Confetti!
It’s not always paper petals
Confetti talk!
One of my favourite moments at a wedding is the confetti throwing.
Did you know that as early as the 14th Century confetti has been thrown at a celebration? Back then the medieval Italians used to throw nuts, seeds, dried fruit, flowers and even eggs and mud! In the UK uncooked rice was thrown, which symbolised fertility, but it was the Victorians that popularised paper confetti.
Now eco-friendly couples (and some venue restrictions) mean that brides and grooms are looking at alternatives to paper confetti.
Dried Petals Confetti
Petals are a great alternative - and can be collected from yours, your families and friends’ gardens to save you a few pennies. Here’s a good post on what you need to do with the petals you collect https://wildflower-favours.co.uk/make-natural-petal-confetti-home/
Herb Confetti
At one wedding the couple had their guests throw dried herbs for confetti. The herbs used had special properties such as marjoram for love & health, rosemary for loyalty, bay for protection and mint for strength.
Again if you are able to grow these (or get a green fingered relative or two to grow them!) this can save you some money.
Bubbles!
Another popular alternative is bubbles. I always suggest that a couple of the guests have bubble guns, that way you should achieve more bubbles than just having the guests trying to blow a load with the little pots. Also if you have any kids at your wedding they will have fun playing with the bubble guns afterwards.
Eco friendly paper confetti
And of course there are lots of bio-degradable and recyclable paper options now for traditional paper confetti.
How to get the best confetti photos
I prefer two lines of guests that you can walk through, people will hopefully wait you get to them before throwing so you’ll get a wave of confetti rather than it all being thrown at once. If you opt for a static confetti throw then the chances are your guests will crowd around you and all I will get in the photos are the backs of your guests heads!
Ideally guests should wait until you are just in line with them and then throw it up so that it floats gently and prettily down. In reality they will probably throw it right at your faces!
Walk slowly
OK so whilst I would like you to walk slowly you will probably be tempted to walk as fast as you can to get away from relatives and friends trying to shove confetti down your dress or the back of your shirt! However if you do feel the urge to run then go for it but please give me the nod that you are going to do this so I am ready!
Bubbles have the added advantage of your guests not being able to shove them down your clothing which makes for a more relaxed less frantic moment so you can take your time!
Whatever you are having for your confetti make sure there is lots of it for your guests to throw so that there is a good chance your photo will have maximum confetti coverage!
The ultimate confetti photo
For the ultimate confetti photo then you can’t go wrong with a couple of confetti canons! These are great fired when you take to the dance floor for your first dance.
So what are you planning for your confetti? Any of these or something completely different? I’d love to know!
So more of my favourite confetti moments for inspiration
Cheryl & Paul's Wedding at East Sussex National Golf Club, Uckfield
Wedding at East Sussex National, Uckfield
These two - multiple rearrangements but eventually got their day last July. And what a day!
I spent a bit of time at the couple’s home capturing bridal prep, (Cheryl looked stunning in her Wed2Be dress) before heading off to St Michael’s & All Angels Church in Jarvis Brook, Crowborough.
The service was beautiful and it was the first time since pre covid that singing was allowed making it extra special.
After the ceremony it was off to East Sussex National for the reception. The grounds of this golf course make for a stunning backdrop for bride and groom photos - and I like to get one or two with the golfers in the background as I’m sure they love it when we’re on the course taking photos!
Cheryl had put so much thought into every single element of their wedding, the level of detail was amazing and everything was so beautifully co-ordinated. Cheryl was considering becoming a wedding planner and I think she would be excellent at it. They also kept their guests entertained with a singing waiter and Spiderman! (can you spot him in the dance floor photos?!) and the evening disco was provided by the brilliant East Sussex DJs..
I had a really hard job narrowing down their gallery for this post. I also felt the loads of their photos worked so well in black & white too - which made my decision making even harder but here goes…
