On DIY-ing

by the bride

I have to admit that I am no 'master' in arts and crafts, but I absolutely love Do-It-Yourself (DIY) pieces! Regardless of its aesthetics, I see a wonderful story behind each DIY item - the passion that motivated the person to create it; the effort that was lovingly poured in making it; the creativity that was either stimulated or painstakingly squeezed out from its creator - these are some of the reasons that make DIY stuff so beautiful in my eyes. That is why even as a teacher, I favor more those students who solely worked on their project/homework than those who were, despite being capable of working independently, obviously helped - and by 'helped' I mean it doesn't show any trace of the student's effort anymore. A little help will do no harm, pero merong iba na pang-college yun gawa, eh grade one lang yung bata! (oops, sorry parents! hehe :-p )

Back to DIY-ing, I haven't done so much DIY until this wedding! Haha! I am not complaining ha. I am actually loving it, although I wish we had so much more time to spend on this. Some people would ask, "why not ask/hire someone to do these instead?" Oo nga naman, why make life hard for us, right? My default response would be, "para 'di magastos," pero sa totoo lang, gusto ko lang talaga mag-DIY! Pagbigyan n'yo na lang please haha! Well, of course, austerity is one thing, but what I realized in this wedding journey is that DIY-ing is sometimes (or often) more expensive than hiring someone to do the job. Add to that the time and effort we have to devote to this. But DIY-ing also means adding a personal touch to your wedding. It makes the occasion extra special because you know that you are sharing a bit of yourself with every card your guests will read, items that they will take home, or even that glittery glass bottle that they will most probably just look at for 10 seconds. Most of all, we DIY not only to make this wedding memorable (sino nga ba ang may gusto ng maraming kapareho, diba?) but also because we consider our guests special and we want to give them our best effort on this day, for they chose to witness and celebrate love with us. :)

So far, here are the items we have DIYed:

1. Save-the-Date (STD) video - c/o Calvin; still in the process of editing it
2. Invitation suite layout - almost done! Looking for a printer now...
3. Monogram design - design and illustration by yours truly; Franco Jose for the color enhancement (maraming salamat!) 
4. Prenup shoot styling - Pinterest is our wedding BFF!
5. Packaging for souvenir items - thanks Papa Serge and Mama Aida for the Ikea jars!
6. Flower girls' headpieces - sewing skills
7. Ring, arrhae, and bible pillows/design - sewing skills and, again, thanks Pinterest!
8. Table centerpieces - glass bottles supplied by our kitchen storage, and good friend/fellow bride Yen Ballad (lucky we don't have to buy mason jars!); design inspiration: Pinterest, of course!
9. Missalette, Thank You cards, Place Cards, and Table Names - ongoing

I'm excited to post pictures soon! :D