• Avoid scented candles at a meal. Some people have strong allergic (or just averse) reactions to scented candles, and furthermore you don't necessarily want the candles' scents interfering with the aromas of the food.
• Make sure your candles don't interfere with sight lines across the table. I usually associate this rule with flowers, but of course it's true for candles too; if your guests have to crane their necks around tall tapers to talk to one another, you might want to move those tapers over to a sideboard.
• Locate candlelight at different angles around the room. Try to do candles in other spots, not just the table; candlelight coming from different directions will add soft light throughout the room. Set up candles on your buffet or bar, in wall sconces, or along a windowsill.
• (Almost) anything can be a candle holder. Take a look through your storage and see what you can find. As long as it's not flammable, you're good to go. I have a set of old copper measuring cups from a French flea market that doesn't do any good for baking, but they're gorgeous tea light holders. Glass jars are of course always nice, and you can dress them up with a little ribbon or greenery. If you have simple glass votives or yogurt jars, you can also tuck them inside shelled-out gourds or fruits.
• Try a mirror to reflect the candlelight. Set out a collection of candles in different sizes along a mirror. This will enhance the softening, flickering effect of the candlelight.
• When in doubt, toss some tea lights on a few saucers. Tea lights are incredibly inexpensive, and they do the job for a single evening (sometimes longer). Clusters of them on pretty china or glass saucers is all you really need. If you want to dress them up, you can make little cuffs for them out of narrow ribbon (see first photo, second row above).
For some more candle inspiration and resources, try these posts:
• Best Tealight Votives
• Outdoor Lighting Inspiration: Use Lots of Jars
• Easy Entertaining Trick: Mix Colored Candles
• Flickr Finds: Candles in the Garden
(Images: Canadian House and Home; Tollipop; Annie Schlecter/Real Simple; Country Living; Martha Stewart; Barbara Jennings; Victor Schrager/Real Simple; Outdoor Lighting Inspiration)
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I love #3, #5, and #8 - so beautiful!
Yes, candles certainly add a special touch to any table, and there are some good examples here.
And thank you for saying "My husband and I ..." Even though "We" would have been perfectly correct and acceptable, it's so wearying to see it overused (and often misused) here on AT.
i would be worried about the candles in the seventh pic.
They are so tall and could be knocked over. wouldn't that be a great thanksgiving. the third pic would look good on a side serving table but on the table would certainly burn some arms.
I love the look of candles in mason jars, but I remember reading on a wedding blog before that they're not intended for that use, and there have been cases of them exploding at weddings... Anyone else heard of this? Maybe it's just an urban legend.
Catherine--
Perhaps in cases where too big a candle is used, but even that seems doubtful, since Mason jars are designed to handle the pretty serious heat of canning, no?
Faux candles are not as chic - but there are some light fixtures available at high end places like Holly Hunt ( and some knock offs.) There are real wax - Battery powered candles that flicker realistically. Its not as romantic but suprisingly often tricks the eye and is much safer and cleaner.
Don't forget soy candles. They burn much cleaner. Because of allergies I cannot use regular candles but the soy candles don't bother me. They have their drawbacks. They are more expensive and even the scented ones are very mild. But for a dinner setting they would be perfect.
Re: mason jars
A flame is a lot hotter than boiling water, and I have had glass containers crack when burning candles. I would put a layer of something insulating in the bottom of the jar and make sure the candle is placed so the flame isn't hitting the glass, at the very least.