Designing the Perfect Candlelit Long Table
Designing the Perfect Candlelit Long Table
Long tables. They photograph well, they feel editorial when done well, and most importantly (in my opinion!), they allow a long continuous runner for candles. Whether in Tampa, FL or wherever you may be, they are timeless and here to stay.
I often say if I could go back and redesign my own wedding, I would do two long tables. That's how much I love the design.
It wouldn't be an honest blog post if I didn't share the downside of long tables. The biggest downside is guest experience. Some guests say long tables "feel lonely" and don't encourage as much lively conversation as a round table. I think it also depends on the vibe of the wedding. I've been to plenty of weddings with long tables and seen guests having the time of their life, really enjoying the dinner table conversation.
Enough selling of long tables! Here's my behind the design guide on what really matters when designing a long candlelit table.
Getting the proportions right. Most long tables run 96" (8 feet) long, in either a 36" or 40" width, those extra few inches of width gives you meaningfully more room to build real depth into the design without crowding your place settings. I personally would steer clear from a 30" wide table if you can. I know some venues come with tables and that's what they have, and that is totally ok! Just know, it will be a bit tight for decor down the center of the table.
The secret is height variation, not just quantity. A common mistake is using candles that are all roughly the same height - it reads as flat, no matter how many you use. We build our tablescapes with a deliberate mix, typically ranging from 3" up to nearly 9", clustered together rather than evenly spaced. That variation is what creates the layered, almost architectural look you see in a finished design - height, not density alone, is what makes a table feel intentional rather than just "a lot of candles."
Only use the good stuff. We are obsessive about candle selection. I ran a candle company 5 years before starting Allegory and know everything about how they're built and what creates the best burn. No one wants to see black, sooty glass hurricanes midway through dinner because the candles have a terrible burn. To some this is a small detail but to us, it's everything. If you're doing a candlelit dinner, it should look clean. This is achieved through using a combination of pillar candles with a clean burn and hurricanes wide enough to vent the exhaust from the candle.
Glassware matters. Using the right hurricane size for the candle is the difference between a black, sooty glass hurricane or even worse the venue not allowing you to display the candles because the hurricane is not fitted to the candle. We use thin glass hurricanes that shimmer and add a design element on their own to the table. They also are always wide enough to allow the candle to properly vent and not collect exhaust in the form of soot on the sides of the hurricane. Most importantly of all we ensure each candle is properly fitted to the hurricane to ensure a safe burn.
The result is a table that feels less like decor and more like the room's own light source - which is really the whole idea behind what we do. Check out more of our real weddings here.
