Citronella Candles For Wedding Reception Tables?

This is what we would use.

We are doing citronella votives for ours. We had them at the engagement party and my nephews birthday party (both were in August) and they worked nicely!

I caution you about using scented candles on the tables where people will be eating. It can be very overpowering and actually affect how food tastes.

Can you surround your reception area with the candles or tiki torches that burn citronella oil?

I wouldn't want that smell in my face while eating... I like the suggestion above of surrounding the reception area rather then putting citronella candles on the tables

Lavender is a natural bug repellant, but in my opinion, it smalls much better than citronella. I intend to use scented oil diffusers - lavender and lemon, to ward off bugs. We're not putting them on food tables, but everywhere else.

We had citronella and the scent wasn't super strong...but even with tiki torches, they didn't help a lot. I would also put bug spray out, not on tables, but out somewhere.

Oh, we also didn't light the table candles until after the sun went down and everyone had eaten.

Can you spray the ground in the area beforehand?

FYI - lemon oil attracts some bugs (fleas and ants). ETA: peppermint and lavendar both repel bugs.

We're doing tiki torches. I haven't decided on the candles yet!

As someone who gets eaten alive by mosquitos I would be very appreciative of any action taken to repel bugs.

The smell of citronella makes me gag so I definitely would me taking my food elsewhere to eat, but maybe thats just me.

How about just pug spray in the bathroom so if people want it they can use it.

Thanks so much for all the feedback. This really helps! I just wasn't sure if the size of the candles would be so strong, but just enough to keep bugs away. I'm gonna play it safe and place the candles around the pool/waterfall area and keep repellent in bathrooms. The venue has some tiki torches, I may want to take advantage of that. I'll have to ask if they spray property too.