“I’ll just DIY it.”
“Time to buy a glue gun!”
“Pinned. Pinned! Pinning...”
Just like the bang-on bride in the Sh*t Brides Say video,
you know you’ve said it. And if you’re lucky enough to live in Ottawa, now you
can learn how to pull it off, too.
The Wed By Hand Wedding Show is coming to the Glebe
Community Centre this weekend to put a do-it-yourself twist on wedding
planning.
From 11 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, couples can meet more
than 30 vendors who offer environmentally-friendly, handmade or DIY products
(or a combination of all three).
The vendors offer a range of wedding staples, from attire to
invitations to food. But while the event is billed a wedding show, that’s where
the similarities end.
According to co-founder Krista Leben, at Wed by Hand it’s
all about alternatives. She said couples should be able to give their wedding a
personal touch without hurting the environment or breaking the bank.
“The reason we put this show together is to show couples
that there are different alternatives out there, and also to show them that its
possible to plan and execute a wedding that really reflects their values and
personalities without having to spend a lot of money,” she said. “Weddings are
really wonderful celebrations and we were happy to be able to show people how to
personalize them.”
Leben added that the smaller, community-minded businesses
visitors will see at the show often skip major wedding shows because it costs so much to participate.
The most unique thing about the craft-show-meets-wedding-show
is that it offers a number of workshops throughout the day that actually teach
couples how to host an awesome DIY wedding.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve witnessed and heard about
some pretty disastrous DIY wedding projects. Tacky centrepieces, lacklustre
decorations and hurried invitations have all made appearances at some point or
another, and I feel rather comforted knowing that these workshops will help
combat the epidemic of bad wedding decor in the future.
As a DIY bride, I know it will help me conquer my sometimes
questionable taste and mediocre crafting skills to pull off the beautiful
wedding I can picture but may very well fail to execute.
Workshops are either hands-on or informational, and range in
topic from bouquet building and budgeting to making invitations and creating
memorable photo albums. There are also sessions teaching how to reduce stress
through yoga, “engaging your engagement photos” and fostering a long and happy
relationship through home decor.
A tastier aspect of the show will take place in a
special anteroom constructed specifically for the event, where 10 local vendors
will offer taste tests.
Vegan cake I can leave or take, but the Cuban food and tea
bar sound pretty tasty, don’t you agree?
If this wedding show sounds like it suits your
wedding vision, I urge you to check it out. Tickets are $8 online or $10 at the
door. Get there early, because last year’s workshops were packed!
For more information visit www.wedbyhand.com.