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i love sparkler send offs! my only advice: DO NOT buy the long ones that are wrapped in paper. buy the shorter metal ones...my FSIL had the big ones that burn different colors and there was sooo much smoke - you could barely see through it.
NO!
YES!
Oooh, good advice. I was looking at these ones online. They look like the regular sparkler, but they are double the size. (20 inches vs 10 inches)
You think it would work if I had them arranged in baskets with a note simply stating "Sparkler Send Off at 10pm"?? (That's the time our reception ends.)
To be honest, as a guest I wouldn't take part. I don't want to burn holes in my nice clothes.
And as a bride, I don't want to burn holes in my dress.
I was thinking of doing this as well, but am worried about how to let guests know as well. I like your basket idea though - so simple I hadn't thought of it!
I'm sure PitBulLover had this and it looked really good as her guests were stood on a pier sparkling them off on their boat. Hope she sees this so she can fill you in on the details ;)
Leaving aside the usual concerns about sparks causing tiny burns in clothes, you can do it.
You do however, need to have it well organized or you will never have all the sparklers lit at the same time.
You need helpers designated ahead of time with butane lighters so that ALL of the sparklers can be lit within a very short period of time. The number of helpers depends on the number of guests.
The bride and groom need to be completely ready to leave and waiting at the nearest exit because you won't have a long period of time to get that shot for your photographer.
I love the idea and have seen pictures where it's turned out beautifully. I did attend a wedding last June where they were a huge failure. They were regular sparklers but NOBODY could get them lit, not even started. Everyone was frantically going through their matches trying to light them, some were getting out their cigarette lighters but I honestly don't recall even ONE getting lit. It wasn't windy outside either, just extremely humid ... but those sparklers would not light.
I would definitely test one ahead of time. Otherwise, I think it'd be gorgeous.
Honestly, I would be worried about the safety aspects. Here is an old poll that you may find interesting regarding WB people who were burned by sparklers or knew someone who was.
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/has-anyone-ever-heard-of-this
Hmm...the safety issue never even crossed my mind. I'll have to check out that poll you posted, but I've never heard of anyone hurting themselves with a sparkler! I am more worried about the timing of it and the sparklers actually being able to light.
We did it and no one got burned! Haha! Oddly enough, the thought of setting things on fire never even entered my mind! Here are some tips:
1) Check with your venue. Some areas have fire codes that classify sparklers as "fireworks" and prohibit them without a license.
2) Buy the metal ones. They have much less smoke.
3) Buy bigger ones depending on how big your crowd is. More people = longer sparklers. I bought mine from SparklersRUs.com with a 25% off promo code!
4) Designate a few people (could be your bridal party, or could just be people you know will be sober at the end of the night) to hand out sparklers and carry lighters. We had two people handing out sparklers as the guests exited to form the sendoff lines, and about 5 people who ran around with lighters - we had about 150 guests. You want all the sparklers to be lit at the same time!
5) Have your DJ/emcee make an announcement before - "It's time to send off the bride and groom! Please line up at the door and grab a sparkler on your way out!"
6) Make sure your photographer knows it's happening - sparkler shots are hard to get!
Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions!
Welp, i'm a fan of the sparklers! I've always planned on having these at our wedding when the time comes and often sit around and daydream about how pretty the pictures will be. :)
I've only been to one other wedding that used sparklers and nothing horrible happened to anyone that I was aware of. They looked more like the shorter metal ones that totheislnds said worked better. I think it's just important, as with anything essentially related to fire, that maybe someone handing them out can give some sort of disclaimer to be careful and not touch anyone/anything with their sparklers.
Though, I only have one word of warning....
While at the wedding I went to with the sparklers there were no individual catastrophes, but there was still a funny little incident that happened. There was one guy (very obviously drunk) handing out sparklers to everyone, and they had all of the sparklers being kept in a somewhat large glass vase (before they were individually given out.) Well, they all lighted easily and then the bride and groom came through and had a beautiful sendoff. Then once they left, everyone put out their sparklers but the little drunk guy thought that it would be a great idea to light all of the extra sparklers that were still in the glass vase. So..he did. At first it looked like a giant sparkling flower, but then the guy started to freak out and jump around because the sparks were working their way down and made the vase hot. All the while, the vase also started to crack because it was just sooo hot and then he dropped it, sending all of the sparklers and vase to break on the ground outside the venue where they had their sendoff.
