Wedding Lighting Ideas for Ceremony or Reception

Just as there are a million and one places to have your ceremony and reception, there are probably equally as many options to light it. Depending on many factors, such as the location, the building code, the rules, your state and the time of year, candles are not going to be an option for either the ceremony or the reception.  It’s unfortunate, too, since they throw off such flattering light!  If you were hoping to include some of that beautiful glow, you still can, you just need to be a little creative!

Luminaries

It’s been a number of years since I put out luminaries on New Years Eve or even Halloween. I have always loved the long, meandering line of soft white paper bags lining the driveway all glowing from within. It sets a whimsical, charming mood. A mood that is perfect to use for wedding lighting. As mentioned above, adding sand and a candle to a paper bag and leaving it unattended is a great way to get either a citation from your city or a forest fire – both of which kill the wedding mood!

Instead, I found a few products to share that will enable that same look.  They’re the best rated but lowest price that I could find, but if you find better, let me know! There was an enormous range of prices on Etsy, and since this really doesn’t require a lot of elbow grease, I don’t think they would be the best place to shop for this.  Amazon, rather, is the perfect place to find what you need! These luminaries come in a pack of 24, AND they include the paper bags!  That makes them about $0.83 per luminary. These white paper bags were the least expensive I could find, 12 at $1.49 which made me happy.  Everything else is in multiples of ten. But the luminaries are in boxes of 12. I’m sure I could do something with the extra bags, but what if I don’t? If you don’t mind having an uneven amount, here is a another great deal for white paper bags: 40 for $4.56.

Flameless Candles

You’ll need candles to put in the luminaries if you don’t purchase a kit. These flameless candles come in packs of 12 for $6.26, which makes them $0.52 each. While searching for these, I came across other great lighting deals, but they’re a little different. These flameless tealight candles were a great deal at $27.99 for 60, but not everyone likes that sharp bright white light. But they’re such a good deal! So I did a little more searching, and found these soft light flameless tealight candles – six dozen for $33. There are a ton of options, these are just a few that I had pinned to my wishlist.  The links are to amazon, and the prices might have changed by the time you look, I’m sorry to say.

Paper Lanterns

I love, love the look of paper lanterns strung out across a dark, intimate space. A backyard wedding lends itself incredibly well to being lit by these charming bubbles of light. At Save-on-Crafts, they have a huuuuuuge selection of paper lanterns. I have literally never seen a better selection outside of my travels to various asian countries.  Actually, I take that back, this is the largest selection I’ve ever seen.  Amazon has a huge selection as well, but I didn’t count up both of them to see who’s was bigger.

Lantern Lights

It’s not totally practical to try to put a flameless candle in a paper lantern, so there’s definitely a better option.  These tiny LED lights work perfectly! There’s a 24 pack for $9 and a 60 pack for $16. You could even try something different for both the lanterns and the luminaries: how about glow sticks instead? What are some of your ideas for wedding lighting?