Unity Candle Ceremony

samantha1008

This is probably a dumb question, but I just want to get every ones point of view to make sure.  We are having an outdoor wedding so we are using hurricane vases so the candles don't blow out.  I was reading some things on the unity candle ceremony and it was saying that the bride and groom would take the smaller candles that their parents lit to light the bigger one together.  Well we won't be able to pick up the smaller candles to light ours.  Since the candles will be in vases.  We will have to use like a candle lighter.  My stupid question is since we have to do it that way with a lighter, will it look bad?

theluckiest555

could you use a matches? i feel like that wouldn't be as noticable, and you could light the matches from the candles that are already burning. would that work?

DramaGeek

The idea of lighting from the smaller candles is that you're lighting a new candle to represent the joining of two families.  I feel like you're going to lose a lot of the symbolism if you skip the tapers and just use lighters.  Since you're doing an outdoor ceremony, maybe switch to sand instead of candles?  Or, to make it a shorter time that the candles burn, have your parents light them right before that part of the ceremony.  So, officiant invites parents up, they light the tapers, hand off to you, you two light the pillar together, then put the tapers in the hurricanes.

ctigna26

you could get some sort of stick like a wooden skewer or something to use to take the flame from the tappers to the big candle. I agree it would kind of lose the meaning if you don't use the tapers to light the big candle. I'm doing this as well but I will be inside in a church so the candle blowing out isn't too much of a problem.