How To Sell to a DIY Couple

By Adrienne Woolsey

As if I didn’t spend enough time perusing Pinterest already, since getting engaged, it seems that I frequent my Pinterest app more and more looking for wedding inspiration and budget friendly DIY ideas.

Pinterest no longer acts solely as an online inspiration board- it is changing the way we do weddings in the U.S. Pinterest’s largest demographic is made up of females aged 25-34, which also happens to coincide with the average ages of brides.

And I’m not the only one planning a Pinterest wedding: there has been an influx of DIY elements and personalization appearing in weddings recently. Pinterest has opened the doors for personalization in the wedding industry and attracts many people looking for DIY inspiration and budget ideas.

DIY: Friend or Foe?

The Pinterest/DIY trend doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, and it’s both a blessing and a curse for wedding vendors. While Pinterest is a great tool to help you envision a client’s ideas and wishes for their big day, it also has the potential to inspire clients to make things and do things themselves that they may have hired you for.

One of the ways to deal with this as a wedding vendor is to adapt to the DIY way and offer services for DIY couples or to help educate couples on what they are really getting themselves into when their Pinterest inspiration has led them to DIYing large portions of their big day.

Here’s some tips on how you can overcome some of the most common DIY objections from clients.

    1.  “I don’t have the budget to do anything other than DIY!”

RESPONSE: “Yes, incorporating DIY elements in your wedding can save money, but beware of hidden costs!”

A great example is choosing a more traditional wedding venue vs. holding a large event in a backyard. Once you start adding all the rental items needed to turn your backyard into your perfect venue you may soon realize that costs are about equal to having your wedding in a venue that comes with inclusions (think tents, tables, chairs, bathrooms, linens, dishes…)

    2.  “I want to DIY my wedding so I am able to put my personal spin on everything!”

RESPONSE: “Personalization turns a wedding into your wedding; a great wedding professional will help you do that without the stress of doing everything yourself.”

Help couples choose the elements they’d like to DIY. Do you want to spend all your nights before the wedding crafting? Remind them of the age old wisdom of “Time is Money” – their time is worth a lot as well!

    3.  “I’m confident I can DIY it – I have my Pinterest board with tutorials!”

RESPONSE: “Pinterest is a great inspiration resource, but take everything with a grain of salt. Many ‘easy’ do-it-yourself photos may actually be from an event that was done by a professional.”

“Pinterest fails,” as they are called, are extremely common, so encourage your DIY couples to do practice runs of their DIY projects because results may vary!

For example, a florist could advise clients that while Pinterest suggests placing flowers in a mason jar full of dirt for a rustic look, doing so will quickly kill your arrangements!

At the end of the day, wedding professionals are called professionals for a reason. You have the experience and know how that many DIYers do not, which can be invaluable!

Have any wedding DIY horror stories or success stories to share? How is your business dealing with and adapting to DIY trends?