Open thread: are there safer wish lantern alternatives for a nighttime send-off? #Reception Advice#bubbles#confetti#lanterns#open thread Posted Dec 15 2015 Catherine Clark bijouxandbits Photo by Wild About You Photography Like pretty much every other person who watched Tangled, I fell in love with wishing lanterns (Chinese lanterns, sky lanterns, etc.). A lot of people caught the trend early and incorporated this into their wedding, which is beautiful and sweet and can also pretty dangerous. Aside from being (ecologically speaking) mass littering, there is a risk of injury or wildfire. Have you seen or can anyone come up with a safe and eco-friendly alternative? Our wedding is on the lake and our send-off is going to be after dark by pontoon. Can you just imagine how pretty those wishing lanterns would be?. – Sarah Related Post Seven rice tossing and send-off alternatives for a very dramatic exit Looking for alternatives to rice throwing at the end of your ceremony or reception? Glad you asked. Here are some bitchin' ways to give your... Read more We've talked a lot about alternative send-offs in general, including some biodegradable options like those from Wish Lantern. They're made of 100% biodegradable material that will bio-degrade in two to three days. Even then, there is still some controversy which may keep you away from those and other lanterns in general. My suggestion is to harness the power of light with something that doesn't float in the area in general. Here are some of our ideas: Sparklers Photo by Charlie Beck Sparklers are an easy way to shed some light on a situation with a minimal amount of cleanup. Glow sticks Let love Glow sign by Chalk Designs By Me Glow sticks are wearable, danceable, and shakeable for awesome photos, natch. Glow-in-the-dark bubbles Bubbles by ThinkGeek Glow-in-the-dark bubbles for that traditional-gone-weird spin that we love. Lightsabers Photo by Irshad Mustafa Geeky, easy to find, and awesome on dance floors, too. Glowing cotton candy Glowing cotton candy by Hollywood Candy Girls LED-lighted balloons LED Balloons from Amazon How about some LED-lighted balloons (that you don't release)? Lighted optic wands Optic wands from AliExpress Optic wands reminds me of Ice Capades and I don't hate that one bit. Throwing it out there: what wish lantern alternatives (or safer wish lanterns) would you guys suggest for a nighttime send-off? Catherine Clark Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com. @enidjcoleslaw @bijouxandbits @bijouxandbits PREVIOUS Prepare yourself for this gloriously foggy mountain top wedding full of craft beer NEXT Honor your service to each other with this super sweet foot-washing ceremony idea Show/Hide comments [ 8 ] oooh thanks for the optic wand idea! We have lots of couples at my venue ask about sparklers, but we don't allow them. The optic wand gives a more similar look to sparklers than any other ideas I've come up with! Reply I've looked into fiber optic wands and glow sticks and I DO like this idea a lot, it kind of plays into the epic-dance-party-rave (sans ecstasy) feel we love. But…I am still hung up on the idea of glowing items floating in the sky. I read somewhere about glow sticks in helium balloons tethered to the ground by long strings so you get the glowing-floating look without littering or creating a hazard. Someone else did point out though that helium is nonrenewable and, since it's used for important medical procedures, using it for a pretty balloon display may not be the most ecologically responsible. That's not to say anyone else shouldn't do it, it's just one of those things that nags me in the back of my mind. It's not "floating" but I already read about having a "paparazzi" style send off with your guests taking rapid-fire pics using the flash on their camera/phones. I can't find any pictures right now of this, anyone else?? Reply Just musing, but could you not attach glow stick to kites or something that doesn't require helium? Or, hell, just tie some fishing wire to the Chinese lanterns and have someone responsible for reeling them back in at the end of the ceremony. They should have enough lift that a bit of wire wouldn't interfere; and then they don't go anywhere they are not supposed to. Reply Just a photographer's perspective on the paparazzi exit – super creative idea but it will be very hard to capture that in a photo. When light sources are popping in and out that you have no control over it would be very difficult to know what settings to use, so your guests' flashes will just show up as a ton of light on you two likely washing you out. However, I do think it would look really cool in video and in person – just don't expect a super great pic from it. Reply I really don't like the sparklers. Although they are pretty, they're often being utilized at the end of the evening by tipsy people, and a lot of the wedding sparklers (which are longer than your July 4 ones) take quite a bit of time to light. As the event planner, it was a hazard and I nearly got burned 3 times by people waving them around a little too emphatically as I tried to light them. Also, if there are children around, it can be very dangerous for them. Just keep the thought in mind about your location and the makeup of your guests as you make the decision! Reply Is there a reason that people use longer sparklers for weddings? I mean does it just look better