Sparkles for the Win

So, my wedding dress needed a belt - a very sparkly belt. Really, it would be impossible for the belt I wore to be too sparkly. Rhinestones... crystals... beading... I'll take it all! The downside of course, is that sparkly bridal belts retail for between $100-$300 and up. Mmmmm no. I felt certain that I could do this myself and save quite a lot of cash.

So I googled "sequin appliques" and gathered my materials...

Firstly, I laid out all my sparkly appliques upon my satiny sash to figure out how many I needed (measure your waist first and leave room for the bow or fastener!):

Then, I scooted my appliques off the sash, in preparation for sticking them on in a more permanent manner:

I pulled out the fabric glue, and one by one dotted each applique and affixed them to the sash (dotting is important, so the appliques don't become inflexible!)

So on and so forth...

Now, the gluing part went SO fast, like I was done in 15 minutes - but then I realized that gluing alone wouldn't be sturdy enough with all the dancing and falling over I plan to do at my wedding. This meant some stitchin'. I [kinda] carefully stitched around the outline of each applique to be sure those suckers weren't going anywhere they weren't supposed to.

Finally, in great excitement, I rushed into my room to try out my brand new $43 sash. I put on my dress all by myself (NOT EASY,) and I of course had to put my fancy shoes on, too. The moment of truth...

That sash was too dang skinny... I needed a wider sash! Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The next day I went to my first dress fitting, where I showed my sash to my incredibly amazing seamstress, and she said "You know... I don't think you need a sash at all." She was right.

Wasted DIY time!!!

Or.... is this a win? I don't have to make a new beaded sash. My amazing seamstress is making the non-beaded sash FOR me. Suddenly, the situation has turned around... 

Did I mention that she's also making my veil because she is 10,000 times better at it than I would be, and it won't cost $300? Another thing that I don't have to fail out in my attempts to save money. Jealous, aren't you! ;)

Anybody make their own beaded sash successfully? Or are you full of fail, like me? Tips and commiseration appreciated.