Quick Answer
What is the unity candle ceremony in a Filipino wedding?
The unity candle ceremony is a moment in a Filipino Catholic wedding where the bride and groom each hold a lit candle and together light a single larger candle, symbolizing two families and two lives joining into one. A designated pair of sponsors — the candle sponsors — usually light the couple's individual candles beforehand and guide the moment.
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Last updated:
What is the unity candle ceremony in a Filipino wedding?
Also called: unity candle, candle ceremony.
Partway through a Filipino wedding Mass, the lights often dim for the unity candle ceremony — a quiet, visual pause between the vows and the rest of the rites. Two candles, lit ahead of time by the couple's candle sponsors, are handed to the bride and groom, who then use them together to light one larger unity candle at the altar.
How the unity candle ceremony works
Before the ceremony, the couple's candle sponsors (a specific pair among the principal sponsors, assigned this role) light two individual candles, usually placed on either side of a larger, unlit unity candle at the altar. At the designated point in the Mass, the bride and groom each take their individual candle and together bring the flames to light the unity candle, then blow out their own — a visual representation of two individual lives merging into one household.
Planning notes
- •Confirm with the church whether open flames are permitted at the altar — some venues require flameless candles for fire-safety reasons.
- •Assign the candle sponsor role clearly in the wedding programme, since guests often confuse it with the veil or cord sponsors.
- •Budget a few extra minutes in the ceremony timeline — the candle-lighting moment is usually accompanied by a hymn or instrumental piece.
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Who lights the candles in the unity candle ceremony?
The couple's designated candle sponsors light the two individual candles before the ceremony begins; the bride and groom then use those candles together to light the single unity candle during the Mass.
Is the unity candle ceremony required in a Filipino Catholic wedding?
No — it is a popular but optional addition. Some couples include all three symbolic rites (candle, veil, and cord), while others choose only one or two, depending on time and parish preference.
Do the individual candles get blown out after lighting the unity candle?
Practice varies — many couples extinguish their individual candles to emphasize becoming one, while others keep all three candles burning through the rest of the Mass.
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By Mayank JaiswalLast updated