Weddingbee Blog

Candles are gorgeous—at least when they are lit. They are not inherently gorgeous. I’ve never found myself looking at an unlit and unscented candle and thought to myself, “This. is. ba-nanas. I must buy it.”

But I am getting off topic here. Candles, when lit ablaze, are in fact a beautiful way to add romantic ambiance to an otherwise blah setting. They are also a whole lot cheaper than flowers. So, hello new friends! And when candles become luminaries, magic happens. Just look:

Image via Weddingbee Pro / Florals by The Treasured Petal

This picture started it all. This picture is to blame! I found it via the lovely Mrs. Parfait. Forget the flowers for a moment—even when I knew practically nothing about our wedding, I could say that those luminaries would be making an appearance at our wedding. They’re just more my speed.

And I think they will be a great way to incorporate bits and pieces of information about us, without shouting them at the top of our lungs, so to speak.

Things like:

• Once upon a time we played music together (literally, that was not a euphemism); we were orchestra nerds in high school. We could use some old sheet music that I still have stored away somewhere!
• We grew up in coastal Connecticut. He spent much of his childhood sailing, I spent much of mine hanging out at the beach. (He wins.) So I’m hoping that we’ll be able to dig up some old nautical charts to use.
• The Marmalades love to read! And there’s one book that’s really dear to us, The Little Prince. We love it so much that we’re including it in our ceremony. So why not keep the love going?

My favorite part is that it’s subtle—it’s not anchors or music notes on our stationery (because I’m too indecisive to pick a motif), but it conveys the same idea. It’s beautiful to see these everyday objects transformed by candlelight, until all you can see are black lines and words against the illuminated background.

I’ve started compiling a bunch of documents and books that represent these little things, and I plan on transferring them to vellum. Hopefully, with a little Mod Podge and some votive candles, these sophisticated luminaries will be ours!

Now, cross your fingers because I’m not sure how it will work, exactly.

What do you think? Luminaries: thumbs up or thumbs down?