse them for parties or use them to decorate your new home together.

Today’s wedding invitations come in a dizzying array of styles and colors. From fun and funky to sophisticated and elegant, the invitation can set the tone for your whole wedding. Whether you chose casual or formal, simple or elaborate, one thing’s for sure, invites can take a big bite out of you budget.  Did you know that about 5% of a wedding budget goes towards  invitations?  Custom invites from boutique stores will average significantly more.

Do-it-yourself invitations can be a great option for those of you who have some extra time to devote to assembly, and want to save some money in the process. Gone are the days when DIY meant hours and hours of work, cutting, folding, gluing, and inserting. Today’s DIY invites are user friendly and easy to create on any home computer/printer. We’ve searched the net and come up with some fresh, stylish and affordable DIY invitations we think you’ll love.

This beautiful and elegant invitation from InviteSite features a gatefold design, lustrous silk paper with silver dots and closes with a mocha chocolate double-faced satin ribbon.  All DIY invitation sets from Invitesite offer an invitation card, rsvp card and envelopes. Pre-cut, print ready paper and printing templates make it easy to create the finished product . They also offer lots of “how-to” tips as well as instructional video. Prices run around $3 per invite (not including RSVP card).

Want a design that’s all your own? These sophisticated and modern invitations come from EnvelopperInc. If you have an eye for design and want to start from scratch, EnvelopperInc. has a wonderful assortment of high quality papers, envelopes and ribbons. They offer a fabulous selection colors as well as finishes; metallic, textured or vellum. Mix and match colors, sizes and ideas, to suit your style. Visit their Gallery room for invitation inspiration.

I love these invitations from Do-it-youselfInvitations.com. They are fresh, simple and fun. Perfect for a Spring or nature-themed wedding. The invitations, RSVP, and Thank You cards are set up two or more per page to help conserve paper. Simply print the file onto card stock or your choice of paper, cut them to size using the cutting guides as instructed, and your done! You can even go a step further by attaching them to a fancy paper backing and adding ribbons or charms. Make them your own!

These gorgeous invitations are DIY from Martha Stewart Crafts. Compose and print your stationery from your computer, then decorate it with stamps, punches, and embellishments (sold separately). Create a theme by carrying a design element through your invitations, favors, decorations, and thank-you cards.

A few more words of wisdom about DIY invites:

Make sure you give yourself plenty of time and room for error. Work backward from your wedding date and plan to mail the invites out 6-8 weeks in advance. You will most likely make some mistakes when creating the first invitation (or two) so plan on extra time for labor and extra materials for trial and error. Have patience and know that once you get the hang of it the assembly should move along more quickly.

Recruit friends to help. Do you have a few girlfriends who are crafty and would be willing to lend a hand? Why not plan a girls night in, open a bottle of wine and start the assembly line. Turn what could be a tedious chore into a fun get together.

When designing, work backwards. Start with your envelopes. Imagine creating the most gorgeous (and labor intensive) custom invitations and then realizing that your envelope is 1/2 inch too small! Also, sometimes finding just the right color can be difficult. Know all your materials before you get too far into the process.

Print out drafts of your design and proofread… again and again!
The invitation size and appearance may vary a bit from what you see on your computer screen. Seeing it all on paper is a great way to make sure everything is easily readable, and for you to be able to make needed adjustments. Have several people proofread your invitations before you print everything out. Especially people who have never seen it before — a fresh set of eyes is an invaluable resource (and more likely to catch a mistake than you, who has seen it a million times). Read every. single. last. word. Spell-check is not always dependable when it comes to something like an invitation, where you use locations and names of places that won’t be caught whether it’s spelled correctly or incorrectly. Invitations, even DIY invites, are expensive. Too expensive to dump in the trash because of a spelling error or typo.

Good luck! What could be more of a “labor of love” than DIY wedding invitations? So enjoy the creativity and satisfaction that comes with any DIY project. Know that once you’ve created that perfect invite, your are one step closer to you special day!

Sources Weddingbee.com. Check out Mrs. Cupcake’s  helpful hints about DIY invitations.