A Unity Candle Ceremony can easily be added to any marriage ceremony.
It is placed near the end of the ceremony, following the Exchange of Rings.
However, the mother’s usually lights the two outer candles as they are escorted forward at the beginning of the ceremony. If there are breezes present, they may want to light the taper candles just prior to the Unity Candle Ceremony.
A Unity Candle set consists of two slender candles (called tapers) and a large center candle. They are usually white candles.
The Unity Candle Ceremony is a popular choice for both religious and non-religious ceremonies because it is nondenominational and has no religious significance.
The two outer candles represent your individual lives before today. They represent all that you are from your past experiences, and they represent your individual families. As you each take a single candle and light the center candle, you will extinguish your individual candles.
Often the Bride will blow out the Groom’s taper candle and the Groom will blow out the Brides taper candle. This represents the closing of the chapters in your individual Books of Life and the beginning of new chapters as you begin to write a new book of Life as wife and husband!
If you would like to have the entire audience participate, give everyone a candle as they enter.
When lighting the Unity Candle, each of you turns and share your light with the first row of seated guests on your side. Let the guests share the flame from their own small candle with the person sitting next to them until all the candles are aglow and you are pronounced wife and husband. The minister can suggest that everyone make a good wish for the Bride and Groom and blow out the candles.
Some couples choose to have soft music playing during the Unity Candle Ceremony.
If you are creating a new family you may want to include the children in the lighting of the Unity Candle. Often this is done by having the bride and groom light the candle for the children and then everyone lighting the center candle together. This is an excellent way to involve children from a previous marriage.
Tip: Make sure that there aren’t any decorative beads, ribbon or lace around the candles – they can easily catch fire. Consider pre-lighting the taper candles and the Unity candle to make them easier to light in outdoor ceremonies. If your ceremony is outdoors, always have several extra lighters nearby in case the wind decides to blow the candles out. Putting the Unity Candle inside a glass hurricane lamp (see photo) can be very helpful in protecting from the breeze.