A $900 backdrop for $40!

Hey guys! I hope everyones well and enjoying the heat! Today is all about our take on a wedding cake and our backdrop that I made!

When deciding on the big decorations for our big day, I knew that I wanted to make our backdrop that we would stand in front of to say I do. The venue we got married at was beautiful! It barely needed any decorations, and what I did add, I didn't want to take away from the beauty of the building.

Located in Fayetteville, NC Studio 215 has a rich history dating back to 1937 when the building was opened as an auto repair garage. In 2015 the owners turned it into an event space that is quickly becoming the most popular in town. I don't know about everyone else, but for us our deciding factor on using this amazing space was the fact that it provided the perfect opportunity for a DIY wedding. Every where else in town only allows you to use a small list of their own pre-selected vendors, while Studio 215 does the exact opposite (but for the less crafty brides, they provide a very long, detailed list of recommended vendors).

As you can tell, the venue is VERY industrial and we absolutely loved it. Because of this, whatever we used as a backdrop/alter we didn't want to take away from the brick wall, instead we wanted to enhance it. After searching and searching Pinterest, we came across a picture that would be PERFECT in front of the windows and brick wall.

When I found this picture, I knew it would be pretty simple to make. However, on top of everything else I figured finding a vendor that would have the set up would just save me some time. I would have thought that it would be a backdrop that wouldn't cost too much going through a vendor but oh was I wrong. They quoted my $950. For fabric guys. Come on!

Instead! I emailed the venue and asked for the height of floor to ceiling. I then went to Jo-anns (where there are ALWAYS sales going on) and bought about 50 inches of fabric. If you're going to do this, remember to add multiple inches of extra fabric so you get a nice drape. The fabric I got was the last of its type in store so it was half off, I only spent $30! Then, I went to Lowes and bought 2 pvc pipes, and thats it! All you have to do, is cut one pole in half, and then wrap the top of the fabric over the pipe and secure. You can do this by sewing it, however I used iron on adhesive and it only took 5 minutes. How you hang it, is up to you and what look you want. We kept it simple and used clear fish wire from Walmart ($4).

Next, I hate cake. All kinds, I cannot stand it. A isn't too big on cake either. But you know what we do like, what everyone likes? Doughnuts! So, instead of spending HUNDREDS on cake that would essentially just go to waste, we went to our favorite local doughnut shop (Duck Doughnuts) and got 3 different flavors that would be the most popular. Guess what, we only spent $102

This was probably the biggest hit of our wedding (next to the taco bar). The best part, there were left overs. SOOOO many leftovers, that everyone got to take home because it wasn't a huge cake. You're probably wondering whats with the cheesecake on top? That was the ONE oopsie from the entire day. Naive me thought that I would be able to get a simple, one layer, 9 inch white cake for the top (for us to cut into) however, everyone in town needed a weeks notice. I figured going around to the ready made bakery sections in the supermarkets, I would find one. Again, nope. But I did find a small cheesecake, and while we don't like cake, we LOVE cheesecake. So that was our cake topper and it was great!

Next, will be the small, and random details left throughout the wedding and how I added a personal touch to our big day.

xo-B