Ikea Wedding Decorations- the do’s and the don’ts

Ikea and casinos have a lot in common.  No windows so the passage of time becomes non-exsistant; winding and confusing layout makes it near impossible to find your way to an exit and you might hit the jackpot in money/home furnishing or crap out.

I have a love/hate relationship with Ikea.  Could you tell?  There is no doubt there are treasures to be found, but you should proceed with caution or you just might find yourself with a pile of purchases you can’t use and can’t even pronounce.

Many of my brides have brought me items purchased from Ikea to use in their wedding decor.  Some of the items work and some of them do not.  Here are the top three that Do Not:

Above is a picture of Ikea’s popular vase Recktangel Hey- don’t look at me funny, I didn’t name it!  It is a very popular vase and at 2.49 each I can see why.  The problem with the vase is its dimensions.  Length: 4″, Width: 3 ¼”, Height: 5 ½”.  If you are decorating a 60″ round table this vase simply is not wide enough to make a nice balanced arrangement.  It is a great vase for thin ledges and mantles, like so:

Next we have the Glimma tea light holder:

The problem with the Glimma is there is no protection for the flame from the tea light. Most venues require the flame of the candle be below the glass edge of the votive holder.

Tea lights usually do not burn long enough to last the average reception, anyway.

Here we have the Galej candle holder from Ikea.  The problem with these votive holders lie in the shape.  See how they flare out at the top?  The flare makes it impossible to group the votives together for a lush candle look in the center of the space limited guest table.

You should use a straight sided votive like so:

I know there are a lot of Ikea fans out there and don’t get me wrong, I have spent many hours trapped, I mean shopping there too.  I am just saying- look before you leap.  You do not want to be the one who has to return 150 Glimma votives because they will not work for your wedding decor.

Ha det sa’ bra!