Reading About Using A Wedding Unity Candle

This page is about using the wedding ceremony unity candle. At my wedding, we used a beautiful white candle which I had placed on a table off to my right as I faced the altar.

I covered the side table with a beautiful white doily and placed the unity candle in the middle with two white tapers in brass candle holders. The best man lit the tapers right before the ceremony started, once my mother was seated.

If you use a unity candle, be sure to bring it, along with your doily, tapers, candle holders, and a lighter to the rehearsal. Set it all up, just like you want it for the wedding. Actually light all of the candles during your wedding rehearsal. Make sure they light and stay lit. Make sure an air conditioning or heating vent is not blowing on them, causing them to go out during the ceremony.

Before the rehearsal, decide who will light the candles, where the lighter will come from, where the lighter will go after the tapers are lit, and exactly when they will be lit. That way, everything will go smoothly during the rehearsal and the actual wedding.

Some couples have their mothers light the tapers right before they are seated. Others have one or two ushers or other members of their families light the tapers.

Then the bride and groom each pick up a tape and light the wedding ceremony unity candle together. They then put the tapers back, blow them out and leave the unity candle lit.

Some couples leave the tapers burning as well, which is fine. We blew our tapers out at my wedding once we had lit the unity candle to show that our individual lives were now unified as a couple in Christ.

Decide exactly what you will do in regard to the wedding ceremony unity candle portion of the service before the rehearsal so you can practice it at the rehearsal and even before then.

At my wedding, we had a friend sing a solo during this time. It was very meaningful. Thank you, Denise. You did a beautiful job! (Just in case you want to know which song we chose, it was "There Is Love.") Another option is to have the pastor or someone else read Scripture such as Genesis 2:20-24 or I Corinthians 13:1-8 during the lighting of the wedding ceremony unity candle.

Our pastor read the passage from Genesis 2:20-24 at the beginning of our wedding.

A wedding unity candle is a beautiful way to start your married life together as husband and wife. A unity candle is a large pillar candle that is lit together by the bride and groom during the wedding ceremony. Before the wedding starts, two tapers on either side of the pillar candle are lit. Then, during the appointed time, the bride and groom each pick up a taper and together they light the pillar symbolizing the joining of their lives as one with Christ in the center of their relationship. This is especially meaningful when the bride and groom are born-again believers.

During the lighting of the candle, you can choose to have the pastor read about the wedding unity candle. You can also have music playing in the background to make the moment sweeter. We had a friend sing "There Is Love" while we lit our candle. The bride and groom in the photo above are me and my husband lighting our wedding unity candle.

Below are two sample readings that the pastor or someone else can read before or during the lighting.

Sample Reading One

The lit candles represent the bride and groom. They now commit their lives to each other in unity, with Jesus Christ at the center of their relationship.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:4-6, "Haven't you read...at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." NIV

Sample Reading Two

___________ and __________ stand in the presence of God today, declaring their love and commitment to each other and to Him. The lighting of the middle candle symbolizes the union of their lives. From now on, they will live and grow together with Christ, the light of the world, leading their way.

Once the candle is lit, the bride and groom can blow out the tapers to symbolize their separate lives being over as they become one in love or all three candles can be left to burn, symbolizing the unity of the bride and groom with Jesus Christ as the head of their new home.

If you are planning an outdoor wedding, it is sometimes difficult for candles to stay lit so instead of candles, you can have a wedding sand ceremony.

You can use a plain white or cream-colored pillar. These can be found at Wal-Mart or even at dollar stores. Or you can visit a candle specialty shop or a Christian bookstore and find beautifully decorated candles to use during your wedding ceremony. Ours has a Bible verse on it. We bought it at Wicks N Sticks long ago before they closed. They were a wonderful candle chain.

You can also decorate a plain pillar with beads, pearls, or special candle paint. A decorative candle ring can also be used. I used a ring of pink flowers around the pillar and golden candlesticks for the tapers. Get creative. After the wedding, keep your unity candle and display it in your home near some wedding photos so you can remember your wedding day.