The Real Cost of DIY-ing Your Own Wedding (For Those Considering It!)

We got married a week ago – yay! – and as well as writing up the things you should consider before embarking on making your own wedding dress, I thought it would be helpful to others to have a list of the wedding costs to consider when you are DIY-ing it with a large number of family and friends attending.

Because some that came up I was none-the-wiser about, and the costs did add up and left me feeling quite financially anxious in the run up to the wedding… and during the planning stage itself I found very little information on what to expect when it came to the costs involved. Hopefully, this gives you an idea!

I won’t be sharing the exact numbers for the entire cost of our wedding, but I will share what feels “ok” for the costs that were incurred by me personally.

I should also add that this was only possible because of financial help from my incredible dad, the support of dear friends and the wonderful people who spend time on my blog and buying my patterns and online classes – thank you to you all! ❤️

The Ceremony Costs

We had our ceremony at the church in my hometown, and I considered this to be a very fair price at just over £1200. We didn’t have to pay for the banns to be read as we live outside the UK, but we did have to pay an additional fee for the special license – £200 – as well as travel costs for us to apply for it in the UK no more than 90 days before the wedding date. I haven’t included the travel costs here as they are covered further down.

The ceremony cost was higher as we had the bells rung (David and I love the sound of church bells), the organist and the choir to help our guests out with the hymns.

The service was magical, and worth every penny, so that we could be married in my home church.

Total: £1400

Other Ceremony Options

Had the church not been an option, we could have paid an additional £995 to our reception venue to have the ceremony there as well as an additional fee of £355 for the registrar to marry us there, which does work out slightly less than what we paid to my home church, but would have been far less special.

I have tips for finding an affordable option further down.

The Outfit Costs

There were quite a few things purchased for the wedding party outfits, especially those that I made myself, but again, I’ll only include the costs I personally incurred.

The Usher

My youngest nephew was one of three ushers and I covered the cost of his outfit which consisted of:

• Jacket
• Waistcoat
• Shirt
• Trousers
• Shoes

There was also a tie, but that was covered by my new in-laws so that they all matched.

I was happy to cover this cost as he has just finished school, and will need something smart for interviews and other occasions, and as he told me he “quite liked wearing it” I feel better about that outlay.

Total: £185

The Bridesmaids & Maid of Honour Dresses

I had struggled to find a fabric that I liked at an affordable price point for 3 bridesmaids dresses and narrowed it down to a burnt orange linen or a crepe backed satin in recycled polyester. The latter got the most votes, and that is what I ordered for the bridesmaids – and I hated working with it – so I also ordered 5m of the linen for Clio’s dress on the off chance that I would have time to sew that up when back in the UK for the wedding. How naive that thought was!

I made my niece’s dress up first, and lined it with the silk/viscose lining intended for my skirt, and it definitely helped the dress look and feel better.

At her final fitting she stated: “I feel like a princess. A pumpkin coloured princess!” Which gave me a good giggle, and I loved spending time making something for her.

I then moved onto my second bridesmaid’s dress and while it did fit and needed only minor alterations at the final fitting, their personal circumstances left me with no time to make those changes and have my hair and make up trial.

So, I put myself first and had them grab a dress in a suitable colour which worked out well.

My fabulous Maid of Honour had already pulled something from her wardrobe earlier in the July that would work, as she had been worried about the amount of time available and the lack of fitting due to living on different continents, and I am so thankful to her. Not only did this free up my headspace, but she also looked stunning in a dress that she already owned. Clio for the win!

As the crepe back satin fabric had been shipped on a bolt, I should be able to return what hasn’t been used – or use if for sampling future patterns – so total cost of fabric for the two bridesmaid dresses that were cut and sewn and Clio’s fabric left untouched come to:

• £16 magnolia dress pattern
• £90 crepe backed satin
• £84 linen (I ordered 5m for Clio’s dress though this was not used in the end as too red)
• £54 silk blend lining
• €18 for matching coloured overlocking thread
• £3.60 3x invisible zippers in orange
• €5.80 bias tape for necklines

Total: £271.40

The Groom & Best Man Waistcoats

I made the waistcoats for David and James, and used good quality fabrics to do so. The cost of materials were:

• Main waistcoat fabric: £38 from Bridal fabrics
• Viscose satin twill lining: £5 from The New Craft House
• Ivory cotton lining: €14.50 from The Fabric Sales
• Bias trim for armholes: €3.60
• Buttons for David’s waistcoat: €6
• Tool for covering David’s buttons: €9
• Gold buckles for back waist cinching: €10

Total: £86.10 for both, though David’s was more involved than James.

