Nothing deflates a dinner party like the table going dark during dessert. The fix isn't guesswork, it's arithmetic. Here's how long each candle type actually burns and how to work out exactly how many you need.
Know your burn times
Every candle format has a different working life. These are the numbers for our range:
- 6-inch taper candles: about 5 hours, unscented, drip-resistant, 0.8 inch diameter so they fit standard holders.
- 10-inch taper candles: over 6 hours, the same 0.8 inch diameter, with more visual height for a centerpiece.
- Votive candles: around 10 hours each, 1.5 inches across and 1.4 inches tall, made from paraffin wax.
- Tealights: available in 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 hour versions, all in aluminum cups.
The important takeaway: a votive outlasts a taper by roughly double, and tealights are the only format where you get to pick the burn time to match your event.
The formula
Work out your event length, add an hour of buffer, then divide by the burn time of the candle you want to use. Round up, always.
(Event hours + 1) ÷ burn time = candles needed per holder
Then multiply by the number of holders on the table. That's it.
Worked examples
A 3-hour dinner party for eight
Say you're running a pair of tapers in the center plus a votive at each place setting. Three hours plus a buffer hour is four. A 6-inch taper burns five hours, so one taper per holder covers you: 2 tapers total. Votives burn ten hours, so one each: 8 votives. You'll finish the night with wax to spare, which is exactly where you want to be.
A long holiday gathering, 6 hours
Six plus one is seven. A 6-inch taper won't make it, so either step up to 10-inch tapers with a replacement set on hand, or run votives, which comfortably cover seven hours on a single candle. For scattered light down the runner, 7-hour or 8-hour tealights clear it in one go.
A wedding reception, 5 hours, 20 tables
Six hours of coverage needed. Three tealights per table at 6-hour burn time means 60 tealights, which is well inside a 100 pack. Add a votive or two per table for depth and you're at 40 votives. Buying in bulk here is dramatically cheaper than replacing candles mid-event, and swapping candles during a reception is nobody's job.
Four things that quietly shorten burn time
- Drafts. An open window, a ceiling fan, or an HVAC vent overhead can cut a candle's life significantly and cause uneven burning. Move the table or close the vent.
- Long wicks. Trim to about a quarter inch before lighting. A long wick burns hot and fast.
- Crowding. Candles set too close to each other heat one another and burn down quicker. Give each a few inches of breathing room.
- Relighting. Burn times assume one continuous burn. Lighting and snuffing repeatedly across an evening costs you.
Buy about 20 percent more than the math says
Dinner runs long. A guest lingers. Someone knocks a taper. The margin costs very little and the alternative is a dim room at the exact moment everyone's relaxed and talking. Leftovers keep indefinitely in a cool, dark drawer, so nothing goes to waste.
Quick reference
- Short dinner, up to 4 hours: 6-inch tapers or any tealight.
- Standard evening, 4 to 6 hours: 10-inch tapers, votives, or 6-hour and up tealights.
- All-day or all-evening event: votives, every time.
Do the math once, buy the pack, and then forget about it for the rest of the night. That's the whole point.