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| Couple’s lovely historic home in Charlottesville |
Dear Engaged Couple-
This week I met with a couple who will be marrying in June. The couple is fortunate enough to have already bought a house, dating from the early 1900’s, in a once neglected but now up and coming neighborhood in Charlottesville. It is gorgeous if, like me, you love houses with character. The couple has embraced “shabby sheik” decor that still has my drooling—Painted chairs and a painted armoire, mismatched pulls on drawers, and mismatched furniture, too. Somehow, it all fits together, to make a delightfully fun, comfortable and aesthetically appealing whole.
The couples’ energy and interest in things historic and in home decorating now extends to wedding planning. The bride and hubby-to-be have decided on a Victorian theme. He and she will be wearing Victorian garb and they are encouraging their guests to do likewise. The evening I visited, the couple’s kitchen table was strewn with wedding trinkets—many of them antique looking—ribbons, gold tipped white silk roses, and….a courting candle. They plan is to weave all of these elements into the wedding service’s décor.
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| A “Courting Candle”–the rim of the candle holder is adjustable |
I was drawn to the courting candle. “What did you say that was?” I asked the bride-to-be. Her answer: “A courting candle. From the 1600’s through the 1800’s, when a beau came calling, the woman’s father would light a candle in a candle holder like this one.”
When I got home that evening I did more research. This is what I learned.. The courting candle usually has an adjustable base. The father adjusted the base of the candle holder to match his trust level in the daughter’s suitor. The courting candle would rest on a table, or maybe on the fireplace mantle in the room where the “courting” was to take place. The man and woman would “court” while ostensibly they both watched the flame’s wick move slowly but inevitably toward the candle holder’s base. When the candle had run its course, the courting session was at an end.
The couple’s antique courting candle will be on display at their wedding, Their particular candle holder (see below) is inside a little cage—to prevent tampering, perhaps? Or to prevent a quick candle exchange? We can imagine couples devising all sorts of schemes to extend their courting time.
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| “Courting candle in a cage” |
Enjoy these pics. BTW, you can purchase courting candles through Amazon.com or http://www.stonecountyironworks.com/shop-products.
Happy wedding planning! Your Wedding Preacher for Hire
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