That, my lovely readers, is our recently completed unity candle set. The unity candle, like many other things in the wedding world at large, has the tendency to look tired and cliche, and cost way more than its actually worth (physically, not symbolically of course). I was not willing to spend very much on this, and I was not willing to buy an ugly one. Low cost and non-cookie cutter? Sounds like I needed to make my own.
You should recognize this monogram. Its the same one on our aisle runner, with a slight modification in the way the date is typed. All I had to do to make it candle-ready was make it ALOT smaller. Initially, I wanted to print the monogram on clear vellum, and use teal ribbon as accents. However, my Epson printer was not having any part of that plan, as it refused to print anything on my vellum. Instead, I printed the monogram on white copy paper, and used some teal card stock scraps as an accent. To "decorate" the tapers, I opted to simply wrap some kiwi green ribbon close the the base of the candles. I think its just enough green and teal to keep up with the rest of the decor, but not so much that it beats you over the head with kiwi and teal. I think it turned out pretty cute.
Now lets talk money (for a bit). Remember, in order to be a success, the set needed to not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also inexpensive.
I purchased all of my materials at Michaels and Hobby Lobby. Interestingly, Michaels charged less for the pillar candle (the big one in the middle), and Hobby Lobby always has the tapers on sale (usually half off). I spent $3 for the pillar, and another $1 for the tapers. The silver-tone stand was half off the day I got it, so I only spent $5 on that. Oh, and the ribbon is from the dollar bin at Michaels. All together, the materials ran me $10, since I already had the paper here at the crib. Unity candle sets in the stores start at $19.99, so I was definitely right that it was cheaper to make my own.
Cute + cheap = DIY success.
I struggled with this project for a long time. I've had these materials for ages! Just couldn't decide what I wanted it to look like. This past weekend, while working on some other projects, inspiration finally struck. It was so simple, I felt silly for not having thought of it sooner. And after inspiration arrived (fashionably late), I ran with it because I could see the end result in my mind. I know its going to be a lovely addition to our ceremony space.
One project down, several more to go.
So what do we really think about unity candles? Symbolic? Traditional? Antiquated? In need of a much cooler replacement?
...until tomorrow!
♥
nice!
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