Wedding Unity Candles

The Unity Candle Ceremony

The unity candle ceremony is a relatively new wedding tradition that symbolizes the joining of the two families into one. The ceremony begins by having a representive from both families lighting the two taper candles. This is often the mother of each bride. Later in the wedding ceremony, the bride and the groom each use a taper candle to light the center pillar unity candle. This beautiful ceremony represents the union of the couple as well as the uniting of the two families. The unity candle is often saved as a keepsake and placed in the new couple's home. The unity candle may be lit on the the couple's wedding anniversary as a reminder of their union. Many times the unity candle or the unity candle holders are personalized with the bride and grooms monogram or their names and wedding date. There is much flexibility within the unity candle ceremony for the bride and groom to customize the actions (e.g., whether or not the tapers are blown out) and the text of the ceremony, based on their interpretation of the unity ceremony symbolism.

The Unity Sand Ceremony

A popular alternative to the unity candle ceremony is the unity sand ceremony. Just as with the unity candle ceremony, the unity sand ceremony represents the coming together of two families. However, rather that using lit candles, the unity sand ceremony features small ceremony sand vases, filled with colored sand, that are poured into a large center unity vase. This allows many members of each family to participate in the action of pouring sand into the center unity vase and is great for blended families (for instance, each child can have their own vase with a unique sand color). The center vase, which is often personalized, is then saved as a keepsake to represent the new family joined together as one.