How to Decorate a Wedding With Candles

Candles in a wedding ceremony or on reception tables add a romantic glow

By Julie Hampton

Photo by iStockphoto.com

Candles add soft, glowing light and ambience to a wedding ceremony, and a romantic radiance to evening wedding receptions. From custom-created unity candles to floating centerpieces, candles accentuate the décor, wedding theme and bride's wedding colors. Incorporating candles in a variety of ways in your wedding or reception is easy.

• What You Need to Know
• Wedding candles can play a symbolic or purely decorative role in weddings.
• The unity candle has emerged in recent years as a popular wedding ritual. It is a non-denominational symbol of the uniting of bride and groom families or can indicate a marriage between two persons of different religious backgrounds.

Step 1:

Conduct a unity candle ceremony during the wedding. Held after the bride and groom have said their vows, the ceremony begins with the mothers of the couple handing their son and daughter a lit tapered candle. The bride and groom will simultaneously light a large pillar candle using the two candles. The lighting of the large unity candle represents the unity of the bride and groom. Order a custom-made unity candle with names of the bride and groom, as well as the wedding date.

Step 2:

Choose to make candles centerpieces at the reception tables. Large pillar candles can be surrounded by small blossoms and greenery. Set the candles on a large glass plates to prevent wax from spilling onto the table. Use candles that are different heights from small tea lights to tall, tapered candles. Small votive candles can surround large floral centerpieces. Fill shallow glass bowls with water and allow candles to float. Add flower petals, rocks or glass bobbles to the water for extra color. The candlelight reflecting on the water adds soft, subtle ambience to the table. Candles can also float outdoors in ponds and lakes for a nighttime light show. Add tall, tapered candles to candelabras; sit the candelabras around the guest book, and buffet tables for added height.

Step 3:

Use candles for soft lighting at an evening ceremony or reception. Place lights into lanterns sitting on the ground. Use large glass Mason jars for lanterns. Place 2 to 3 cups of white sand in each jar, and then set the candle inside. Hanging lanterns can also be purchased at most garden and outdoor living stores. Hang lanterns in trees, on windowsills or on the buffet table.

• Tips & Warnings
• Order custom candles several months before the ceremony to ensure candles match the bride's colors.
• Choose unscented candles; scented candles mix with the aroma and taste of the food and can be unappetizing to smell during dinner.
• Use LED candles to avoid fire hazards. Candles look real but are run on small batteries.