 July 23 was the wedding of my good friend, ermin. it was also my first time to be a secondary sponsor in a filipino wedding -- namely, the candle sponsor. now, for those of you who have never attended one, a filipino wedding features a veil sponsor, a cord sponsor, and a candle sponsor. being a candle sponsor sounds like an easy task -- all you have to do is light the two candles that represent the separate lives of the bride and groom. you and your candle sponsor partner (in my case, our friend jeremy) then use the two smaller candles to light the "unity candle", which represents the two lives that have become one. sounds simple, right? well, this is where it all went terribly wrong... i was told there would be a lighter, which i mistakenly presumed would be one of those long gadgets you use to light a gas stove (ie, one that doesn't burn your fingers). it turned out to be a cigarette lighter. after about 5 tries, i was able to get the cigarette lighter to light (can you tell i was never a smoker?) i then held it under the wick for a considerable amount of time and, as i pulled it away, the wick stayed lit for maybe 10 seconds and then, to my horror, went out. in my defense, i have to say that it was a very short wick. not to mention that, once it has been lit and then burnt out, a very short blackened wick is more or less impossible to re-light. jeremy (who had succeeded in lighting his candle) valiently came to my aid and tried to light the candle (while i prayed) but also to no avail. to his credit, he did keep trying to light it until he burned his thumb (i gave up before this point). finally, we gave up and took our seats with, sadly, only one of the two candles lit. to my surprise, halfway through the ceremony, they asked the candle sponsors to come back and light the unity candle (the bride and groom had done this part in the previous weddings i had attended). so jeremy and i went up to the altar once more and, as we picked up our candles, they ... fell apart. to be more specific, the brass candlesticks on which they were stationed fell apart -- mine into two pieces and jeremy's into three pieces. for some reason i found this incredibly funny and could not stop laughing from this point forward. we did manage to light the unity candle (or i should say, jeremy lit the unity candle and i pretended i was helping with my unlit candle). after that, we went back to our respective sides where i screwed my candle back into its brass base and jeremy attempted (for quite some time) to reconstruct his candlestick. they say you learn more in failure than you do when you succeed, so here is what i learnt from my failure as a candle sponsor: 1. if you have a filipino wedding, you should make sure your candles have very long wicks and provide your candle sponsor with one of those long lighter gadgets; 2. you should always have a couple spare candles handy, just in case one doesn't light; 3. if asked to be a candle sponsor, you should insist on being the cord sponsor instead.
 | poink wrote on Aug 7, '07  the brass candlesticks on which they were stationed fell apart -- mine into two pieces and jeremy's into three pieces. for some reason i found this incredibly funny and could not stop laughing from this point forward. we did manage to light the unity candle (or i should say, jeremy lit the unity candle and i pretended i was helping with my unlit candle). after that, we went back to our respective sides where i screwed my candle back into its brass base and jeremy attempted (for quite some time) to reconstruct his candlestick.  hahahahaha...oh my! :P |
 | gayette wrote on Aug 7, '07, edited on Aug 7, '07 Hahaha!!! I know the feeling! I've had best friends who married and asked me to be secondary sponsor. They ALL know I refuse to be in charge of the candle. One... coz it involved fire. And second... in the filipino culture, if you fail to light the candle... or the light goes out...it means badluck for the bridal couple....(Hala!!!! Lynn!!)(kidding!)...but you and I know it's hogwash by now. :D Yeah, cord is way better than candle...even better than the veil. Can you imagine trying to pin the veil either on the hair or gown or barong??? My heart just bleeds for the delicate fabric... |
 | jerrig wrote on Aug 7, '07, edited on Aug 7, '07 This story is so hilarious, lynn. I have been a secondary sponsor so many times --- have done the rounds of cord, veil and oh yes, candles --- and i must say i like candles the most. It is supposed to be the fastest to do. But ey, i'll keep your advice in mind, i.e.stick to the cord. Ha ha...keep the humorous stories coming =) God bless. |
| hmmm...might be difficult lang to ask for that kind of switch ... from secondary sponsor to bridesmaid...i'll stick to the cord na lang ha ha. |
 | petemeet wrote on Aug 7, '07, edited on Aug 7, '07 if asked to be a candle sponsor, you should insist on being the cord sponsor instead. thank God i was tasked with the cord duties! that was pretty simple - unless i tripped & strangled ermin & carmina in the process! |
 | Rob and I are going to be candle sponsors in ten days. Uh oh... do you think it's too late to back out? I must say though, you are the most gorgeous candle sponsor I have ever seen! Who cares if you couldn't light it? =) |
 | Oh my goodness! That's quite a story! I'm not sure if I'll ever be in a Filipino wedding...if I am, I'll keep that in mind! The tradition in the states is for the moms of the bride and groom to light the individual candles...for me that will likely be 10 or more years from now. Plenty of time to be sure I have the long lighter gadget. Have you had some time to rest or vacation following EN07? |
 | Hahaha! this is soooo funny,lynn.i saw all these happening in real time during the wedding.Well, at least now you have an experience to share to any "future" candle sponsors. :)) |
 | Did this get caught on video? Sounds like a submission to "Funniest Home Videos" show!! |
 | Hi Miss Lynn, I think I am finally finding out how to use Multiply...took awhile!! That story is so funny it made me laugh so hard! How are you doing? I have heard such awesome stories about the conference! Well done on all your hard work.Love Lydia |
 | hahahaha funny lynn... yes i agree, they should let sponsors use those igniter thingies that people use to light gas stoves. |
 | Lynn it was so funny when your candle would not light. That lighter was so hot! My thumbs are scared for life trying to light the short wick. I'm glad we were able to get at least one of them lit and the big one more importantly. |
 | oh, lynn! this is too horribly funny! actually, try to get in on video and then you can submit it at the next world conference. who knows? you could win a new camera! |
| i had emman read this. emman says you can be her candle sponsor in her wedding! she wants an un-boring wedding! |
 | Lynn, I'm actually in tears laughing at this episode. But like always, you overcome with grace and poise. Had a great time at the conference and in India. |
 | i would have thought that it was the one to light a gas stove... i know how to use one of those, not a cigarette lighter! |
 | you are hilarious,
Sam and I were candle sponsors this past weekend at during Kris and Malou's wedding, and she didn't know how to light the candle either...hahahaha. you guys are funny:) |
| This is Sam. Despite all the warnings and candle lighting tips... I still messed up! I even burned my finger. Have a great trip. Please allow us to take you out to dinner when you get back =) |
 | Hi Lynn, you look gorgeous in red! Who cares about candles anyway? ; > Oh by the way, there is a candle-looking thing with a very, very long wick...unfortunately, it's dynamite! haha! |
 | Lynn this is hilarious. I think I may have woke my roomates laughing so hard! The cigarette lighter was bad enough-I can never get them to work, but then they both fell apart....ha! If it had been me I don't think I could have gone on to finish the lighting. I would have been laughing the rest of the ceremony. |
 | HI SISSY,
YOU ALL DID WONDERFULLY AND LOOKED GREAT!
BOY, YOU COULD HAVE KNOCKED ME OVER WITH A FEATHER NO COMPLAINTS, YOU ALL WORKED TOGETHER AS TO SAY,
DID I DO THAT?
IT SURE WAS GRACEFUL,
HOW YOU ALL HONORED THE MOMENT.
LOVE MOMMY BRENDA |
 | Awe, Lynn...so great to see that Erwin got married!! I remember him getting a prophetic word about it in 2006....so wonderful...amazing the way it happens. I'd love to hear what you've been up to these days. Thanks for your encouragement. |
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