Not all of us can afford a professional lighting company to make our reception look heavenly. However, having the right “mood” lighting at your reception is a must. Candles when bought in bulk can really save you a lot of money and there is nothing more romatic than a room full of candles. With so many choices to choose from today your bound to find the right mix, color or candle to go with your theme. 

If you decide to go with tealights, like I did, make sure they will burn for 5-7 hours like the ones at the Hampton Store.

I used clear cup tealights. Love them! They give the appearance that the candle is floating because  you cannot see the clear cup it sits in. These are also great if you are using glassware. Tin cup tealights are a good choice if you don’t see the whole candle.  

Regular candles can be unpredictable. Have you every had a candle with a bad wick? Or have you cut the wick too short? Cutting the wick wrong can result in a bad burning candle. A draft in the room can make your candles burn more quickly. Cheap wax can make candles burn unpredictably.

An alternative to regular candles is the Floating Candle Oil Holders. Unlike floating candles or tealights, these glass beauties hold oil and burn for a long time. Oil is relatively cheap. And guess what? You can reuse these over and over after your wedding.

Here are some of my favorites.

Floating Candle & Oil Holders

• Glass Tealight Floaters, tapers, votives, you name it they have it – candlesjustonline.com
• Floating glass candle and oil holders – by the bulk these are very reasonable. nationalartcraft.com
• Clear floating tealight holders or oil lamps. Great for centerpieces. Candle-Boutique.com
• Floating Candles with Glass holders -100candles.com
• Regular Floating Candles – candlesbyconnie.com

Tapers & Tealights

• Tapers, votives, you name it they have it – candlesjustonline.com
• Bulk Tapers – candlefactory products.com
• Unscented Tealight Clear Cup Candles – hamptonstore.com

When purchasing your candles make sure you inquire how long they will burn. You don’t want your guest sitting in the dark!  Make sure you have extras on hand at your reception to avoid embarrassment.