for pictures or something else? and would normal sparklers eliminate some of the issues? Reply Yes, there is a reason: http://resourcemagonline.com/2015/04/how-the-wrong-sparklers-almost-cost-me-my-wedding-photography-career/51219/ (WARNING: some graphic photos of his hand) More details there, but basically the longer ones used for weddings don't burn down as quickly and have a different color. The 4th of July sparklers are meant for a shorter time so they would NOT be good for this, because sometimes you actually need to do 2 or 3 takes of the bride and groom walking through, or standing for a kiss, so you definitely want the long ones if you insist on using them. Also, the ones at the wedding I was coordinating were specifically meant for weddings but were still not very easy to use, and another hazard was that the bride bought little paper signs with their names on it that she stuck on the end of the sparklers, and we had to run around taking them off so we wouldn't catch people on fire. It was a nightmare. Reply What about something floating on the late instead that can be gathered/collected afterwards. Reply Join the conversation Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign me up for your offbeat awesomeness newsletter! No-drama comment policy Part of what makes the Offbeat Empire different is our commitment to civil, constructive commenting. Make sure you're familiar with our no-drama comment policy. Biz owners & wedding bloggers Please just use your real name in your comment, not your business name or blog title. Our comments are not the place to pimp your website. If you want to promote your stuff on Offbeat Bride, join us as an advertiser instead.
oooh thanks for the optic wand idea! We have lots of couples at my venue ask about sparklers, but we don't allow them. The optic wand gives a more similar look to sparklers than any other ideas I've come up with! Reply
I've looked into fiber optic wands and glow sticks and I DO like this idea a lot, it kind of plays into the epic-dance-party-rave (sans ecstasy) feel we love. But…I am still hung up on the idea of glowing items floating in the sky. I read somewhere about glow sticks in helium balloons tethered to the ground by long strings so you get the glowing-floating look without littering or creating a hazard. Someone else did point out though that helium is nonrenewable and, since it's used for important medical procedures, using it for a pretty balloon display may not be the most ecologically responsible. That's not to say anyone else shouldn't do it, it's just one of those things that nags me in the back of my mind. It's not "floating" but I already read about having a "paparazzi" style send off with your guests taking rapid-fire pics using the flash on their camera/phones. I can't find any pictures right now of this, anyone else?? Reply
Just musing, but could you not attach glow stick to kites or something that doesn't require helium? Or, hell, just tie some fishing wire to the Chinese lanterns and have someone responsible for reeling them back in at the end of the ceremony. They should have enough lift that a bit of wire wouldn't interfere; and then they don't go anywhere they are not supposed to. Reply
Just a photographer's perspective on the paparazzi exit – super creative idea but it will be very hard to capture that in a photo. When light sources are popping in and out that you have no control over it would be very difficult to know what settings to use, so your guests' flashes will just show up as a ton of light on you two likely washing you out. However, I do think it would look really cool in video and in person – just don't expect a super great pic from it. Reply
I really don't like the sparklers. Although they are pretty, they're often being utilized at the end of the evening by tipsy people, and a lot of the wedding sparklers (which are longer than your July 4 ones) take quite a bit of time to light. As the event planner, it was a hazard and I nearly got burned 3 times by people waving them around a little too emphatically as I tried to light them. Also, if there are children around, it can be very dangerous for them. Just keep the thought in mind about your location and the makeup of your guests as you make the decision! Reply
Is there a reason that people use longer sparklers for weddings? I mean does it just look better for pictures or something else? and would normal sparklers eliminate some of the issues? Reply
Yes, there is a reason: http://resourcemagonline.com/2015/04/how-the-wrong-sparklers-almost-cost-me-my-wedding-photography-career/51219/ (WARNING: some graphic photos of his hand) More details there, but basically the longer ones used for weddings don't burn down as quickly and have a different color. The 4th of July sparklers are meant for a shorter time so they would NOT be good for this, because sometimes you actually need to do 2 or 3 takes of the bride and groom walking through, or standing for a kiss, so you definitely want the long ones if you insist on using them. Also, the ones at the wedding I was coordinating were specifically meant for weddings but were still not very easy to use, and another hazard was that the bride bought little paper signs with their names on it that she stuck on the end of the sparklers, and we had to run around taking them off so we wouldn't catch people on fire. It was a nightmare. Reply