Note for those interested… the pattern was self drafted and had been part graded, so let me know if you’d like to see it released as a pattern!

My Corset Fabric

I started buying the main corsetry making bits for my wedding corset shortly after we got engaged in 2023, so this year the costs were only the main satin fabric and lace trim, but I have included the earlier costs too as this is more reflective of the total cost of making a bridal corset:

• 1.2m cotton coutil: £19.30
• 1m ivory satin: £33
• 1m woven interfacing: £12
• Ivory beaded lace trim: £140
• 1m grosgrain ribbon: £4.20
• Seam roller for the satin/coutil seams: £9
• Stainless steel boning: £36
• Boning caps: €6.75
• Front busk: €12.75
• 8mm silver eyelets: £11.30 (the wrong size)
• 5mm gold eyelets: €8 (replacement for the wrong purchase)
• Lacing (didn’t Use): £6.93
• Lacing ribbon & hook and eye: £12.85

Total cost of materials for my wedding corset: £312.08 – though there is still some of the beaded lace, boning and eyelets remaining, and I will probably add the remaining beaded lace at a later date as I fully intend to wear the corset again and there is a stain from the flower confetti which needs covering up!

My Skirt Fabric

I purchased a few fabrics for the skirt part of my dress as I wasn’t sure what “style” of skirt I’d be going for.

The first two fabrics where from The New Craft House when they had a remnants sale. I picked up 2.3m of a stunning heavy silk crepe for £25.50, who’s colour was a perfect match for the ivory satin from Bridal Fabrics, and for the longest time I thought that this would be the fabric I would go for.

And because I wanted to have a separate skirt for the evening, I also purchased 1.8m of white interfaced heavy satin for £10.50 in the same sale, to make something short and structured that would pair with the corset. Unfortunately, the colour of this was too white, so it got folded up and put away for a future project.

Both fabrics were in the half price sample sale, so cost me £36 total instead of £72.

When it came time to decide on my skirt, I ended up ordering a new fabric from The New Craft House, which was deadstock Vivienne Westwood Bridal, and had the stretch factor needed for the design I decided to go with. This was full price at £20 per meter, and I ordered 2.5m to make sure I had enough, so the total was £50. And then there was the invisible zipper I purchased from my local haberdashery back home for £2.30.

Other things I purchased for the skirt but didn’t end up using on it were 1m of horsehair braid (£1.50) and 2.1m of silk viscose satin (£54) for the lining, as it ended up lining bridesmaid dresses.

I’ll write a separate post about the design and making of my wedding skirt, so here are the numbers:

• Total spent: £142.30
• Actual material cost of my skirt: £52.30

My Veil

It was in late July that I realised I would probably need a veil, and recalled that my niece had gotten hers from the bridal shop in my hometown. I pondered visiting and just buying one, but how hard could it be to make one?

And so I ordered:

• Hair comb from Bridal Fabrics for £2.60
• A meter of tulle from The New Craft House for £10

Total: £12.60

Florist

As well as the long and low altar piece for the church – which was transferred to our table at the reception – we also had the bridal bouquet, three wrist corsages and seven buttonholes for the men.

Total cost: £320

Additional Costs to Consider

There are so many hidden costs when it comes to weddings. The most obvious costs are the venues and what will be worn, which we’ve looked at above, but there are so many other costs involved.

