Lighting the Lanterns

I've been thinking about how to light the paper lanterns at the wedding.  I had originally intended to make led "throwies."  I wasn't really looking forward to it.  It seems like a huge pain in the rear.  But, I hadn't come up with any feasible alternatives.  

This past weekend, Philip and I made a trip to Dollar Tree to pick up a few things I needed for the favor mock-up idea that I had.  I came across these:

(Source)

I need them for the luminary table numbers.  But, then I got to thinking, these might work for the paper lanterns!  They're only 33¢ a piece which isn't much more than I'd be spending on the led throwies.  

So, tonight, I turned one of them on while I was working on the invitations... just to see how long it would last.  After all, if the light only stays on for a few hours, it's not going to work.  We'll need to be able to turn them all on before going to get ready and they'll need to stay on for the entire reception.  

It's going on 7 hours and the light is still on.  Of course, I still want it to last a few more hours, but it's a good start!  The package says 60 hours, but I don't always trust what the package says.

If it lasts 60 hours, we can definitely use these!  We would be able to start the lights the day before when we're decorating the tent and not have to worry about them going out.  That would be wonderful.

Anyway, when I was taking a break from invitations, I decided to do a test to see how well it lit the lanterns.  One worked fine for the 8 inch lantern, but it was too dim for anything bigger.  So, I put two lights together in the 10" lantern.  Here's what I had:

The photos make the glow look more yellow than what it is.  It actually gives it a really nice glow.  I'm very pleased with it!  :)  Here's how I had it rigged up:

Just some fishing line and some tape.  Very simple!  If the light lasts for as long as it is supposed to, I think it's a definite option.  :)  Now, back to working on invitations.  Oh, joy!