A Bride's Reflection: The Items That Were Better Bought Than Made!

Wedding Items: Handmade or Purchased?

Hello, I’m Keiko from the Marry Editorial Team!＊

I am a so-called "graduate bride" who just finished my wedding in the spring of 2017...

Recently, many people around me are getting married, and I’ve been asked a lot about wedding preparations.

One of the most frequently asked questions is about wedding items. "What did you make yourself, and what did you buy?" is a common question!＊

To be honest! Items that I should have just bought＊

There are countless types of wedding items, including paper items, decorations, accessories, and more.

It’s impossible to make everything by hand, and buying everything raises budget concerns, right?

I thought that sharing my experiences with “this item is better to make yourself, and this item is easier to buy!” might be useful, so I decided to write this article!＊

Looking back at my wedding preparations, I will introduce the items I thought “I’m glad I bought this♡” and items I regretted making myself because it was too difficult.♩

Definitely better to buy than to make! Wedding Item #1: Invitations

The first item that came to my mind was invitations. Among the many paper items, invitations are the first that need to be prepared, so it’s something you want to put effort into...

Invitations require a lot of paper, including envelopes, the main invitation, inserts, notes, maps, and more. Each paper has different sizes and designs, so making them from scratch is really challenging!

I initially wanted to make them myself, but after seeing reports from previous brides, I reconsidered and decided to order them.

As a result, that was a great decision. Just creating a guest list for almost 100 guests and inserting them into envelopes was so challenging that it made me feel like crying, so I can only imagine how much harder it would have been if I had to do the design and printing myself.

Unless you have plenty of time before the wedding to dedicate to DIY, I recommend ordering invitations!＊

Definitely better to buy than to make! Wedding Item #2: Wedding Bouquets

A wedding bouquet is definitely one of the items you want to be particular about.

I wasn't very knowledgeable about flowers, but I somehow thought, “If I buy flowers from a wholesaler and arrange them myself, it will be cheaper.”

However, when I actually visited a flower wholesaler, I was surprised. High-quality artificial flowers and preserved flowers are expensive...!

Beautiful flowers were all about 1000 yen each, so creating a voluminous bouquet would easily exceed ten thousand yen.

In the end, I decided to order a preserved flower bouquet, which turned out so cute that I couldn't have made it myself, so I’m really satisfied.♡

I also ordered a wristlet that matches the bouquet!♡

Since it was made by a professional, it was sturdy, and I didn’t have to worry about flowers falling off, so I could enjoy my day without stress!＊

Definitely better to buy than to make! Wedding Item #3: Marquee Lights

An item I made myself but reflect on and think “I could have just bought it…” is the marquee lights. It’s a classic wedding item, so many of you might be considering it.

It’s very inexpensive to make by hand as it only requires thick paper and lights, but it did take time.

At the time, I was happy I could prepare it cheaply♡, but if I were to do it again, I think I would just buy it...

The marquee lights with initials cost about 2000 yen per letter, so three letters would be 6000 yen. If it's a ready-made product, you can keep it as decor after the wedding, so I think I might have splurged on it (the one I made became a mess in one day, so I threw it away).

However, I did enjoy the DIY time chatting with my fiancé, so it might be nice to challenge yourself to make things as part of enjoying the wedding preparations!＊

Definitely better to buy than to make! Wedding Item #4: Wedding Movie

I sincerely tell my friends, “You should definitely order your wedding movie…”

I had experience making several movies for company year-end parties and friend's weddings, but it was so difficult that I promised myself I would never do it again...

The time it takes for editing, not to mention the tedious tasks of exporting to DVD and adjusting audio, were really bothersome... Plus, I was anxious about potential issues like not being able to play it on the big day.

Since there are already many things to do while preparing for the wedding, I think outsourcing the movie is the right decision. If calculated by hourly rate, it’s actually quite cheap.

By the way, for those who still want to challenge themselves, I recommend the software "Final Cut Pro." It's used by professional editors and is available for about 30,000 yen! (Mac only)

Definitely better to buy than to make! Wedding Item #5: Table Numbers

The table numbers placed on guest tables are something I looked at to get various ideas from pictures of other brides, but in the end, I decided to purchase them.

Table numbers can actually be surprisingly affordable if you look for them! I used these topper-type table numbers in the floral arrangements, which were 1,500 yen for a set of ten.

Additionally, I impulsively bought table numbers at Barneys New York during a random visit. (Impulse buying wedding items is a common experience for brides-to-be, isn't it…)

This set was 1800 yen for 12 pieces.

Even if I were to make them myself, the material costs would add up, so I'm glad I purchased them.

Definitely better to buy than to make! Wedding Item #6: Thank You Tags

The last item I’d like to introduce is the thank you tags that tie to the small gifts. It seems like a small paper item that you could easily make yourself.

It’s true that designing and printing them should be easy to do yourself, but the final "cutting" seems challenging...

Thinking that, I ordered pre-cut products from a handmade app called minne. The price was under 2000 yen!＊

Tying the tags with ribbons also took hours, so I’m glad I outsourced that as well.

Smartly balancing handmade and purchased items for wedding preparations!

I introduced six wedding items that I personally thought were worth buying.

If you can take your time and enjoy wedding preparations, that's great, but if it becomes overwhelming at all, outsourcing is one option. It’s not worth it if you become sleep-deprived or unwell, or if you get frustrated.

Please balance your time and money while smoothly progressing with your wedding preparations!♩