6. Wedding Songs for your Unity Candle/Event

Choosing the wedding songs for the unity candle, which is a ceremonial activity symbolizing the union of two people becoming one, is a very simple task. I'll get to how to pick this music in a moment. First, I want to go over the various types of unity candle/events available for you to choose from.

With the standard unity candle, the bride and groom each take a lit tapered candle and touch the flame to the wick of the center candle. Then these candles are placed back in their holders. Some wedding planners suggest blowing out the individual tapers, but I prefer to leave them lit, since they represent the bride and groom's individuality (you're still a unique person even though you're getting married, right?). Also, if you are a christian, the three lit candles are a nice representation of the Trinity.

One of the main questions that comes up is, how do the individual tapers get lit? You know, the actual candles that the bride and groom pick up and light the center candle with? I usually suggest these get lit by the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride. Right before the start of the ceremony processionals, the mothers can walk up together and light the individual tapers. It's best not to use a click lighter either! Tacky! Instead, have a smaller candle already lit nearby, and the mothers can light the tapers off of that candle. Nice, huh?

Here are some other unity events to consider.

The Unity Sand: similar to the candle idea, there are two small glass vases filled with two different colored sands. At the appropriate time, the bride and groom pour the sand from these small glass vases into a larger vase, creating a unique sand piece for their fireplace mantle. the sands can represent whatever they want; the minutes in their lives, now poured together as one, etc.

The Unity Tree: For you botanists, tree-huggers, or avid outdoors types, this event involves having a potted plant or tree somewhere near the altar. The bride and groom each take a nice spade and scoop up some loose earth (obviously from another container) and they pour the earth over the roots of the tree. This tree is then planted at their home and becomes their wedding tree.

The Unity Wine: One of my favorites. Take two different wines and have the bottles up at the altar. the bride and groom pour a little wine from each bottle into a glass, thereby creating a completely new and unique vintage. They each take a sip from this glass and thereby begins the party! Just kidding. This new wine is now uniquely theirs, just as their marriage will be.

So, there you have the unity events. But, what about wedding songs, you ask? Simple. Any love song or ballad will work well with these events. Feel free to research love songs that might pair up with wine, trees, or fire.

This is also a great opportunity to have someone perform the song live. I suggest this because these events usually take anywhere from one to two minutes at most, so much of the song is cut off anyway. Having a performer brings the entire event to life and gives you a reason to hear the whole song, in it's entirety.

Good luck in choosing your wedding songs for your unity event, whatever it may be!