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I started designing my DIY projects right away for an 18 month engagement. I haven't started making them yet, but all the prototypes are done!
I am one year and one month out. I have started my designing a few months ago, and a few test runs. But I don't want to start mass producting just simply because I don't want to store all the stuff for a year. But in a month or so I will start DIYing.. I would say things like invitations, save the dates, can be designed and made if you know your date, time, place.
I would caution against starting to early on DIY decor in case you change your mind and all that effort is for nothing. Make sure you have a clear vision of how you want your wedding to look before you buy and make anything. However, there are still some basic DIY projects you can probably do in advance that aren't as dependent on your wedding's style/theme. I started with simple, small things, like attaching raffia to my bubble wands for our grand entrance. My theme/colors have changed a lot since I put those together, but since they weren't dependent on these things, it wasn't time wasted.
Hi Hi!
I think it all depends on what your DIY projects are. I would think the things like pomanders, centerpieces, etc are too far out. BUT. It's never too early to start doing mockups so that when it does come time to make it you are already a pro at it!
I'm just under 17 months and have the first draft of my invites done. FI is taking over SaveTheDates and he knows I want to get those out this summer; so he knows his deadline! Hehe.
And the beauty of time is you can do mock ups of flowers and test them out in the weather like it were your wedding day. Once summer hits I plan to do centerpiece & bouquet mockups. Put them through weather conditions exactly like they should be on wedding day. ie in the fridge, in cooler, then out in the heat like it would be on wedding day. That way we know how far in advance we can really make them while making sure they look their best on the day of!
Good Luck!!!
We are about 6 months out now. I didn't want to do anything too far ahead for the same reasons, plus we plan on moving in a few months and why would I want to pack it all up?? Interestingly, the longer I wait, the less I want to do! Not like I'm hiring someone to do it instead, I'm just not doing it! :-) I keep a running list of what's making the cut and what isn't. It keeps me on track and helps me not go crazy.
Be careful with how far in advance you do some DIY projects! You will change your mind with some things (I did twice in an 8 month engagement!) Your preferences may shift and you will have more research under your belt the longer you wait. It would be awful to change your mind after you finished a project you worked hard on!
There's obviously a happy medium in not waiting until too late and being busy and stress, but I'm finding that our 8 month engagement is plenty of time DIY to my heart's content(ok, it helps that my fiance lives on the other side of the country).
Just make sure you spend plenty of time gathering ideas and inspiration and considering plenty of options before you commit!
I'm trying to do my DIY stuff as far in advance as I can! I don't want to be rushing around as W-Day approaches and half-buming things. What if you store your paper flowers in dark containers in a closet. I don't know how much that would help but it might stop some of the fading.
I'm with Grey56: the more time passes the less I want to do! LOL I'm also a lazy bum though! :)
I think you can start planning your projects. Maybe buy some of the supplies but make sure you can return them if you change your mind (keep the reciepts! 
).
Thanks, y'all. ^_^ I've been gathering ideas and made some flower mockups to see which types of flowers look best/are the easiest to make. My one bouquet mockup is already hanging out in a closet away from the light and my list of possible centerpieces with pricing breakdowns is chillin' on my flash drive with my invite mock up ideas.
I have set temptation behind me (mostly--I still have 2 patterns I want to try out for making flowers, to see how they look), I just wanted to see how others were planning their DIY attack!
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Im a year and 1 month out and have been playing around ideas for quite some time. :)
I started designing things I liked (mock ups, images, etc) about 10 months til the wedding. As soon as I picked the venue, the Look of the wedding, and my gown, I was off and running. I had my gown in October for a June wedding. We started the bridesmaid dresses literally as soon as I'd picked the venue and color though. I'd start toying with ideas but i wouldn't make bunches of things hard and fast yet, or you might change your mind later!
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I had a long(ish) engagement, too, but let me tell you, that time goes quickly! My best advice is to do as much research as humanly possible and know what you're getting into before you start your DIY projects. If you are DIYing your invitations, those are often the most time intensive project, so definitely do research/check out paper samples for that. Good luck!
We're about four months out. I had a general idea of what I wanted when I first started planning after my engagement (about a year ago)...let me tell ya, your ideas will change and they will keep changing! I think for me the basic large elements all stayed the same, but the little things have definitely morphed into something else, but things I'm really excited about working on.
Anyway, I planned out all my projects a couple months ago, as well as a schedule for completion. I won't be starting anything major until a couple of months out, but will be gathering supplies and working on designs/mockups in the meantime. Oh yeah, another thing? Try your projects out at least once before you decide to do them for real. I had to chuck a couple of ideas because I realized I wasn't really good at executing them and it wasn't worth the headache!
I began collecting ideas and planning out my many DIYs shortly after getting engaged in July. I've been actively crafting and crossing projects off the list since October, starting with the design of the invitation suite. Just a couple of months to go!
The "it'll be here before you know it" saying is frighteningly/excitingly true.
If your heart is set on a specific project, take advantage of the time if you have it. You can start by researching material costs and labor. I've scratched a few oh-so-cute ideas based on the reality that their "wow" factor wouldn't be enough to make the trouble or money involved in making them worth it.
By planning in advance, you can also keep an eye out for seasonal/holiday clearance items -- like spring bird's nests, silvery Christmas ornaments, etc. -- that might suit your needs. (I've also found that spacing out my "craft ingredient" purchases over the span of few months has also helped to lighten their impact on my budget, more so than buying all of it at once.)
I second the receipt-keeping suggestion. I store mine in individual envelopes, labeled according to which project they were for. Wedding planning has definitely forced me to become more organized! :o)
I already bought some of the silk flowers I'm using for my bouquet (which I'm ALREADY returning), but I'm researching things I want in terms of invites, centerpieces (the biggest devil of them all), and escort cards and such. It's very nice to know that I have time to do research for such an important day and don't have to throw it all together. Enjoy the time you have! Go to sites like oncewed.com and the Martha Stewart weddings website and look at pictures pictures pictures.
Part of me wants to get everything done- buy the dress, get invites out, make the centerpieces, etc, but another part is so thankful...I've changed my mind a dozen times already.
That said, I think once you do sufficient research, really decide what you want, I think it'd be good to go ahead and do things that are easily stored like your paper materials, but wait on bulkier things like flowers and centerpieces. If you have the mock-ups done and finalized, gather the supplies necessary (in case the store sells out or discontinues the items you want within the next year), then do them closer to the day.
Good luck waiting!
I started about 9 months out (6 more till go time). It's been my favorite part of the planning so far. The good part: you have fun doing the projects because you work on them when you want to. It's not about stressing out trying to get everything done a month prior.
The only drawback: finding a good place to store it all! We live in a 3 bedroom condo & still all my wedding projects (accessories I've made for wedding party, centerpieces, etc) are sitting under my kitchen counter in large storage bins. I just tell people it's 'Wedding Headquarters'
P.S. - craftypants is so right about picking up items when you can find them. My wedding is in October & I knew that if I waited until summer, everything will be Halloween stuff. Always be on the lookout for things & visit your craft stores regularly. Plus it will help the wallet impact - all those vendors will want their final payments come closer to the event.
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With still a year and 3 months to go (ugh ^_^), I'm excited to get going on making my paper flower bouquets, pomanders, etc. But I don't want to make a bunch of stuff only for it to fade or fall apart by the time August 2010 rolls around. So I'm going to try and contain myself for a little while longer. Boo.
Question: How far in advance are you DIYing? And how far in advance is too far?