If you’re recently engaged – congratulations – you’re probably already deep down the social media rabbit hole that is wedding inspiration. From Pinterest boards to your Instagram saved folder, there’s no shortage of source material to pull from for your big day.
While this overwhelmingly deep pool of source material can be extremely useful, it can lead many brides into the trap of blowing their budget.
How much could that custom welcome signage really cost? Or handmade menus, personalised stationery or embossed napkins at the bar?
The answer is: a lot.
According to findings from EasyWeddings, Australian couples typically spent 23% more than their original wedding budget, with the national average coming in at $38,252.
In popular Reddit thread /AusWeddingPlanning, many brides-to-be lament that this figure is actually way below average, questioning how any couple has come in “under 40K”. The responses suggest smaller guest numbers, cheap overseas destinations and skipping high-cost vendors like videography.
For the bride who is savvy, creative and impeccable in taste, the secret lies elsewhere: DIY.
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Once considered kitchy or naff, handmade stationery, gifts and more have become undeniably chic. It’s not just the rising budget figures driving this trend, but the desire for customisation and personalisation. Brides (and grooms) no longer want to copy and paste the same cookie-cutter templates they’ve already seen all over social media. It’s the unique that proves most cool.
Now, if you’ve fallen deep down that aforementioned rabbit hole, you’ve likely also stumbled upon a subset of wedding planning social media responsible for the rise of the DIY bride: the Cricut.
For the uninitiated, a Cricut is a compact cutting machine that turns digital designs into precisely cut paper, vinyl, fabric and more — think of it as a home printer, but for crafting rather than paper documents.
Scroll TikTok under #weddingcricut, and you’ll find brides cutting their own iron-on napkins, foiling menu cards, stamping out favour tags shaped like tiny cacti or seashells (destination wedding, anyone?), and turning cardstock into save-the-dates that look suspiciously like they cost a small fortune. Cake toppers, table numbers, even monogrammed champagne flutes — if it can be personalised, someone’s found a way to Cricut it.
With the cutting tool starting around $249 and welcome signs averaging upward of $105-$190, menus around $200-$270 for 100, and full wedding stationery averaging $500-$1,000, the maths speaks for itself.
It’s worth noting that Design Space has a learning curve and a “quick DIY project” has a habit of eating an entire weekend — especially once you’re three iron-on napkins deep and the vinyl keeps peeling wrong. But if you have a creative side and genuinely find joy in designing something yourself, trust me when I say it will be worth any initial pain points.
The honest advice: start small. Test the machine on something low-stakes — save-the-dates, gift tags — before committing to your welcome sign with six weeks to go. And know your limits – a few late nights at the kitchen table are expected; a stationery meltdown the week of your wedding is not. By the time you’ve mastered all the tricks, you’ll be hooked and probably offering to create stunning one-of-a-kind creations for your loved ones’ weddings, too.
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