Wedding Confetti Alternatives

As a photographer, I love a great confetti shot! It always results in fantastic expressions on the couples face. Be it joy, excitement or even terror!

Where does ‘Confetti’ come from?

The confetti run is a great wedding tradition that injects an extra shot of energy into your day whereby your loving guests get to launch objects at your face. Come to think of it, wedding confetti is a bit of a strange custom.

More than just a fun moment for guests to toss confetti in the air, the tradition of the confetti toss actually originates from Italy when throwing petals or rice at the happy couple was to do with the aim of bringing prosperity and fertility.

Always check beforehand your venues stance on confetti. Some don’t allow non-biodegradable confetti and some don’t allow you to throw anything that lands on the ground at all. Fear not. Below are some cool ideas for every scenario!

Rice or Bird Seed

Rice is the original and traditional form of confetti. In more recent years, however, it was discovered this can be quite damaging for birds to eat… So it’s now better to swap rice for bird seed on your big day. Imagine the cute packets of bird seed you could make up for your guests to throw. Be warned though…it gets EVERYWHERE.

Flower Petals

Whether fresh or dry, flower petals make for a bold confetti statement, especially if you have a certain colour, or many colours, in mind. Opt to match them to your wedding flowers, or go the other way and make them multi-coloured for a joyful look. For the ultimate eco confetti consider dried lavender seeds. Not only will the wind whisk them away they will smell great too!

Leaves

If your wedding has an autumnal theme or is full of foliage, you might want to consider having small leaves as your confetti. This option is more environmentally friendly than paper and cheaper than petals, while still enjoying a similar effect.

Bubbles

Another popular activity with guests (especially younger ones), is asking guests to blow bubbles during your exit. Do be careful which bubble brands you provide though as some bubble detergents can stain fabric. Keep your distance!

Sparklers

A perfect option for an evening wedding, have guests surround you and your partner with sparklers for a magical photo moment.

Beach Balls

Bear with me here, I haven’t lost the plot. If you don’t want confetti but still want a playful exit photo, consider having guests throw beach balls around as your photos are taken. It’s a great way for guests to have fun, especially if enjoying a beach or summer wedding. Too weird? How about glittery pom poms or helium balloons in your colour scheme instead?

Ribbon Wands

Again if you don’t want (or can’t have) anything thrown at your wedding consider lengths of ribbon tied to sticks that guests can twirl at you as you exit. Would look beautiful in the photos.

Popcorn

Yep, as well as a tasty snack popcorn, can be used as confetti. Great if you are having a movie-themed wedding.

 

One rule to remember if you want epic confetti photos is the more the better, no matter what kind of confetti you use. So go big or go home!