By Carly Moir – Guest Blogger

If you’ve ever planned a wedding, or been a part of a wedding party, or just watched any kind of TLC wedding show, you know one thing to be true: weddings are expensive.

If you’re a bride-to-be living in the Metro Vancouver area, it’s likely already taken careful planning and budgeting to get engaged in the first place. Between housing prices, the cost of education and starting a family, your wedding has become one of those big-ticket items on your life “to-do” list. If you’re like me, you perhaps had to wait 6 years before getting engaged because the first time you had enough money to get married, you decided moving out of your mother in law’s basement was a bigger priority. But now here you are, engaged, and planning your own wedding…on a budget.

Like many of you, I started compiling a secret wedding board on pinterest (guilty) with creative ideas for DIY decorations and inspiration. One thing I’ve been having trouble with is staying on budget while still being satisfied with the quality of décor items I’ve either rented or decided to make myself.

I’ve noticed dollar store items can be a hard source, especially the good ones. I’ve found myself visiting Michaels or craft stores for the things I wasn’t happy with at the big-box dollar stores, but the problem (as you can probably guess it), is that these craft stores were not within my budget…but I really liked their quality.

Luckily, I stumbled upon a store here in Coquitlam that gave me both value and quality: Dollars & Cents Store in Westwood Plateau. Here are a few of their items that helped me achieve my wedding décor vision.

Centrepieces – Hosting 140 guests for your wedding means that you have at least 15 tables, which means 15 of everything. 15 centerpieces, 15 candle holders, 15 vases and so on. I found a great variety of tall candle holders, tealight holders and vases in store. Using a charger plate or a simple crate like the one above is a great way to add a base for your centerpiece and create varying heights for your items.

Head Table – Marquee lettering has become a great way to add a bit of industrial sparkle to your head table. Use a simple ampersand, a short word, or pair together individual letters to create your own combination.

Chalkboard Signage – One thing I never thought about until organizing my wedding décor was the amount of signage or wayfinding items you need in place for guests. Chalkboards are an affordable option for this task – you can use them for welcome signs, drink menus, or to promote your wedding hashtag.

The smaller details – It’s important to make sure your table numbers are easy to see and have good contrast. I liked these tent cards, they fold up easy and are available well into the double digits if you have a lot of tables. If you don’t like the pricetag on wedding flowers, try using synthetic petals to spread down the aisle for your ceremony – they look just as real in photos! Need a guest book? Try something traditional and affordable like this white and silver foiled one I found in store.

Mason Jars – We’ve seen them everywhere, at markets, at weddings. But we still love them! Versatile as vases, accents, or candle holders, mason jars are a great volume item to help you stay on budget. I was excited to find the Ball brand in store at a good price. They are a durable glass and give that great vintage feel I was after (and look pretty when painted too).

Glitter please – It’s all about the sparkle at weddings this year. Golds, silvers, you name it. In the craft section I found not only a ton of glitter colour options for my DIY items, but also burlap, twine, and these adorable clothespins that I can use on my photo string display frame.

What I loved most is that if I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for in store, the Dollars & Cents team was willing to source out the items for me through their suppliers. Now that’s some great service. Everything I needed in one place and right in my own backyard.

Dollars & Cents has stores in Langley and Coquitlam. If you’d like more information please email dollarsandcentsstores@gmail.com