Before your guests notice the flowers or the table settings, they’ll feel the room. And that feeling is almost always coming from the candles. Aimee Shadbolt is a Perth-based candle stylist and Creative Director at Loved by Lucy xo, specialising in candle hire and styling for weddings and events. Here, she shares everything you need to know about using candlelight to create atmosphere at your reception. 

Any styling element can make a wedding beautiful – but adding candlelight in just the right way completely changes how the room feels. Before anyone notices the flowers or furniture you’ve chosen, your guests will feel the warm and inviting vibe welcoming them into the room, and how the space glows and embraces them as the night unfolds.

Candles are often thought of as a final touch, often forgotten as an element that can help create feeling in the room. Whether you’re planning an intimate winery celebration or a grand ballroom affair, candlelight can help create the kind of atmosphere that guests remember long after your night has ended.

Candlelight is never static, flickering as they burn down, with emotion and movement, while naturally guiding the eye to various elements around the room, shifting the vibe and adding even more ambience.

When it comes to adding candles to your wedding, here are a few things to think about when planning your candle styling.

What feeling do you want to create?

Your styling choices should support the feeling you want to create. You want to think about your guest experience and how everyone feels in the space, before even deciding on candle numbers and styles.

This could mean hundreds of candles on every guest table, to create a dramatic glow through the room. Or it could mean a select few, carefully curated and placed to showcase the head table and become a focal part of your reception.

Candles can soften even the largest of spaces when used right. They help provide comfort and connection to your guests, welcoming them in and helping them immerse themselves in your wedding celebration.

Photo by Norman Yap

Every venue is different

Candles look different in every venue. Large reception spaces with high ceilings need more candles than a small, intimate room would. A smaller space can achieve the romantic vibe you’re after with only a small number of candles. Placement in any space just needs to be strategic and carefully curated in the right areas, creating maximum impact.

Candles and Florals

Candles and flowers are both at their best when they work together.

Candles can help balance out floral installations and statement pieces – we use fewer candles to complement larger arrangements and more candles for smaller or minimal pieces, like bud vases, to add depth.

But candles don’t have to be just an add-on for your wedding flowers. Sometimes, our work is the opposite – we use candles as our hero pieces and flowers support the candles. Candles can be a design feature themselves, not just a last minute addition.

Photo by Kenneth Lim

More candles doesn’t always mean more impact

More candles doesn’t always equal more impact either. And they can be a wasted spend. Candles used in outdoor ceremony styling, for example, would be sitting in direct sunlight during your ceremony – no one would even see the candle flame. Thoughtful placement will always have a bigger impact than the number of candles used.

Budget will always be part of the conversation, but you should also think about where candles will work hardest for you. If you’re working within a styling budget, using candles as a feature can help with budget restraints. For example, a full runner of candles down the centre of a long guest table creates a beautiful, layered candlescape and also reduces the need for big floral centrepieces or any florals at all.

Candle styling can also be super flexible. Consider moments where guests will spend the most time – guest tables or cake displays can create more impact and feeling than spreading small candles across the whole room.

Photo by Compose Photography

Don’t stop at the reception

Candles are often associated with reception styling but if you’re considering adding candles to your wedding overall, it’s worth remembering other parts of your day.

For indoor ceremonies, candles make great accompaniments to large floral arrangements – especially floor arrangements or towers at the end of the aisle. They create a beautiful romantic backdrop while adding cohesion to the overall styling.

Other areas to consider for candles could include tea ceremonies, welcome areas or signage. Using candlelight through multiple spaces brings consistency to the feeling you’re setting for the day.

You want your guests to remember how your wedding felt. Small details may be forgotten, but they’ll never forget the warmth of the room or an atmosphere that felt inviting and relaxing.

Candles are not just a styling element – they help create an experience for everyone in the room, creating lasting memories, long after the music has stopped and the candles have burnt themselves out.

About the author: Aimee Shadbolt is a Perth-based candle stylist and Creative Director at Loved by Lucy xo, specialising in candle hire and styling for weddings and events. With a background in wedding planning, she brings a trained eye for atmosphere and an obsession with the transformative power of candlelight to every event she touches. When she’s not turning venues into glowing, unforgettable spaces, you’ll find her on Instagram at @aimeeshadbolt_

Header photo by Kenneth Lim