Heather Cook and Ashlyn Carter.

_{Photo by Jackie Wonders Photography}

With the economy being less than ideal as of late, it’s no surprise that do-it-yourself has become a noticeable nuptial trend popping up on such well-known wedding blogs as 100 Layer Cake, Style Me Pretty and The Wedding Chicks. Brides are cutting costs by making such essentials as decorations, veils and boutonnieres.

According to Ashlyn Carter and Heather Cook, founders of San Diego wedding planning company Carter & Cook Event Co., budget mindedness contributes to the trend, but it’s not the whole story.

Carter and Cook met while working at a Rancho Bernardo-based event planning company. It was during the many hours spent carpooling together that they began dreaming about having their own wedding planning company. Their dream became a reality in June 2008.

“The DIY bride really took off last year,” says Carter. “Brides are willing to do the dirty work for a cute wedding. There were a lot less formal and fancy weddings, and more creative and artsy.”

“Weddings are more personal," adds Cook. "It’s a way to show the unique personalities of the bride and groom.”

And it’s not just the bride and groom putting in the work, family and friends chip in with their expertise as well – it becomes a community effort.

“People are moving away from the traditional, formal cake,” says Cook.

“It’s a do-it-yourself dessert bar, a labor of love, with grandma’s favorite cookies, homemade cobblers and pies, smaller desserts,” says Carter.

Out are the stuffy, over-the-top weddings of yesterday, what you’d see on WE TV’s Platinum Weddings. What’s in vogue is a more creative approach – along the lines of wedding e-zine Utterly Engaged, which features ideas that won’t break the bank.

“Simple is in, and 2010 will be more of the same – simple tables, simple flowers; less is more, especially budget-wise,” says Carter.

Closely connected to this trend is the leaps-and-bound growth of the popular site Etsy.com, an online marketplace for all things vintage and handmade where brides-to-be can find everything from hair flair to invitations that are more personal than pricey. This seems a bit like cheating, as it contradicts the definition of “do-it-yourself,” which also brings up the question, wouldn’t DIY weddings mean less involvement from wedding planners?

“It really doesn’t take away the need for us because it becomes more of a collaboration between us and the bride,” says Cook.

Carter adds, “They still need a lot of help; they want to be different and unique, and we help bring out those aspects of the couple and come up with the ideas. Really, the trend is that they hire us to ‘do-it-yourself.’ ”

“And we’re both crafty people, so that’s our favorite part,” says Cook.