If you are putting together a wedding and plan to have a unity candle as part of the ceremony, you may wish to think outside the box.
Traditionally, the unity candle involves three candles. The bride has one, the groom the other, and their two lighted candles light the third candle. This is achieved to stand for the getting together of the two people to make one unit. In some alternate methods, members of the family are invited to participate in the unity candle lighting, often the mothers of the the happy couple, or other close members of the household. Each family then lights a candle, and together they light the unity candle to symbolize of the coming of the families.
Now, there are a couple of twists you can include to this fairly conventional aspect of a church wedding ceremony. You can supply each guest with an unlit candle when they get to the ceremony. After the happy couple lights the unity candle, they can ask the guests to move to the front of the church (or wherever the ceremony is being held) and light their candles with the lighted unity candle. This can take a bit of time and may well be best with a smaller guest list. But it is a meaningful way to not merely get your invited guests mixed up in ceremony itself, but also symbolize the union of friends and relations with the marriage.
If there is a huge guest list and it would be a prohibitive waste of time to do a candle lighting involving everyone at the ceremony, some newlyweds like to bring the unity candle to the reception. Light the candle again and offer each guest with a small votive candle (the candle holder will be on the tables at individual table settings). As guests come into the reception area or hall, they can light their votive and take it to their table to place into the votive holder. This small votive candle can double as a wedding favor gift, specially if you decorate or enhance a plain votive candleholder in a few way to coordinate with your wedding.
Of course, you can forget having a unity candle at the ceremony altogether. Many brides nowadays are trying to reduce the length of the ceremony and spend more time planning the reception. In that light, some choose to take away a unity candle altogether. You can for certain do this, or you can reduce it out of the ceremony and make it part of the reception.
To do this, you can utilize the votive candle alternative suggested above, or you can easily incorporate the unity candle lighting into the reception pursuits themselves. For example, you may select a quiet moment in the reception to possess a lighting of the unity candle. It can be during a short prayer before the serving of the meal, or right before the cake is cut. In this instance, the unity candle can then be used as decoration on the cake table. As the bride and groom cut the cake and pieces are served to guests, the candle can likewise serve as a reminder of the couple’s new bond and that the bond is shared with all the guests as well.
Although having a unity candle at the wedding ceremony or reception isn’t necessary, it is certainly an alternative that lots of brides and grooms decide to include. But it is essential to remember that as with so much surrounding wedding planning there are techniques to make it unique and fascinating and special to the pair getting married.
Keith has been writing articles online for nearly 4 years now. Not only does this author specialize in wedding photography you can also check out his latest video on Wedding Photographer London. Information is not hard to find for Wedding Photographer In London if you look hard enough. Keith’s video has lots of information on Wedding Photographer North London and is available for any questions you may have. You can find us at Wedding Photographer, London,9 Holles Street,London,W1G 0BD,0845 095 7169
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