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I have always loved butterflies. I would love to release a few during the ceremony. But is it ethical? Does it mix up their migration patterns? Hurt the little critters? Anyone have any experiences or feelings about it?
The lady at my venue said they tried to release butterflies once and they did something wrong or it was too cold outside and all of the butterflies froze to death. Not trying to be mean, but these are living things, not props. At the bottom of your post where there are other posts listed, there is one for faux butterflies release:
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/faux-butterfly-release
Maybe check into that and see if it would work for you.
Hope that helps!
I don't know if I should judge if it's cruel or not because I kill spiders. Spiders freak me out & bite, so I actually have no problem squishing them. Butterflies are better looking than a spider so people usually have a problem with the possibility of one dying... that kind of annoys me actually! Why do butterflies get a free pass? How many of the people voting "cruel" attack a spider when they see it in their living room?! I wouldn't go around killing butterflies, but I'd be a hypocrite if I said it were cruel.
I wouldn't have a butterfly release though (and this is just me) because it costs around $10 per butterfly, shipping butterflies into areas where they aren't originally from can affect the biodiversity of the area & the idea of guests opening up a package with a dead butterfly in it kind of puts a downer on the whole release!
Not a PETA advocate by any means but living creatures are not decorations. There are countless stories about them dying in transit so that there are dead/traumatized butterflies in boxes that will not fly away, which upsets guests. Also, when they are transported via mail order, etc they are not able to find their way home.
I work as a wedding photo assistant and the sad truth is that in most weddings where brides have released butterflies, a lot of them are dead as the guests/bride and groom open the box. Bummer.
I guess when it comes to insects I'm a heartless wench. I really wouldn't care if all the butterflies died. Heck, I think a mounted butterfly would be a really cool favor! I just don't associate "cruelty" with bugs. And a July wedding in Jersey, doesn't sound like they'll freeze to death, they'll be fine.
Well, it certainly doesn't sound nice. Or easy to pull off anyway. I'd skip this one.
I voted for "cruel"; I've seen on a couple wedding shows when the butterflies are released they don't really fly, they just kind of lay on the ground frozen, it's really sad. I guess they arrive frozen and you're supposed to let them thaw for a while before releasing; it just sounds awful and kind of pointless, and I wouldn't want those poor butterflies suffering on one of the happiest days of our lives!
I've seen this done at a wedding or two, and unfortunately, not all the butterflies survive. It's a good idea in theory, but I think they're too delicate. :(
I don't really know much about the effects this has on the butterflies, but I would listen to the other brides and maybe think of another way to get the same affect. Sounds like you might run into dead butterflies, and that is not cute on your wedding day!
I wouldn't do it just because opening a box and expecting a grand flutter of butterflies but instead having a kind of lame tumbling of dead and half dead bugs falling listlessly to the ground is a pretty big buzz kill. Maybe you could look into releasing doves- there are people who specially train them for this sort of thing, so they're totally used to it and know to come back to the trainer afterwards, so there's no chance of disrupting the local environment or hurting the animals.
cruel - because of the 5 weddings i have been to that tried to do this, the butterflies died before the ceremony release. they suffocate in those little things and if they live, the box takes off all of the covering of their wings and they cant fly right... so not a fan.
if there was a way to keep em alive, sure no problem. but they ALWAYS DIE.
I'd be torn too but decide not to do it. It was be to cruel to me, I mean, as long as the butterflies were treated as glass and taken care of very well then I guess it would be okay.
I do like the faux butterfly release though!! that could be perfect
I would say go for it, except when I was about 10 I went to a family member's wedding and my box's butterfly had never hatched. I was pretty bummed out about it.
But my answer doesn't have much to do with animal cruelty. If logistics aren't an issue, I think it's a really pretty thing!
I don't think I've ever thought of it as cruel before, but considering it now... maybe a little bit. :/ but no worse than doves, IMO.
