Weddingbee Blog

Sometimes you are able to find just what you need in unexpected places. To prove this, I shall tell you the story of our votive candles. (What? It was windy the day we bought these!)

When I first came up with our yet-to-be-unveiled centerpiece design, I knew I wanted votive candles on each table. I also knew, per the Vandiver’s rules, the candle holder had to extend high enough to be above the candle’s flame. I also knew I didn’t want to spend a ton of moolah on candles. So first I headed off to my beloved Dollar Tree.

Unfortunately, the Dollar Tree has tons of candles and tons of holders, but none were quite right. The candles were mostly scented, and the holders weren’t quite what I was looking for. Scented candles by food seemed unwise, so I turned my search online. Online I discovered 72 unscented votive candles with 72 glass holders that looked to be the correct size, all for about $40. In case you are bargain hunting, it came from Quick Candles. This would have been perfectly fine, and I was just starting to think about placing an order even though 72 candles is way more than we needed.

But then Mr. Lox and I went to Ikea on a completely unrelated errand. He was just starting to lose patience with me when I saw them. The perfect little votive holders.

Pay no attention to the errant scrapbooking paper on my table. You can tell what I was doing yesterday.

Next to the holders were 12 packs of black and white votives. This almost sunk the whole deal, as I really wanted all white. But after we realized all-white packages weren’t to be had, I decided that having black and white candles on the table couldn’t be all bad. I mean, will it?

It’ll add interest. I mean, right?

I decided this would work, especially at these prices. I bought enough to have four candles (two white, two black) on each table. That’s nine packages of the votive holders (four to a pack) and three twelve packs of votives (six white and six black in each pack). Here’s the total haul:

Looks kind of impressive, right?

And here’s a sneak peek of what will go on each table.

What, you thought I was going to show you the whole centerpiece? But it’s so fun to tease…

What, you might ask, was the cost breakdown on these?

• Packs of 12 votive candles $2.99 ea. x 3 = $8.97
• Four pack of glass votive holders $1.49 ea. x 9 = $13.41
• Total = $22.38

Now, the candles online were cheaper per unit; however, we just don’t need that many, so it wasn’t really the better bargain. I’m quite proud of our haul today.

Did you ever find wedding items in unexpected places?

All photos taken by me on my messy dining room table.