Exploring The Unity Candle

To signify two people becoming one, traditionally, a unity candle is lit at the wedding ceremony. Usually, the bride and the groom each have their own separate candle and take those lit candles to light one, larger candle together. Sometimes at the beginning of the ceremony, before the mothers of the bride and groom are seated, they light the individual candles of their children.

With the growing number of outdoor and nontraditional weddings, the unity candle is often left out or replaced with a unique alternative. Check out these creative, meaningful ceremonies performed by the bride and groom to show their souls joining together through marriage.

Beach wedding! These two couples are pouring sand into one jar to signify their becoming one. To mix it up, give the bride one color sand and the groom another. When pouring together, you will be able to visually see the sand mixed together and unite.

This is one of my favorites! To braid, we know there has to be three strands- one for the bride, one for the groom, and one for God. The bride and groom actually braid the strands together in front of everyone. While doing so, they could have someone special to them say a prayer, have a special song played, or even recite a prayer together as they braid. Couples that pray together, stay together and this beautiful tradition includes an intricate part of the union of their lives.

This couple wanted something tangible to keep as a symbol of their unity and promise to each other. Instead of lighting a candle, why not plant a tree? If you think about it, it's really romantic- much like true love, that tree, if taken care of, will last and live on years after the both of you are gone.

We still think unity candles, their tradition, and the meaning they hold are great for the wedding ceremony! If you want to stick to this tradition, here are a few photos of some really great, unique ones that we found.

This adorable, personalized candle can be yours from WeddingStar.