Creating the wedding of your dreams doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. Being a DIY bride can be a great way to get the custom, elegant look you want without having to pay for a planner! We created this chic ‘do it yourself’ Nautical Wedding to help inspire you to get this trendy summer wedding look for less!
Creating the look: Every bride wants her wedding to look high end, even if it doesn't cost a fortune! A great "do it yourself" way to achieve a lavish look for your wedding is to layer your look. Incorporating a detailed centerpiece and place setting is a great way to take a basic table and make it refined! We created a fresh and bright centerpiece by incorporating a few eye catching pieces that we could build upon to create a crisp nautical look. 
We started with a personalized navy table runner and some bright white lanterns with round flameless candles inside. We added a nautical feel by bringing in classic navy blue and white striped ribbon and wrapped it around each candle. Next we included quart mason jars, which are a trendy and easy DIY option when it comes to incorporating vases and fresh flowers! We wanted to give our mason jars a little extra something to give them a nautical feel, so we added some natural rope cording to create a mock handle and added in some simple flowers. Lastly, we spray painted some clear wine bottle vases in an elegant gold color and wrapped some of the same rope cording we used for our mason jars around the base. We popped the anchor portion of the themed stir sticks from our bridal custom cocktail (we'll get to this soon!) and affixed it to the bottle for a fun thematic component to tie it all together. We added in some color coordinating flowers from our local produce place (which is a great way to save money and skip a florist!) to complete the look. 
Next we created an exquisite place setting using gold plastic charger plates, white bargain store ceramic plates and linen napkins. The setting was embellished with a nautical blue and white dessert plate. The dessert plate was topped with a chic gold cupcake favor box. We added some extra details on the favor box to tie in our nautical theme by punching color coordinating card stock and adhered a fun anchor detail. We used inexpensive super market cupcakes as our favor and added some crushed blue rock candy to create the illusion of sea glass. The basic store bought cupcake was dressed up in a lace cut cupcake wrapper, giving it an extra romantic look. Guests love favors they can take home and snack on later and cupcake boxes are a perfect way to give an elegant and practical favor. 
Each place setting had a personalized element with a nautical rope knot place card holder adorned with DIY place cards. We took metallic gold forks, knives and spoons and made them posh by adding a nautical knot detail using nautical rope cording and displayed them on themed cake bags, ready with guests to fill with leftover sweets! 
Considering a champagne toast? Add in some gold stem champagne glasses and personalize them to you theme by adding some anchor charms! We even carried the anchor charms over into our handmade bridal bouquet. We loved adding an extra romantic and glamorous look to our chivari wedding chairs using gold glittered fabric, a touch of nautical striped ribbon and some left over flowers from our centerpiece. We personalized the look for our bride and groom by creating monogrammed chair backs using a laser cut chair decoration and gave it the nautical look by creating an "S" out of natural cording. 
If you want to take your event to the next level, consider a DIY dessert and cocktail bar. There's no reason you can't do this on a DIY budget! We displayed our classic nautical themed cake alongside our custom cocktail bar. We brought in nautical details by adding more anchor charms to the gold stem champagne glasses and incorporated adorable anchor stir sticks with fresh fruit. To give our extra table some pizzazz we included a striped nautical wedding pennant banner, themed cake bags, a navy blue DIY anchor, gold votives filled with flowers and trendy over sized jumbo balloons with tassel detailing. We even had the beautiful bridal bouquet on display! 
Don't forget to call on your bridesmaids to help you set up your dream wedding. Taking on DIY elements can seem daunting but by incorporating easy to use products and some of our simple ideas, you can make your budget wedding look extravagant! Styling by Missy & Kristen of Sweetly Chic Events & Design Photography by Lovestruck by Nicole Marie Wedding Cake by Katie's Creative Baking Get more nautical wedding looks check out our DIY Nautical Wedding Centerpiece, DIY Nautical Wedding Monogram Chair Backer, Nautical Wedding Cupcake Favor and our Chic Champagne Cocktail
