Many churches elect to use a hanging advent wreath or ceiling mounted wreath instead of a traditional floor stand. The use of the hanging wreath makes it easier for the congregation to the see the wreath more clearly and elevates itto a position of prominence during Advent. Careful planning should go into the choice of a hanging wreath in order minimize possible problems.

First, you need to decide where you want the wreath to hang. Choose a spot that will allow you to place a ladder on the floor so you can access the wreath for lighting.

If the idea of climbing a ladder to light your Advent candles makes you  nervous, there are two common solutions.

The first is to hang your wreath in such a manner so it can be lowered to the ground for lighting. You should attach a pulley assembly to the ceiling with a steel airplane cable or similar strong cable that runs over to another pulley or an eyelet mounted into the wall. From the eyelet, the cable will run down the wall and be fastened to another hook or eyelet.

It's best to secure the cable so it cannot slip through someone's hands allowing the wreath to fall to the ground. You could have two "stops" in the cable, which could be as simple as bolt-on clasps that will not go through the eyelet without manual intervention. In this manner, when it's time to light the candles, someone unhooks the cable at the wall and lowers it to the ground, or to a predetermined height that's ideal for lighting, and then rehooks the cable to the eyelet.

You can secure decorative brass or bronze chain from the wreath up to the pulley and then attach the chain to the cable.

Alternatively, you can also purchase a counter weight so the wreath can easily be raised and lowered. The beauty of the counterweight is that when properly balanced, you simply grab the bottom of the wreath and pull it down, where it will stay until you apply upward pressure to the wreath. When the wreath is lifted, the counterweight at that point will raise the wreath back up as long as upward pressure is applied by a person.

The drawback of using a counter weight with your wreath is that the wreath must be no higher than someone can reach, although you can extend your reach a couple of feet with the use of a small, portable step stool. The other drawback to the counterweight is cost, they usually cost as much, if not more than the advent wreath itself. But if you are looking for an easy and safe way to raise and lower your hanging advent wreath, the counterweight is definitely the way to go.

Our hanging wreaths are available in brass, bronze or wrought iron but remember that you may need to call us to order. If the standard hanging models don't work for you, we will need to add the hanging assembly to one of our Advent wreath tops or heads.

You can use standard 1-1/2" diameter candles in our hanging wreaths or, if you want larger diameter candles, we can usually adapt them to hold larger candles, give us a call!