Is a unity candle necessary?

Definitely not necessary. Do what's meaningful to you and your soon to be spouse.

Not necessary at all. We are tying a knot as our "unity" thing.

No not necessary.

Getting married is enough unity you don't need anything else

You could consider the sand ceremony instead maybe. I wasn't going to do any but ended up doing the unity candle.

I'm not doing anything unity related. We are getting married and sharing personal vows with each other. That's enough for us. The shorter the ceremony the better, I always say.

Like Seth and Jenna, FH and I are also tying a knot (3 cord strand) as a symbol of our unity together.

ETA: We initially weren't going to do anything, but when we came across this we felt it was fitting for us, otherwise we wouldn't of done anything.

Nope. i don't think we are doing any unity ceremony thing at all.

that blessing of the hands reading is really sweet. you can do your ceremony however you want. don't let anyone tell you anything is necessary. except signing the paper. lol.

Nope, not necessary. Personally, I can't stand them or the sand ceremony. I'm more of a get to the point short and sweet kind of girl. Your hand blessing sounds nice though, I haven't heard of anything but the candle or sand.

We didn't do a unity anything. I'm with EmmyJ - we wanted short and sweet and get to the point. Unity ceremonies, to me, are superfluous.

No. and outside, they're problematic.

Before you decide on the 'These are the hands' reading, read it out loud to someone unsuspecting. I find it very long, very repetitive.

We do a lot of sand and paint poutings outside; also tequila and wine sharings.

We aren't doing it. We were initially going to do a whiskey box ceremony (like wine but with whiskey) but went to a wedding this weekend and it was reallllly awkward. Not saying it would be for everyone, but this particular one was really strange and put a sour note in our mouth about that part of the ceremony.

So, we've decided to actually do the whiskey box BEFORE the ceremony. We are going to get our entire bridal party together. Each of them is going to write us a little note with advice, kind words, support, etc, and they are each going to put it into the box. Then we will add our letters to each other, and then we'll all seal it up. We haven't decided if we'll all take a shot of whiskey at the same time but either way, we really like this personal version of it and none of it will be during the ceremony.

We aren't doing one. Not fans of it at all.

@Celia.... tequila sharings? Now that's a wedding I want to be in!

Candles don't work well outside. I had one couple who insisted upon it though. They eventually gave up and I told them they could light it inside at the reception.

There are many alternatives to candle or sand, though.

Thank you all so much!! Really helps to have some thoughts and advice!

No necessary. I originally wasn't going to do one, but when I heard the meaning behind it, I thought it would be really special. We are doing a sand ceremony.

Unity ceremonies aren't even allowed at our church. We're just using the traditional liturgy.

We are getting married outdoors as well so we are doing a planting ceremony. We are picking a small tree to put soil in from our childhood homes that our mothers give us then watering it in memory of those who couldn't be with us.

Nope. We didn't do any sort of unity ceremony. I thought the ceremony itself was pretty symbolic of us uniting. Sand and candles just aren't our thing.

I've done tons of the wine/whisky/sake box and I don't ever recall it being awkward; sometimes we invite guests to write notes on their place cards and add them to the box before it's sealed.

Unity candle: I don't think it is a necessary thing...we are not doing it.