It was a funny sight, but definitely not an ideal sparkler experience. So, my advice in a nutshell:
1. Tell people to be careful with their sparklers.
2. Don't simultaneously light mass quantities of sparklers that are all together (especially in a breakable container).
3. Don't let anyone under the influence hand out sparklers or be in charge of lighting them.
Other than those minor things, I say go for it if you want them & enjoy it the experience! :)
I like the idea of sparkler sendoffs but it seems a little bridezilla to me. My goal is for everyone to spend time together and enjoy the evening. I wouldn't want to break up someone's conversation for a "look-at-me-i'm-the-bride" again moment that late in the event.
@totheislnds: Noooo! NOT the short ones! And they makes SMOKELESS sparklers! The short ones have a burn time of about 30 seconds... that is NOT enough time! For safety reasons the short ones are a very very very bad decision!!! My brother did this and it was VERY bad!
We used the longest ones we could find. Burn time was around 5 minutes! This gave everyone enough time to get them lit, calmly take care of it, and we weren't "rushed" to hurry and run! It also keeps the fire further away from everyone!
Also, check with your venue. Some have requirements. We had to provide a sand bucket... we just went to the beach and filled a bucket with sand :)
bluebonnet those are excellent tips!
check out
http://weddingsparklers.posterous.com/
for pics and tips about sparkler use.
They did this at my cousin's wedding. Like PPs said, don't use the short ones. After they're lit, it will be a few seconds before you and your husband will come out of the venue; you don't want people to get burned as you're walking out!
There were several intoxicated people who got out of hand with the sparklers. If you're having an open bar, I would maybe try to talk you out of the sparklers. For instance, one of my aunts literally walked up and was waving one in someone's face.
The whole thing was a cool idea in theory, but really made a lot of guests nervous.
We did! We used the long sparkers and had a sober person give them out to only those who weren't too drunk. It was a lot of fun and really memorable!
@Treasure43: That's a smarter idea. My cousin had them in big vases and they were accessible to anyone.
I love sparklers! But they scare me as well. When I was in the crowd I was scared... sparklers everywhere surrounding me. And guests just twirling them as if they didn't even see me standing there. But as a bride I might like it, mostly because everyone wants to be careful around the bride. I like the pictures you posted! It looks like not everyone has sparklers. Or guests are spread out... either way, if I did sparklers (which i think is the easiest thing) I may try to have key people hold them or just have a longer walk to the car. Who knows.
I'm doing them!!! I hadn't actually had a sparkler in a long time and we bought some just the other day for New Year's Eve and I was a kid again!!!! Venue is a mansion right outside of town (maybe, still hadn't completely 100% decided on venue) and will allow them. Sooo much fun! I hope it goes well.
I LOVE the idea of a sparkler send-off!! My friend used the long sparklers for her wedding and they were beautiful!!! They were not smoky at all!
I found this video on a sparkler site and wanted to share it with everyone here:
http://www.buysparklers.com/video_a/132.html
I am definitely going to go with sparklers!
People who relate sparkler experiences (good and bad) aren't giving usable advice unless they include details such as the brand or vendor, SIZE, condition of guests (drunk/sober, young/old, wild/tame), and the space in which used (indoor/outdoor, in a tiny/narrow/closed or spacious/wide/open space).
If you are using anything less than a smokeless, good brand, 36" long from a reputable vendor you are asking for trouble. Order a package far in advance of the wedding and have several trustworthy, responsible people light them and do a mock-up of what you are planning. If these sober, thoughtful people who are tryiing their best create a scenario in which you, or any of them feel unsafe, have burnt clothes or flesh, see embers falling on/near you, you need to go back to drawing board and find, if possible, better sparklers or another way to have a sendoff. Picture the scenario you just created with your specific venue, number of guests, age of guests (tired, hyper small children with large flaming objects) condition of guests (tired, drunk, fun-loving adults with large flaming objects) and make your best, educated decision. Picture drunk Uncle Harry stumbling down a step with his lit sparkler and burning another guest. Picture little Johnny grabbing a lit sparkler from mommy and playing Pirates of the Carribean with anyone within reach. Get the picture LOL?!
Know your guests, know your venue, know your vendor and then choose wisely.
Do not use Morning Glory sparklers under any circumstance...they are designed to shoot sparks, smoke like crazy and are unsafe in any type of indoor space or where people are close together.
I love sparklers and fireworks, and I love the look of a sparkler exit for bride and groom. I've just seen too much crazy behavior at receptions to feel comfortable with them.
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Has anyone had a sparkler sendoff at their wedding reception?
I'd love to hear some success (or even failure) stories! How did you make it work??