Here’s an overview of other incidental costs that I didn’t consider which came up in the month of the wedding:

• €32 for a steamer: my iron struggled with some of the fabrics used, so a late purchase was a steamer which helped enormously.
• £40 for confetti: who knew that we should provide this ourselves? Luckily I found a nice man on Etsy who provided everything in little bags so I didn’t need to spend 3+ hours the week before bagging it up.
• £42.03 for cake boards, tall cake box, dowels and 2.5kg icing: my dad had bought the cake ingredients in the spring, and I made the cakes in June, but it was only when back home for the wedding in August that I realised I would need things to decorate the cakes.
• £18 for the cake topper (inc.postage): David had hopes that I would create two figures from the icing I purchased. Time and lack of skills meant I ordered a cake topper later than I should have.
• £24 for welcome signs / canvas boards: yes I could have designed something on a computer and gotten them printed, but quotes were £59+ shipping, which seemed daft for a piece of foam board!
• £9 for wooden table numbers: I had intended to paint on small canvases, but time and cost made this a silly idea.
• £18.93 for glass vessels from Pound Stretcher and charity shops: I had been saving and bringing bag gorgeous glass bottles and jars, but there still weren’t enough so I picked up a variety when back in my hometown.
• £3.95 for heart punch
• £20 for blue card stock for menus and heart confetti
• £20-ish for twinkle lights and confetti punch: my dad ordered these so that we had something to put inside all the glass vessels to decorate the tables.

Total costs for decorative elements: £227.91

Cost of My Personal Items

I didn’t do any skin prep session in the run up to the wedding, instead focusing on the hair and a decent pair of shoes that would last me all day.

• £40 nails – gel nails with my niece
• £14 M&S – to ensure there were no VPL
• £15 Waitrose tights – didn’t end up using as the centre seam was visible through my skirt
• €190 wedding shoes – I have HUGE feet and these actually fit
• £14 ankle brace in nude colouring – the sprain from June was still playing up
• £34 hair clips – ended up not using and will try to return
• €167 August hair: colour and cut
• €72 June hair: disaster colour
• €280 May hair: not inc. in final count as this was a gift to me
• €42 Feb hair: first cut

Total counted amount for personal items was: £588

Travel Costs

I’ve not kept note of all the travel costs incurred when planning a wedding in a country that we do not reside, but the costs incurred in 2026 alone were:

• April: £251 cheap flights and train travel for the menu tasting and collecting bridal fabrics.
• June: £350.20 Eurostar for the wedding license application and making the wedding cakes.
• August: £1076 Eurostar tickets for the wedding inc. hotel for 2 nights before the wedding and the wedding car.

Total travel costs: £1677.20

Other Costs

Things that were covered but did not track the costs of, which should be factored in when planning your own wedding:

• Invitations: getting them printed or DIY-ing with home printed and paper. I bought a variety of papers to test printing on at home, ribbon to decorate and melted wax to seal them with. It all added up.
• Posting invites: sending invitations and RSVP costs if not via email.
• Wedding website: I made ours on WordPress and the hosting was part of my regular costs so the url was an additional cost.
• Stationery: as well as the decorations for the venue, we also provided menus, seating chart and other stationery too, the costs of which I didn’t take time to calculate but am certain worked out cheaper than ordering in.
• Thank you gifts: we had gifts for my dad, David’s mom and dad, my maid of honour, bridesmaids, the best man and the ushers as well as bags/paper to wrap them in and we only realised these were needed when running through my checklist the week before the wedding.
• Rings: we left these until two weeks before the wedding because we simply forgot that we needed them
• Hair and makeup: I planned to DIY it as I figured there wouldn’t be time to get a trial in due to living in another country… and so I packed my kit accordingly, but my good friend Mich gifted me this inc. a trial a few evenings before!
• Postage: from fabric samples to invitation samples, and actually useful things, there are a lot of postage costs involved in a wedding, which often accounts for up to half the cost of the item being delivered! With this in mind, order earlier than you think so you’re not paying for express shipping costs!
• Passport costs: David’s passport expired before the special license could be applied for, so the cost of applying for a new one and getting it couriered to The Netherlands before we travelled to the UK was extremely high. Factor this in if your wedding will be in a. country requiring an up to date passport!

Final Breakdown in Costs

And now to my final numbers which may be helpful when planning a wedding of your own. Note that this is only the costs I covered, and does not include the reception venue or any additional outfit, transport and hotel costs covered by others.