Living creatures shouldn't be decorations! I'd try to think of another way to incorporate butterflies into your wedding:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3587443743_259d1d1bf4_o.jpg
It doesn't seem particularly cruel to me, as butterflies don't have the most advanced neurological systems. Instead it just seems wasteful and pretentious. I think this is one of those things that looks pretty on TV or in a movie, but done by normal people in normal life looks pretty dumb. I can totally see why you would be interested, but think of it in real life, not in a fantasy way, and I think you'll see what I mean.
I think that it would be neat. I mean if you had someone catch them that day or something it wouldn't be that cruel... I mean an alternative would be to release two doves...
Since none of us knows what it's like to be a butterfly, why not err on the side of caution and respect the fact that these living beings might not enjoy spending what could possibly be their last few hours, (if they do suffocate to death, which seems all too plausible), trapped in a dark tiny box instead of flying through a field like they do naturally. It's just so unnecessary and there are countless other things to make your wedding memorable.
I think it's cruel and bizarre. Like others have said, living things are not decorations, IMHO.
yuck, i saw it on a wedding show and they released and they were dead/ fell to the gound and the bride and groom were stepping on them... it was gross and even though their just insects, i would feel bad putting them through something like that- likely it would kill them.
I don't want to start my lifetime of happiness with my fiance with dead creatures of any kind!
Butterflies scare the crap outta me. I know I'm not the only one. It would be cruel... to me! (Probably for the butterflies too!)
I've never seen it done, but based on what other Bees are saying, it sounds like it's usually an unsuccessful venture. I would skip it. I did see one of the posted a link to a faux butterfly release, which looks interesting.
I was a bridesmaid in a wedding that had a butterfly release, and it didn't go as well as you'd expect. A lot of the butteflies clung to the inside of the giant basket they were kept in, and it was a little icky seeing them all massed in one place (the "bug" factor was much higher than the "beautiful butterfly" factor). And then they were crawling all over everyone for the rest of the reception, which was also not that enchanting. I'd skip it.
With how fragile butterflies are, I could see how most of them probably wouldn't make it to the actual release. Definitely not as pretty as you imagine when half the butterflies are already dead! And I bet they wouldn't all fly away. Some would probably stick around and annoy guests (especially those who don't like bugs!)
I love butterflies and couldn't imagine actively doing something that might kill them..they live such short lives anyway. They're so beautiful.
I guess I'm in the creatures aren't decor crowd here.
I love butterflies and couldn't imagine actively doing something that might kill them..they live such short lives anyway. They're so beautiful.
I guess I'm in the creatures aren't decor crowd here.
Butterflies, don't feel pain. But even so, with such a low sucess rate of the critters being alive... I just wouldn't do it. Def a buzz kill.
We did a butterfly release and NOT ONE of the butterflies was dead or injured. We ordered from swallowtailfarms.com (I am not sure why they call it Swallowtail Farms when they have Monarchs and not Swallowtails 
) . Granted I have some experience handling butterflies, (I was actually the "butterfly wrangler" on the day of the wedding, transferring butterflies from their shipping evelopes to the release box while wearing my wedding dress), but if you follow the instructions you shouldn't have a problem with butterfly injury or death.
Also, I assume you are talking about Monarchs? They are normally fairly hardy butterflies. We have milkweed and a butterfly garden in our yard. My mom does daycare, so we have always brought butterfly eggs and caterpillars inside for the kids to watch grow, learn about the life cycle and changes butteflies go through, and then release the butterflies into the garden. We would have used "our" butterflies, but they are not available in large numbers in Minnesota the time of year we got married.
Most monarchs DO NOT migrate, so you shouldn't worry about that. They live for a couple weeks, lay eggs, and then die. Only the last butterflies of the year actually migrate south. They then spend the winter in warmer climates and subsequent generations make the return trip north.
