Let Sparks Fly: A Guide to the Sparkler Exit
Ohhhhh the sparkler exit. It's been glorified on every social media platform and by every wedding publication. Crazy effects, passionate kisses lit by just the light of a hundred sparklers... It all sounds so wonderful! And it can be... If you do a few simple things...
1.) Buy the long sparklers!
The longer the better (errr... *cough*). Let's face it... The short ones are fine... But the first time I saw one of these super long sparklers I was hooked. I think I shrieked something along the lines of "YES! THESE ARE SO GOOD!" because there wasn't that horrible feeling of needing to rush. The little ones burn out so fast... so unless your friends and families are really good at quickly organizing and lighting sparklers with the skill level of an experienced arsonist you'll just have a bunch of burnt out sticks being waved by disappointed wedding guests. Instead of cheering you'll hear the faint grumblings of all the guests as they wave their spent sparklers complaining that "mine is out already!!!".
2.) Have a lot of lighters.
When I say "a lot" of lighters I really mean have A LOT. I'd say at least 10. The biggest mistake I've seen with sparkler send offs is that everyone is trying to share one or two lighters. This is when the smokers suddenly become the heroes. Everyone is congratulating them on having a lighter and thanking them for sharing the gift of fire. Having at least 10 makes the whole situation much more organized and way less chaotic. The best lighters are the long reach lighters. The ones you'd use for bbqs or fireplaces.
3.) Don't wait until the last minute
I have a lot of couples that ask me how to time their day based on their sparkler send off. I usually tell them not to worry about it because there's the option for a fake send off. Fake send off sounds less romantic.. We can call it an Encore Exit? Basically you stage your send off. This is great for so many reasons!
3a.) People are still around!
Let's face it. A lot of people don't stay until the very end, especially if you have a really late reception. The older crowd and people with kids are probably going to head out well before midnight.
3b.) Everyone isn't super drunk
People get drunk at weddings! It's what typically happens. You're dressed up, you're full of delicious food... There's an open bar! Two really cool people just got married so you're going to drink. It's better to do the send off before people become so drunk that being around an open flame becomes dangerous.
3c.) You can run through the sparkler line a couple times
You're not actually leaving. You're not going to disappear into a car and race off once you get to the end of the line of sparklers. You're doing this to get great pictures! So you can do it again and again if you'd like... Especially if the sparklers are long! This will give you an opportunity to get the best possible set of pictures! When it's dark and everyone is only being lit by sparklers there is some room for error. This eliminates that :)
4.) Kiss a lot! And kiss strategically.
This probably sounds silly but hear me out... Why not get amazing pictures of you running through the sparklers AND kissing at certain points? I love when the couple kisses before they start their way down the aisle of sparklers. So you'd start by kissing, walk half way through... and why not kiss again? That way you're in the middle! Sparklers behind you and in front of you. And for good measure you can kiss again once you're at the very end of the sparkler aisle. That way you'll get all of your guests with their sparklers behind you. It's pretty great.
Visit www.asteriaphoto.com for more information on this Columbus, Ohio wedding photographer!