Wedding Sparklers: Planning your sparkly moment.
ooooh, ahhh, so pretty and erm ouch HOT!
Sparklers are fun, beautiful and exciting and they can set the perfect scene for filming a dazzling wedding exit. However, guests can get over excited and without a bit of planning the sparklers could run out or cause an accident. With this in mind we thought it might be handy to write up a little bit of advice to help you create an action plan to create the perfect sparkler moment for your wedding film. Before getting too excited and making any plans please check with your venue to see whether they allow sparklers, if they do then follow the key steps below.
Plan the time
Talk to your venue, photographers and videographers about which time might be best. You might want this right at the end of the evening and this might work if your party is small, the exit is lit and your guests aren’t likely to be too drunk. If you don’t have a safe area and feel a bit wary of your guests waving sticks of fire at you at 12am then it might be worth considering an earlier sparkler arch instead! The best time for this for your videographers and photographers is dusk, as the ambient light makes everyone’s faces look great but the glow from the sparklers still glisten.
Pick someone to be in charge
Find a person or two that you trust, that is a bit bossy and ideally has a very loud voice and wont be too drunk. This can be a wedding planner, groomsmen or bridesmaid. Ensuring they have an appropriate amount of lighters/matches to light sparklers with.
Plan where you would like your sparkler moment
If planning a sparkler arch Ideally this will be outside by the door or exit as you leave, it needs to be a place, with a good backdrop and a bit of lighting where two rows of people can fit comfortably with plenty of space between each person opposite. There should be the length of about 6 foot between the rows, so that you can both can walk through comfortably without feeling worried about being poked in the eye or set on fire.
Plan the shots you would like
Do you just want images of you walking through the sparkler arch or do you want to go in for a kiss? Do you want some couple-only shots with the two of you making sparkler shapes? Let your photographer and videographer know what you would like so they can make sure they catch all these cute moments for you.
Schedule the sparklers in
it’s really important if you would like to create an arch with all your guests to schedule this into your day. This way your guests will be expecting it and have an idea of what they need to do. You can include it on your programme or ask someone to notify the guests. If you are saving your sparklers for the arch its best to keep these out of the way until its time as over excited guests may light them before its time.
Use extra long sparklers
Sparklers that are advertised as ‘Wedding Sparklers’ are typically fairly short, but ideally what you need is extra-long, slow-burn sparklers. The extra-long length keeps the hot bit further away from dresses, and the slower burn time will give us a little extra time to nail the shots. 18 Inch Sparklers like these from Amazon would do the trick. However extra long sparklers may also get a bit hotter so its important your guests are prepared for this, you might want to offer gloves for your guests to use so they don’t burn their fingers.
Provide a safe place to dispose of Sparklers
Provide a metal bucket with water/sand and ask all your guests to place their Sparkler in here when they have finished! The last thing you want is your venue going up in flames!
Alternatives to Sparklers
If a sparkler send-off starts to seem too complicated - or the weather is rubbish - but you still want to make a special exit as newlyweds, there are alternative options.
Your guests could use torches on their phones or glow sticks and wave them around as you leave
Ask your venue to light pillar candles for your exit path
Your guests could wave white or bright coloured ribbon wands
Toss Airplanes at you ( perhaps with all their well-wishes written on them)
Champayne Showers
Smoke Bombs
People arch with hugs and kisses on the way out
Classic tin can and a car get away