It also take a LOT of handling (or rather MIShandling) to damage their wings. Not one of the butterflies we released were injured, (we did a mass release of two dozen butterflies). You would have to tear or break a wing, or remove a LOT of scales on the wings to injure it so badly it couldn't fly. Normal handling should not do this, and if they are propely packaged, they shouldn't get damaged in the mail.
They ARE sensitive to temperature. They can die in the mail if they get too hot, but a responisible butterfly farm will send them will icepacks to keep them in a resting state, (when the weather gets cold outside, butterflies aren't active, and cold packs bascially borrow from this). Actually, keeping one or two butterflies in reserve near the ice pack will keep it cold enough that you can place it on your boquet for pictures. The photographer should be quick, because they warm up fairly quickly, but you should have 30 seconds or so before it flutters away. A couple of ours didn't warm up fully before the release, (because the person in charge of the box put the box too close to the ice packs again before the release! Oops!) so a few landed on the ground for a little bit before flying away, but again, none were harmed.
And cruel? Really ladies? They're insects. Granted, they are ATTRACTIVE insects, bave you never squished a mosquito, or a box elder bug or other "disgusting bug"? This isn't like taking a magnifying glass to ants. If you find a reputable butterfly farm and follow their instructions, there is nothing cruel about it.
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@Miss Pizzelle: How do you know butterflies and other insects don't feel pain? There are many scientists who believe that butterflies experience things like fear and pain, and many who say they don't know, and quite frankly, we will never know what it's like to be a butterfly, but when butterflies and other insects exhibit behaviors that we would consider to be the effects of cruelty were they observed in larger, more complex animals (i.e., lethargy), it suggests that they at least don't feel optimal. To cause suffering--no matter how rudimentary it really is--to any animal for the sake of spectacle, a mere few seconds of excitement, when there are endless other things to do to make a wedding beautiful and exciting, seems senseless.
Miss Apricot: Thanks for sharing your experience. At my dad's second wedding, we released butterflies, and it was beautiful. I don't remember any of the butterflies being hurt or dead. Is it a little indulgent and maybe not the most friendly for the environment? Sure. But I don't think its any more harmful than a lot of other things that go on in the wedding industry that actually hurt people.
I don't know anything about the cruelty part an dhave never experienced it at a wedding. But I did go to a funeral where they had a butterfly release and it was pretty in theory, but the butterflies, I think, were a little discombobulated. Because they didn't really take flight at first and the ones that did kept on bumping into things. Maybe it would be better if they did this outside. But again, I don't know how it would be if it was. Hope it helps.
I had a friend do this.. they have to keep the butterflies in the fridge to "keep them calm". They left them in too long and they were almost all comatose when they let them out.. they didn't fly away, they were all over the ground, and subsequently some got stepped on.. it wasn't a great idea in my honest opinon.
Even though I love butterflies I have to say no on it. I went to a wedding once, during the middle of summer, and when we went to open the little packets with the butterflies in them they all were either dead or still asleep and just flopped to the ground. It was pretty sad.
if you could be sure they were all alive... maybe! but i think they're pretty - FROM FAR AWAY. Close up they are just as gross as every other bug. And in a bunch they're super gross. Even ladybugs that totally get a free pass in my book for being a cute insect that i won't scream about is totally foul if there is more than a few in one place. The butterflies might not die, but they could give your guests the heebie jeebies. I have a friend that is terrified of butterflies.
I just dislike bugs though. I'm all for catch and release when critters get in the house (lizards, snakes, etc) but bugs? I'd squish them if i weren't so much of a wimp. Based on their level of grossness (and whether my DH is home to intervene), they either get a catch and release in a closed napkin, capture in a tissue and a screaming flush, a good suck of the vaccum and immediate dump of the contents, or I call a neighbor and cry about it.
I have to say it can be beautiful but...some of the weddings I have been to that did this the butterflies were still so lethargic that they wouldn't fly! Some were dead, all in all not sure if I would take the risk. Nothing sadder on a wedding day than holding a lifeless butterfly
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