Choosing a christening candle colour

Most weeks someone sends me a photo of a christening outfit and asks which candle goes with it. That is the right question. The colour of the candle is not about tradition, or at least not any tradition I have found a priest willing to confirm. It is about the outfit, the family, and how much decoration you want to be holding in church.

I make seven colours. They are all on the christening candles page. This post is about how people pick between them, because the page tells you what they cost and not much about why you would choose one over another.

The seven, and what they are

Green and gold, blue and silver, navy, and pink with gold are the fuller candles. They are $130 each and have more going on around the cross. Lilac with tulle, dusty pink, and the pearl candle are $80 and simpler. Same wax, same cross, less decoration.

That is the whole range. If you have seen a colour on my Etsy that is not in that list, it is an old listing and I have probably sold out of the ribbon.

Boys, girls, and the conventions

Blue for a boy and pink for a girl. That is what most people arrive with, and it is not wrong. It is what most of my customers choose. Blue and silver goes to boys. Pink with gold and dusty pink go to girls. Nobody has ever regretted it.

But it is a convention, not a rule. I have made green for girls, navy for girls, and lilac for a boy whose mum wanted the candle to match the flowers. The priest does not check. The candle does not know.

So if the outfit is ivory and the family colour is green, get green. If the christening is at Easter and everything else is white, the pearl candle looks right and you do not have to explain anything.

Matching the outfit

This is the thing that decides it for most families. The candle is carried next to the child, it is in every photo, and it is the biggest coloured object in the church apart from the vestments.

If the outfit is white or ivory, everything goes with it, so pick the colour you like or the colour the family uses. If the outfit has a coloured sash or embroidery, match that. Send me a photo of the outfit if you are unsure. I can hold the ribbon against it, more or less, and tell you whether the pink I use is the same pink or a different one. Pink is not one colour. Dusty pink is muted and a little brown, and it goes with cream and linen. Pink with gold is brighter and goes with white.

Lilac is the one people underestimate from a photo. It reads pale on screen and softer in person, and it suits a spring christening more than anything else I make.

Navy, for families who want it plain

Some families do not want a candle covered in tulle. Their parish prefers something simpler, or the grandparents think the decorated ones are too much, or they just like a cleaner look. Navy is the one I send them to. It is a strong colour on its own, the gold detailing sits close to the cross, and there is no tulle to catch on anything.

It is also the one I make most often for boys whose parents have already decided blue is too babyish. Which is fair. Navy in church looks like a grown-up decision.

Pearls and tulle, for families who want more

The other direction is more. Pearls and tulle on the candle, matching the cross, matching the towel, the whole day put together. The pearl candle is where that starts. It is $80, which surprises people, because the pearls look like they should cost more than the tulle.

Pearls are the last thing I put on. The ribbon goes on first, then the tulle is shaped and fixed, and the pearls sit on top once everything else has settled, because if I put them on early they get in the way of everything else and I end up taking them off again. That is also why I say to wrap the decoration in tissue when you store it. Pearls scratch each other.

If you want the pearl candle in one of the fuller colours, ask me. Some combinations I can do and some I cannot, and the answer depends on the ribbon I have on the shelf that week.

What goes fastest around Easter

Every year the same thing happens. The ivory and white outfits come out for Easter christenings, the pearl candle and the lilac go first, and by the time the last orders come in I am out of one of them. Green also moves around then, which I did not expect the first year and now plan for.

That is what happens in my shop, not a rule about Easter. If you are christening in the weeks around it, order early, and if what you want has sold out, ask me. I can usually tell you when it will be back.

Custom colours

I get asked for colours I do not list. Sage. Burgundy. Gold on white. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

The honest version is this. If it is a ribbon colour I can get in the right width and a tulle to match, I can probably do it, and I will tell you so. If it is a colour that would mean dyeing wax or sourcing something I have never used, I will say no, because I do not want to learn on your candle four days before the church date. Either way you will get a straight answer before you pay for anything.

Send me the colour, ideally a photo of the outfit or the thing you are matching, through the contact page. Tell me the church date. I will come back with a yes, a no, or a close alternative from the seven I already make.

If you are ready to choose, the candles are here. Pick the one that matches the outfit and stop overthinking it. Most people do.