Tip Thursday: Votive Holders

We get SOOO many votive candle holders after wedding receptions. Truth is, these are very easy to use (and reuse) again and again. I think we have about 600 of them in our closet of free rentals that our planning clients can use. We let them use the votive holders free of charge if they unload the wax from the last wedding. (Or, for 25 cents a votive, we'll clean it out and put a new clean votive inside for them.)

Here is what we do:
1) Let the candle burn so the wax gets slightly soft for about 30 to 60 minutes. (Or do what I do -- have a romantic dinner with my husband while I'm actually multi-tasking! He loves the mood!) If you have a wick that is flat and you can't light it, put it on your coffee maker for about 10 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the votive holder -- if the glass overheats it will crack.
2) Blow the candle out -- make sure to extinguish the wick.
3) Using a knife, pop the wax out into a disposable aluminum baking pan from the store.
4) Put the votive holders in the dishwasher.
5) Voila! The votive holders will see another wedding.

I've also been told that freezing them works and that putting them into a tub of scalding hot water will also get the wax out easily. I didn't like the hot water method and never tried the freezing one.

When choosing your new votives, make sure that you have enough burn time for your reception. It takes one hour to light a room of votives for a wedding with 200 guests. The candles will be lit about 30 minutes before your reception starts. Therefor, most people will need at least four hour burning candles. I suggest you get 6 or 8 hour burn candles -- the last thing you want is the candles to extinguish themselves during the wedding reception.