Let the chaos commence

Weddings can have just about anything going on during the day. Some are pretty traditional, such as confetti, and some a little more new to the party (I’m looking at you, smoke grenades). So let’s chat these things through so that if you are planning on any of these, you’ll hopefully know the way to ace them, plus it gives you time to stock up before the big day!

When it comes to confetti, more is more

Confetti is the money-shot at weddings. It’s a combination of movement, colour and emotion, and if you get it right it can be amazing. However, it’s not always that simple and there’s a few things to keep in mind.

Firstly, do not be shy with how much confetti you have. In fact, you can never have too much. If you want that epic confetti shot then you’ll need an awful lot of confetti. Sure it may seem like a handful per person will be enough, but remember that they aren’t all throwing at the same time, so your confetti is going to be staggered and not look as full as perhaps you had imagined. So a good tip is to try to make sure that the people at the start of the confetti tunnel have two good handfuls. Worth remembering too that most venues insist on biodegradable confetti, so double check that it is.

Secondly, colour! I appreciate that not everyone’s colour palette for the day is going to be bold and bright, but white and blush confetti can sometimes get washed out, particularly if it’s a bright sunny day. Don’t be afraid to get a shade or two darker than your colour scheme so that my poor cameras can really capture it.

To really nail the confetti shot, try to not hunch over or try to avoid the confetti. Yes it’ll be crazy and you’ll be like “WTF??!?!?!” but try to keep your heads up and enjoy it (easy for me to say!).

As an aside, and if you really wanna go bonkers, confetti cannons are the bomb (no pun intended).

There are some venues which don’t actually allow confetti, but fear not, because for that we can simply use bubbles!

Drunk people and pyrotechnics

It’s really become popular now to use sparklers to create something to really WOW on your wedding day. These are such a great idea, I mean what could go wrong with a bunch of drunk people and fire? I do actually love a sparkler tunnel but to get it right here’s some tips.

• Timing - Contrary to popular belief, sparklers need to be done just after sunset rather than when it’s pitch black. There’s a couple of reasons, but mainly you still want a little bit of light in the sky for the benefit of my cameras, and also the guests won’t be quite so tiddly. Ha!

• Lighters! - Goes without saying, but you’ll need a bunch of lighters, about one for every 5 guests.

• Take it VERY slow - As it’s quite dark, my camera will struggle a little to focus, so you’ll need to walk slowly though the tunnel. I’ll get you to stop a couple of times for a kiss before walking on again.

• Tell your guests the plan - I’ve had a couple of occasions where guests were handed sparklers and before we were set up in the tunnel they had already lit them and were having a good old light sabre battle with them. Just tell them WHY they’ve been given a sparkler when they’re given them.

Pull the pin and launch it

Ok, maybe that’s my Call of Duty days talking whenever I think of grenades. Unless you’re getting married in a warzone, you’ll perhaps be thinking more of the colourful smoke variety of grenades for your wedding. These can look super cool, but they are also super hit and miss. So with that in mind I hope this helps.

• If you do wanna go for smoke grenades, get the “cold burn” ones and familiarise yourself with how they work. Even try one or two out before the day just so you’re sure how they work.

• Get permission from the venue! If you’re near the coast for instance if you don’t tell anyone you’re doing them you could get a visit from the coastguard helicopter. I mean, it’d make a great photo, but they’d be pretty peeved I think.

• I’ll work out which what the wind is going and position you, but be aware that it may all go Pete Tong anyway. Unless it’s super settled the smoke will go everywhere, so try to keep the grenade away from your dresses etc because the smoke will stain up close.

• Have a water bucket on hand to dump them into when we’re done. Most grenades will last for about 90 seconds so we need to be quick!

I hope that helps! If you’ve any questions at all, gimme a shout!

J