• £1400 church ceremony
• £185 for my usher
• £271.40 for MOH and 2x bridesmaids dresses
• £86.10 for the groom and best man waistcoats
• £312.08 for my corset
• £12.60 for my veil
• £52.30 for my skirt
• £320 florist
• £227.91 decorations
• £588 for personal care
• £1677.20 travel costs
• £850 photographer

Total: £5982.59

Things to Note When Costing Your Wedding

While there are some costs that are just not negotiable (ceremony fees, travel costs, postage fees etc) there are some things that you can do to keep the costs as low as possible.

The Wedding Venue

I haven’t included the cost of the venue where our reception was held, but we did book a non-weekend day to try and cut the costs.

Our venue also had twilight options, which did not include the sit down meal and was much less accordingly.

If you’re flexible with the time of year, the day of the week and the time of day, you can often cut quite a bit off the cost by booking “out of season”.

The Photographer

Our photographer was a last minute booking via a Facebook Ad in late July. All the photographers I had contacted in the six months prior were asking for between £1500 and £2600 and that was not in the budget at all.

Look around and don’t be afraid to search further afield as it may work out better financially. We got very lucky with our photographer Edina who travelled down to our location, and the sneak peek photos are stunning.

The Cake

I paid £60 for the cake bits I purchased and my dad probably spent about £60 on the initial ingredients. While it did take time to bake them – it was three tiers of rich traditional fruit cake – a total of £120 for such a luxurious and delicious cake was to me a bargain after I looked at what more basic cakes were selling for.

So if you do like baking, always consider whether you can do this yourself to save costs.

The Outfits

I am so happy that I managed to get a corset, one skirt, one veil, two waistcoats and almost 3 dresses for just under £734.

Of course this does not include the ridiculous amount of time that I invested into making everything: not just the final pieces but the toiles, the travel for fittings, second toiles and more…

And yes Clio’s dress is still a neatly folded cut of linen at my dad’s, and Sarah’s dress is folded neatly in a bag to upcycle, but considering that there are few wedding dresses priced at less than £1000… with personalised alterations an additional cost on top.. I think I did a great job, and am very proud of what I created.

Especially as the dress I originally saw and was inspired by was $4500 USD!

The Flowers

While it is traditional to have bouquets for bridesmaids, flowers on the pews in church and plenty of flowers on the tables for the meal, I chose to be more minimal. After all, while flowers are gorgeous, once cut they don’t live for long, and we’re then just throwing money away.

Sticking to one altar piece for the church, I opted for a long and low that could double up for the reception, and this was transferred to the top table at our venue by our Maid of Honour and Best Man.

There’s no minimising the size of cost of buttonholes (unless you make them up yourself from garden flowers!) but I did opt for wrist corsages for my maid of honour and bridesmaids which were less than half the price of what bouquets would have been. And the bouquet I had I left in a vase at my dad’s next to my Mum’s ashes, so they could enjoy them after I left.

Consider how you can cut down on the cost of floral decorations – perhaps by using a smaller local florist like I did, or perhaps flowers from family gardens if seasonally appropriate?

The Stationery

I haven’t included the costs of the Order of Service in the breakdown because there weren’t any. David printed the interior and I took care of the covers, and this saved the cost of sending them to the printers.

The seating plan was printed on card stock and framed in a wooden frame from my dad’s… the menus also printed on white card stock and glued to blue card with place names attached. All at minimal cost.

Do think about how you can get your stationery costs down!

Final Thought

I think I should leave this here as it has reached almost 3500 words, but I hope that it has been helpful to see how much a wedding can cost even when you’re DIY-ing it as much as possible.

In researching what the costs might be at the start of planning our wedding, I was astonished – and somewhat nauseated! – to see how much some people spend on one day, and was determined to keep the costs as low as possible, even if it meant a time investment rather than a financial one.

A substantial amount of my costs incurred were travel related, which would have brought the total cost to me down by one third, yet the amount I incurred for travel costs was significantly less than what it would have cost our guests to travel to the Netherlands for our wedding instead…

And so, I leave you with this final thought: if you have the desire to DIY a wedding yourself, allow yourself enough time and keep that week before the wedding as clear as possible. I still wake up each morning in a panic that I’m walking down the aisle with my hem coming undone, and had I allowed myself more time, I would not have left my skirt until the week of the wedding and thus be dreaming such dreams!