DI Y
continued Not every bride is as organized as
Julia Katz, 30, who organized an assem-
bly line to make bouquets, garland run-
ners and centerpieces for her June 2016
wedding to Barry Katz, also 30. The
morning before her outdoor ceremony
at the Curtis Arboretum in Cheltenham,
Katz picked up an army of pink, white
and purple blooms, lined up clear glass
vases, and gathered her
family and bridal party on
the patio of her future in-
laws’ Cheltenham house.

“It was stressful,” she allowed, recall-
ing an emergency run to Lowe’s for extra
flowers. “We had eight people working at
9 a.m. Friday morning, and we had to be
done by 2. But it worked out.” Moreover,
full-service flowers for her 150-person
affair “would have been crazy expen-
sive,” added Katz, who also saved money
by hand-lettering her signs and used a
veil handmade by her mother.

For elements like photography,
music and flowers, DIY savings can
be substantial.

Full-service floral design costs up-
ward of $5,000 for a typical wedding,
Love said, while her DIY brides — who
buy bulk flowers and assemble most of
the arrangements themselves — spend
an average of $400 to $700.

But whether they pre-order special-
ly grown blooms for Love ’n Fresh to
assemble or do it themselves, Love said
Jewish couples are noticeably more in-
vested in their flowers.

“The Jewish faith encourages more
appreciation for the natural world. At
least that’s my theory,” she laughed.

The Silverbergs of Media certainly
34 OCTOBER 26, 2017
bear out that theory.

“Woodsy wildflower” is how Michele
Silverberg, who owns a gift-basket busi-
ness, describes the theme for the June
2018 Brandywine Manor wedding of
her son, Jason Silverberg, and his fian-
cée, Jordana Rychik, both 26.

For the couple’s 2017 engagement
party, Michele Silverberg hand-decorat-
ed with dozens of peonies from Love ’n
Fresh. She’d had practice: At her daugh-
ter’s own “terrain”-themed shower a
few years ear-
lier, Silverberg
made center-
pieces of roses
and succulents,
and crafted ter-
rariums as par-
ty favors.

“I’m a visu-
al person, and
I like things a
certain way,
Above: A
and my daughter had
ketubah. Left:
a very specific vision
Wedding favors.

of having a rustic
PHOTOS PROVIDED
wedding that wasn’t
a cookie-cutter ball-
room,” explained Michele, who took a
DIY approach to the 2016 Jewish nup-
tials of her daughter, Jessica Konopka, a
29-year-old Philadelphia art teacher.

For that affair at the Philadelphia
Horticultural Center, Silverberg lined
the aisle with hand-stained wooden
crates that she filled with wildflowers.

She also fashioned a chuppah from a
tablecloth crocheted by her own moth-
er, and hung vintage handkerchiefs on
a decorative board for guests to take
home. “I saw something like it on Pin-
terest,” Silverberg explained.

The social media sites Pinterest and
Instagram, as well as the artisan online re-
tail collective Etsy, are driving both today’s
DIY wedding inspiration and the pressure
to look unique in images that may go viral.

“Now there’s this expectation that
you’re not just going to have your first
dance, but you’re going to have extrava-
gant choreography,” Kaplan-Mayer not-
ed. “You’re in the spotlight, and some
people don’t want to be in the spotlight.”
Some don’t — but others enjoy the
experience of planning a DIY wedding
so much that they look for ways to do
it again. Braceland, who said she is still
sorry her foodie nuptials are over, is now
expanding her photography business to
include full wedding planning.

“I enjoy doing stuff like that,” she said.

“I guess it’s the teacher in me. I love to put
my own personal touches on things.” l
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