We have captured over 400 weddings now and maybe a quarter of those have had confetti, in the last year probably about 75% of the weddings had confetti – I wonder if it’s a phase or perhaps a change in times? There used to be a time when venues wouldn’t allow it at all, although now with a environmentally conscious world – there are so many types that can be used at weddings. From real petals, to completely biodegradable, the options are hard to decide what is best! So, with that said, let’s look at the results and my reasoning behind each type.
Rice/Rice Paper
This can be traditionally a good choice, however, it can hurt! Just saying! Oh… and don’t cook it first!
My choice would be to use rice paper instead, covers the traditional part and floats perfectly. (see ‘paper hearts’ for another example)
Dried Petals
These are biodegradable which is perfect for the environment and can be in the colour scheme of your choosing – however, there tends to be a lot of dust in each packet, this gets everywhere and also massively gets stuck in hair which is timely to get fixed.
Paper Hearts
Personally these are my favourite, they come in various pastel colours including pure white, and they float amazingly – they even hang around in the air for longer than most other types – just make sure they are biodegradable.
Canons
Confetti canons can be great for the dance floor (check with your venue first!), not so great when you have any wind – I tend to find these work best when shot from behind the photographer over the top of them.
Fresh Flower Petals
Fresh flower petal confetti can be heavy so fall a lot faster but equally look lovely!
Snow Confetti
Don’t do it! It’s so hard to use – has to be done from above and can leave water stains – I’m sure there may be good ones out there but I haven’t come across them yet.
Bubbles
So hard to see bubbles and very hard to get enough in the shot – if this is your plan to have them, invest in a couple of cheap kids bubble machines to set on the ground 2-4 should be plenty to get the good number of bubbles required!
Some other ideas include, ribbons on sticks to be waived, paper aeroplanes, colour pom poms (nice keepsake too!). Sparklers can be awesome but hard to set up! Leaves are just beautiful for Autumnal weddings, they are floaty but can be quite hard to get dried and stay in shape. Lavender smells lovely, but very hard to see on a bright day!
The choice is yours but you already know my favourite type to use – just please remember, if you want confetti – don’t expect your guests to bring it 😉