A Thanks to the Swedish (IKEA)

So yesterday we made out with a fat haul from IKEA!

I have been searching the web for the best prices on a ton of items for the wedding and so far, I haven't had any luck with any one store or site in particular. Lunabazaar.com has great deals on paper lanterns and Quickcandles.com definitely has the cheapest votive candles... but no one place has been able to satisfy all of my needs. I mean, shopping online is the way to go if you want to save money but the more places you shop from the more shipping fees you are paying! So anyway, I stumbled upon an IKEA ad somewhere and saw these adorable galvanized looking lanterns... then, after perusing the website for a while, I realized they had a TON of stuff I could use (and we all know IKEA is super affordable)!

So I made the trek to IKEA since they don't really ship small items online and I took the fiance with me (IKEA can be intimidating alone and for some reason, his manly sense of direction helps me out... I would literally get lost in that place without him). And here's the haul...

Candles, the large ones were $2 each, the small were $4 for 4, it's hard to tell in this picture, but the small ones aren't votives, they are larger... and the larger ones are for inside the lanterns...

Lanterns. We got 2 at $8 each (they are about a foot tall) Even Marshalls and Ross didn't have lanterns this cheap, plus these ones are way cuter...I'm not 100% sure what we will be using these for but I am thinking some sort of arrangement on the guest book table and maybe the dessert table? How cute will these look with some moss around the bottom of the candle?

Napkins. I just had to snag these, 100 jumbo napkins for $2! I think these will be great for the bar and the dessert table!

A 3 tier serving tray for the dessert table...cupcakes maybe? This was $20 and the best part is that I will totally be using this puppy all of the time (not just for my wedding)

Just one more cake stand, I had to get this one because it was really short (the stand is only about 2 inches high) I needed some varying heights in my cake stands... this came in at $15

A few more flat serving platters for the dessert table, the large white one was about $5 I think and the small one was $3...

These cute little serving dishes were about $2 each, I thought they would be perfect for some after dinner mints or something?? Who knows... but they were $2 so I swiped 'em!

 So my total IKEA haul was somewhere around $90 which isn't bad for how much stuff we got! But I want to take this opportunity to also show off a few other sweet finds that have found their way into my wedding pile...

So... a tiny back story... I found these really awesome women at the bridal show I went to and basically what they do for a living is rent out adorable vintage wedding decor to brides. They have everything from furniture to mason jars that you can rent. Well I was super excited to use them, but after I got a quote, their prices just weren't in my budget. But then I realized that a lot of their stuff, although more valuable because of the "vintage" aspect , I could probably just buy (and own) for the same price (or cheaper)... so here are a few of my finds...

Lace tablecloths, they don't look so cute in the packaging, but they are pretty and they are a pretty good size. The vintage rental place charged $15 each to rent, I found all 3 for under $28

Found this 17 gallon galvanized bucket for $23, and although the rental gals only charged $20, once again, I get to keep this puppy... I am going to use this as an ice chest for water bottles during our ceremony... and THEN for beers at our many future barbeque's!

I needed a few larger chalkboard for a few of my ideas and although the rental gals' chalkboards were cuter (more intricate frames), these were way cheaper. I got the 23"x35" for $19.99 and the 17"x23" for $11.99, the vintage rental place wanted $30 each for smaller boards... so I saved almost $30 and I can keep these chalkboards for some non-wedding projects I have in mind!

So that is it for now, I just had to share my good deals, because for the most part when it comes to weddings, even a good deal is ridiculously expensive... and plus, it's nice when I can spend my money knowing that I am buying something that I can use for a long time and not just one day!