Julie Finn
A handmade welcome sign is a terrific way to incorporate a DIY element into your wedding decor. Not only is it an easy way to save a little on your wedding budget, but a personalized, DIY wedding welcome sign is a showpiece for theming that is often best represented with that handmade touch.
Even if you’re on the fence about the idea of DIYing any part of your wedding decor, check out these DIY wedding welcome signs, below. Admire how beautiful they are, marvel at how personal and unique each one is, and then get inspired to make your own personal, unique, beautiful wedding welcome sign!
1. Acrylic Sign
It wouldn’t be a great idea to have a large glass sign sitting on a tiny, mostly decorative easel, but acrylic is sturdier and less prone to shattering into billions of painful shards. Take a swing through the thrift stores until you find the perfect poster frame for this project, or go ahead and substitute thrifted picture frame glass if you can be confident about storage, travel, and display safety.
2. Antiqued Mirror Sign
The antiquing on this mirror makes it look really special, and you can stencil any words of welcome directly onto it. I like that you do get the effect of extra reflected light with this antiqued mirror, but you don’t get such a direct reflection that people are standing in front of your sign and straightening their skirts and picking their teeth.
3. Chalkboard
Since you can buy chalkboard panels from hardware stores or chalkboard paint anything that will sit still long enough, the possibilities for a hand-drawn chalkboard welcome sign are endless! Instead of actual chalk, use chalk paint pens to draw your sign–they look just like chalk, but have to be washed off, so you know they’ll last the whole wedding.
4. Directional Signpost
This would be so fun for an outdoor wedding–this way to the bar, and that way to the bathrooms!
5. DIY Block Signs
I like that these blocks are made by hand, from cutting them out to painting on the words. Keep them and if you have kids, they’ll have a starter set of the sweetest blocks to play with.
6. Double-Sided Hanging Wooden Sign
If you’re going to hang your welcome sign, you should probably make sure that it looks perfect from both directions!
7. Faux Chalkboard Sign
Here’s an easy way to get the look of a chalkboard sign without having to deal with… you know… chalk. The secret ingredient? Black posterboard!
8. Faux Etched Mirror
Sneakily substituting materials can be a lot quicker, easier, and more eco-friendly than the real deal! Here, instead of using harsh chemicals to etch a mirror, you simply use clings that give the same effect. Peel them off afterwards, and keep using that mirror!
9. Framed Wooden Sign
I love all the different looks that you can get from this one method!
10. Large-Scale Plywood Word Art
Write a word of welcome or your new shared last name, and write it BIG!
11. Light-Up Sign
This handmade sign, complete with inset twinkle lights, is perfect for an outdoor evening wedding or reception, or just an extra-festive party!
12. Painted Farmhouse Sign
This is not a super-quick build, but it IS heirloom-quality, so you can display it in your home forever.
13. Portable PVC Pipe And Concrete Flag Stand
Okay, this is not a sign, but it IS a portable, DIY sign holder!
14. Ribbon-Hinged Sign
Using ribbon as a hinge only works for smaller signs, so save this for a tabletop-sized welcome sign.
15. “Rustic” Wooden Board
If your scrap wood doesn’t look as beat-up as it ought, you can DIY that! Afterward, paint or stencil your welcome sign as usual.
16. Traced And Hand-Painted Wooden Signs
Lower the required skill set to the equivalent of tracing a line and filling in a coloring book page and still come away with a beautiful hand-painted wooden sign! The secret ingredient here is Photoshop, and the ability to use it.
17. Vinyl And Plywood
Normally I am dead-set against using vinyl, but here it’s not so bad. Considering the amount of signage that this couple created, the vinyl used is pretty minimal, and it would be easy enough to sand it off after the wedding and reuse the plywood.
18. Whitewashed Welcome Sign
It wouldn’t be hard to add names and a date to this sign, but I like that it’s to the point!
19. Wooden Sign With Faux Greenery
I don’t love plastic faux greenery, but greenery and flowers made from felt would be really pretty–AND eco-friendly!
20. Wood Pallet Sign
You really can make ANYTHING with a wood pallet! Look for one that’s weathered nicely and instead of sanding the snot out of it, just seal it really, really well.
Looking to add even more DIY elements to your wedding? Here are 18 different styles of wedding bouquets that you can make, and 24 different wedding dresses to DIY!
