Alright all you beautiful brides-to-be…wedding season is officially here and I know you’ve got so much on your plates right now. Drew and I are about to hit our one year anniversary and I can still vividly remember all the details there are to consider when planning a wedding and it can definitely get stressful at times. SO I wanted to take a little load off your shoulders and give you some ideas on something that can be a very sweet end to your wedding night. If you’ve always imaged sneaking out with the love of your life and opt out of an exit, that’s magical too! What’s important is that you do what you want. BUT for the purpose of this blog post, I’m going to tell you all about

your grand exit

Here’s a few options that I’ve seen (and personally did at our wedding) that I think you’ll love! It’s fun to go out in a bang and all of these make great images for the last page of your wedding album 😉

Sparkler Send Off

This is really in these days and I totally understand why! I LOVE IT! The images always turn out SO well, and speaking from personal experience, it’s a pretty magical way to end your night so I highly recommend it! But, the question is, which ones should you buy?

• As far as which length to choose, the classic 20″ (listed below) is my favorite because the burn time is about 2-4 minutes. This is ideal timing for all of your guests to get their sparkler lit before you make your way down the tunnel. I would suggest staying away from 10″ or 36″ sparklers because the 10″ doesn’t ever seem to last long enough (approximately 40 seconds) and the 36″ seems to lasts a little too long (approximately 4 minutes).
• Gold or colorful? I love the classic gold because from a photographer standpoint, they are very ideal. The colorful sparklers called “Morning Glory” give off A LOT of color (which is pretty), followed by A LOT of smoke. If that’s the look you’re going for, then these are for you! Keep in mind that most of these images will turn out Black and White because the color changes can make skin tones look really out of wack.

I HIGHLY recommend these 20″ sparklers because they don’t create smoke, they burn for 2-3 minutes, and I personally used them at our wedding so I can vogue for them. If you’d like to know more about sparklers specifically, head to one of my favorite photographer’s, Abby Grace Photography, to read her blog post about them!

Lanterns

I always think of the scene from Tangled or/and images from Thailand’s Lantern Festival. There is something so enchanting about lanterns. I’ve actually never photographed or attended a wedding with a lantern send off before, but I hope I get to someday!!

Bubbles

If you aren’t into sparklers/lanterns or it’s not possible with your venue, bubbles are a fun option. They are simple, there’s no clean up required, and your guests can take them home as a party favor. If children at your wedding- they will LOVE playing with them. We recommend doing this as you leave your ceremony because the bubbles will show up SO much better than they would in the evening!

Some other great options

• Cell Phone Flash Lights- instead of sparklers, just have your guests use their phones. At first glance, you’d think these were sparklers in the photos! Super easy, cheap, and no clean up required.
• Bells- these could be hand held vintage bells or small ones attached to a wand + ribbon
• Glow sticks (or, if you’re Star War enthusiasts, lightsabers)
• Confetti or dried flowers- make sure to check with your venue first as this may require a lot of clean up
• Balloons
• And if you want to go really old school, Rice is right for you. Although, I’m positive this has faded out because it’s probably pretty painful haha

I hope you’ll find this resource helpful as you’re choosing your exit. You’re doing a great job- keep it up! Your grand exit will be here before we know it!!

Xoxo

Mon

andddd…Just for laughs…this is what some of our groomsmen did with our sparklers (and bug spray) after we went through our sparkler exit…never a dull moment 🙂 haha