How to DIY Your Own Wedding Signage

Instead of doing wedding day programs, I put my time and effort into creating wedding weekend brochures. We didn’t have a huge wedding party, and our ceremony was short and sweet, so I didn’t see a need for the programs.

One important detail I wanted to get across to my guests, however, was the timeline of the event. I have been to weddings where I have had no idea what the order of events will be, or how long each portion of the event will last, and that causes me great anxiety.

I knew this was a small but important detail, and after quoting out different vendors and looking at different materials, I decided to DIY a small sign that would go next to the card box and guest book.

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What You Will Need to Recreate this Project

• One ornate chipboard shape (11 inches)
• White or pearl white paint for the background
• Rose gold paint for lettering, or whatever color works for your color scheme
• Sponge brush and small paint brush
• Carbon paper
• Access to Canva, or even Microsoft Word could work. (I used Canva, and use it a lot for my projects. When I did this project, I used the free web app.)
• Painter’s tape (You could probably use other regular Scotch tape, but I wanted to be sure my background paint wouldn’t be disturbed.)
• Printer and printer paper
• Scissors
• Pen
• Optional: Display Easel, $1.99 at Tuesday Morning

Time Investment

It’s difficult to estimate the time this project takes because of the paint drying times, but I would say the most time-intensive parts of this project are the tracing stage and the painting stage.

This was one of the last wedding projects I did, and I think it could easily be completed in a single weekend.

Why I DIYed

This project was cost effective for me because I already had a lot of the materials from other wedding crafts, such as the paint, the paint brushes, the carbon paper, and the painter’s tape.

I bought most of my supplies during my DIY wedding crafting process from Hobby Lobby because it is the closest craft store to my house. I found I got a lot of inspiration and ideas from walking through the aisles that I wouldn’t have gotten just from looking online.

There were many great vendor/artists that I found that I loved, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t able to pull the trigger on spending hundreds of dollars on signage, and since this was one of the last details I attended to, I didn’t have enough time to request a custom piece.

I would say it is possible to do this project for $20 or less, especially if you already have the supplies from other projects or just in your craft room.

Making Your Sign

Step One: Paint the Background

Paint the background of the chip board. I didn’t want a solid background as I was going with more of a classic rustic look, so I streaked the sponge brushes on the board. This was done just by dragging the brush all the way down the board until the paint ran out. I probably put two coats of paint on to create the background.

Step Two: Design Your Text

In Canva, I created a 10 x 10 inch blank design. For the “Welcome” text, I used 120 size Brusher font, and 56 size Sunday font.

You can use any fonts you would like, and lay them out however works best for your content.

After you have printed out your text, don’t be afraid to cut the paper and move the text around. I cut the “Welcome” off from the rest of the schedule so I could move it around and make it work better.

Step Three: Trace Your Text

Make sure the background paint has dried.

Once I was sure that the text size worked with the size of the sign, I trimmed the edges of the paper.

When you trim the edges of the paper to make the paper fit more comfortably for tracing, make sure you don’t cut too close to the words. There will still need to be room to add the painter’s tape onto the paper.

Place the carbon paper with the carbon side down onto the chip board. Put your printed out design on top of the carbon paper.

Once you are sure everything is straight and you are happy with it, secure the carbon paper and paper design with the painter’s tape.

Use a pen to trace the outline of the letters. Doing just the outline of the letters will provide you with guidelines for where to paint.

Tip: Tracing can be very tedious. If you get tired, take a break! Trying to just “get it done” can create unfortunate mistakes, and erasing or painting over carbon marks can be difficult. Take your time!

Step 4: Paint Your Letters

Using a very fine brush, fill in the numbers and letters with your paint. Depending on the color and the quality of the paint you use, it could take two to three coats of paint to get the text to pop.

Step 5: Choose How You Are Going to Display Your Sign

After everything has dried, choose how you want to display your sign. I found a very cheap easel stand at Tuesday Morning that worked well with this sign.

Based on the price sticker, it was made to display five-inch plates, and was $1.99. Every Tuesday Morning is different (which I love!), so you never know what you will find.

And Now You Have a Sign!

While I go through the steps for this one sign, this process could be applied and customized to do all of your wedding signage, especially if you are on a budget.

Did you DIY any of your wedding or event signage? If so, let me know how you did it!

Good luck to you, DIY brides and hosts! If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!