OC "Green" Wedding Enthusiasts Buzzing About Natural Beeswax Candles

Green weddings are red hot.  All over Orange County, brides, grooms and their families are seeking ways to create festive and memorable celebrations with minimal environmental impact. 

One popular product continuing to gain attention amongst those seeking environmentally sensitive wedding accessories are Beeswax Candle Sets – whether for Unity Candles, ceremony décor or reception centerpieces. 

“These candles are so popular because Beeswax is 100% natural and clean burning, unlike paraffin candles which are a by-product of petroleum. Beeswax is the only naturally existing wax on earth and is a completely renewable resource, which makes it a great choice for anyone environmentally conscious,” said Susan Short, owner of Mission Viejo-based Toadily Handmade (www.beeswaxweddingcandles.com), a leading Beeswax Candle manufacturer. 

“Beeswax candles are ideal since they are smokeless and odorless,” added Short. The company has seen an increasing demand for its Beeswax Wedding Candles over the past year and has updated its product selection based on popular colors and textural additions, like glitter.

Beeswax candles burn brighter, hotter, cleaner and longer than any other wax. As Beeswax candles burn they produce negative ions that clean the air of odors, pollens, smoke, dust, dust mites and allergens.

About the Mighty Honeybee:

Beeswax is produced by the (female) worker honeybees. The wax is secreted from wax glands on the underside of the bee's abdomen and is molded into six-sided cells which are filled with honey, then capped with more wax. When honey is harvested, the top layer of wax that covers the cells, the cappings, must be removed from each hexagon-shaped cell.

The beeswax, which contains some honey, bee parts, and other impurities, must be melted and filtered or strained. Most beeswax is gold or yellow but can also be in shades of orange, brown, etc. The color of the wax is in most part determined by the type of plants the bees collect nectar from.

It has been estimated that bees must fly 150,000 miles (or visit 10 million flowers) and must eat 8-10 pounds of honey to produce one pound of wax. For every 100 pounds of honey a beekeeper harvests, only one to two pounds of beeswax is produced, and one beehive only produces about 12 pounds of beeswax a year.