You have probably pin-pointed if you want hydrangeas or peonies for wedding flowers or if you want your hair in an up-do or with long, flowing curls, but have you thought about how you want to leave your wedding? A lot of time, effort, and love has gone into planning your perfect wedding day. It is hard to imagine the end of your wedding day. We are quite certain that you also want your day to end perfectly too. Below are a few things to consider!
Thinking of having a brunch wedding?
We firmly believe that you should plan a wedding that is representative of you and your honey’s relationship. So if that means choosing a brunch wedding - go for it.
A major perk to brunch weddings is that you have more options for exits. You will end your wedding in daylight and most of your guests will still be there to send you off.
Here are our favorite ideas for wedding send offs in the daylight:
- Bubbles - make sure you have them out for guests just before you want them to use them. If they are placed out too early, the kids may get to them and use them up. Have them labeled so your guests know what they will be used for.
- Environmentally-Friendly Confetti - regular confetti comes in a range of vibrant colors, but environmentally-friendly confetti can too! You can DIY confetti by hole-punching leaves or flower petals for confetti straight from nature! Otherwise, there are many Etsy shops that also have eco-friendly confetti available.
- Streamers - hand out streamers for your guests to wave as you make your big farewell.
- Vintage Car - find a nice car, hop in, drive off with the love of your life to celebrate your forever.
You could also choose to do these exit ideas as you leave your ceremony! This is a great option if you are having a traditional timeline, but want to incorporate an exit that would not be visible at night.
For your evening exit…
If you are planning a traditional wedding timeline, many people opt to not do an evening exit. Some things to consider if you do plan an evening exit…
- Keep in mind how long your guests may be staying. While a grand send off sounds fantastic after the last call, it may not be everything you dreamed and hoped for if many of your guests leave early. If you have had siblings get married recently, think back to when family began to leave their wedding.
- Have a time listed and visible. Having informed guests can make or break an exit. We are happy to help coordinate the logistics of the exit during that time, but everyone needs to be aware of your exit happening!
- Consider lighting! Good lighting will make or break the photos of your exit. If you’re looking for an iconic exit photo to hang on your wall, make sure there is some light out still.
The most popular wedding exit: sparklers!
Sparklers are a fun way to end your wedding day! As wedding photographers, we have experienced the use of sparklers in many different ways at weddings. We have seen them done quite well, but have also seen a few hiccups, so below are our tips and tricks to have a successful sparkler exit!
- Chat with your venue and gather any information they have to share about doing a sparkler exit. Some venues may have restrictions about location, others may just share popular spots they have seen couples do their sparkler exits.
- Purchase long sparklers! Sparklers can range in many different lengths. The longer the sparkler, the longer they burn.
- Have your supplies set aside and ready to go before the exit begins. Have buckets ready for guests to put their burned out sparklers into when they are finished so it can make for a safer and easier cleanup for you and your venue.
- Assign someone to be in charge of distributing sparklers. We typically help line up people and let them know where to stand. REMEMBER: we walk through and under the sparklers (and yes, backwards for your photographers and videographers), so we help your guests know where to stand to keep everyone safe. Once everyone is lined up, have your distributer hand out sparklers.
- Stagger lighting the sparklers. If you buy short sparklers, we need to optimize their burn time. Staggering when they are lit can help! Your point person for handing out sparklers, can also help with handing out lighters. Only pass lighters out when it is okay for guests to start lighting!
- Don’t expect to run through. We encourage our couples to walk through the sparklers and soak in the moment. This is the last part of your wedding day, don’t feel like you need to rush it.
- We will likely walk through more than once. This is where the long sparklers come in handy - there are 36” sparklers which are great! We encourage walking through one or two times, especially if you are also getting videography done for your wedding day.
- Listen closely! We may yell at you to stop and kiss when you reach a certain point, because it looks really freaking cute.
Another option, rather than doing a sparkler exit, is to just have a time where guests can use sparklers!
Rather than walking under them, you can have a little more fun and play around with them too. These sparkler alternatives are growing in popularity as well! This is a great option for backyard weddings, like Rachel & Josh had.
We love how unique you can plan your wedding, and your exit is a fantastic way to personalize your day! Plan ahead for a smooth and successful day and enjoy our other client education guides for additional help.