Tips For Optimal Sparkler Fun
Sparklers are fun no matter what age you are. They always bring a bit of fun to a wedding and are really great to get photographs with!
Here are some of the things I have learnt from shooting countless weddings with sparklers.
When?
I am sure you don’t need me to explain the risks when you combine drunk guests, fire and a wedding dress. Obviously you want to do it when it is less light but if your wedding is in the summer, it’s going to have to be very late and your guests may be rather intoxicated. Not only do drunk guests pose a fire hazard but they are particularly hard to coordinate if you want a nice photo! Additionally, your venue may not allow it this late and you will need to have worked it out with your photographer. Nearly all of the sparkler photographs I have are from weddings where it is dark by around 8-8.30, it can be utter carnage trying to do it any later! One thing to note is that it does not need to be totally dark to get a nice shot as you can see in this picture.
Long sparklers
Coordinating lots of people to have sparkers lit at the same time is really tricky. As you can imagine, when sparklers burn for longer it gives you a bigger window to get a photograph with all of them lit! It is also better to have too many rather than too few so order a bunch meaning everyone can have at least one plus the best photos happen when people have two each.
I recommend 45cm sparklers that have a 90 second burn time.
How will you light them?
This has been so much of an issue for me that I ended up buying a bulk load of jet lighters. However, they lasted about two weddings as guests always end up pocketing them! Jet lighters work much better than normal lighters but can still be tricky. Alternatively I have had some success in getting groups of people to gather round big church candles but obviously in wind this is not as effective.
Buying a bunch of jet lighters is ideal!
What kind of experience/photograph do you want?
There are so many things you can do with sparklers. My favourite is the tunnel. This is where you walk through two lines of your guests who all have sparklers and cheer you which is probably the most fun thing to do! You can also do a massive group shot where everyone has a sparkler, or try some long exposures! A lot of people want to draw a heart, which is much harder than it looks, especially if you are a couple of drinks in but totally doable if you are willing to give it a few tries!
Enjoy it!
Sometimes with sparklers the couple are too concerned about the photo and don’t enjoy the moment enough! Let your photographer worry about the photo and enjoy yourselves. I always make sure that once I have the shots I want: I let everyone loose to with the sparkers. Some people like to write their names, some people draw other objects…