candelit outdoor evening wedding ceremony

1717kallan

We are planning on getting married under the stars in the evening by candlelight but I am worried that there will not be enought light for my guests to see us and for the photos to come out well.  We are stringing Christmas lights on the railing and there will be light from the windows of the building and we will have candles next to us at the alter...Does anyone have any suggestions as to how too make my ceremony romantic and full of candles but light enough so that it looks breathtaking? 

jagore08

Will your guests also be holding candles?  I've seen pictures of what you're talking about and it's beautiful.  Also, maybe get large hurricane vases (you can sometimes find them at Goodwill) and line your aisle with them and have candles inside.

danieliza1127

Here's some info and pictures:

http://dayofdreams.com/Ceremonies_By_Candlelight.htm

ldn1824

Oh that sounds so beautiful! That is what I wanted, but FI talked me into early evening because we were afraid the pictures wouldn't come out. Have you talked to your photographer? I second the hurricane idea and you could also do some of the hanging lanterns. I'm sure once you get it set up you will know and you can always add more lighting before the ceremony if you make sure you have extras on hand. Guests holding candles sounds very romantic too.

angiem33

How about an "uplighting" kind of effect around the perimeter of the ceremony and guest seating?  Or the hanging japanese lanterns if they will go with your decor - I saw this at a desination wedding on a beach in jamaica they had strung up the japanese paper lanters above the guest seating it was absolutely gorgeous!

MooreDawson

Ours is outdoors after dark as well. We're doing the string lights around the fencing and around the roof of house. We have candle lanterns for centerpices, also using net lighting for all the trees, paper lanterns in white and purple. We're doing a trial run in just one corner of the yard with our photographer next week to make sure it will be enough (It almost sounds like too much). I didn't want to come up to the day of and not have enough lighting. I figured we could set up all the lights the night before and decide if we wanted to take some away.

1717kallan

Will you post the pics or let me know how the light turned out?  Thanks!

MooreDawson

So here's what we found out.
It's not enough. Not by far, but the photog told us it would be a simple fix. String lighting. A few strands above the whole area and it will add enough light. Also things that we help are if you're photographer has a fast prime lens and extra flashes with wireless remotes he can place at different angles. And of course a nighttime flash. Most likely he's already equipped with these things, but I'd double check anyways.

MooreDawson

PS ~ the paper lanterns are absolutely GORGEOUS in the pictures as are the glass candle lanterns we have...but they do NOTHING to provide sufficient lighting for pictures. We are going to get extra votives to place around the table so there will be enough. Also, the net lighting in the trees helps a lot, as do the lights around the fence so people don't trip on stairs/low walls and other hazards associated with backyards. hope your goes wonderfully! I'll post pics of ours when it's all said and done in three weeks!

sof0830

great ideas. WE've got an event lighting company doing the lighting for our entire backyard where the ceremony and party will take place. Also included will be uplighting and string lighting all over. Also, in the tent we are renting, there is perimeter lighting and we've got over 288 votive holders with LED tea light candles. We wanted these because we were afraid to have real candles "Blow out"...GOOD luck!!!!