Why I LOVE confetti
If you know my style, you’ll understand why confetti photos are often my favourite photos on a wedding day. I absolutely LOVE colour, so any opportunity to introduce another burst of colour into a wedding is a massive yes from me. Whether you’re having a wedding full of traditions or doing things your own way, confetti has its place at just about every wedding celebration. Sure, it looks great in the photos, but it’s also such a joyous way to greet all your guests having just made your vows to one another.
If you really want to make the best of this moment on the wedding day, make sure to follow my top tips below. Having photographed almost 300 confetti throws, it’s safe to say I know what works well and what doesn’t!
1 - Check with your venue FIRST
Before you get excited and start drying petals or ordering tissue paper, first thing’s first. Whether you’re getting married at a church or wedding venue, make sure they allow you to throw confetti.
These days most venues are pretty accommodating, but there is never any guarantee. Here are some things to look out for:
- Some venues only allow confetti to be thrown in certain designated areas, you don’t necessarily have free rein
- While most venues will encourage confetti to be biodegradable, some will go one step further and ONLY allow fresh petals to be thrown
- Churches may only allow confetti to be thrown at the end of the churchyard, not from the door
- It’s rare, but there are some places that simply don’t allow confetti at all. In this instance, have a think about some alternatives. Is there another location you could throw your confetti? Could your guests wave coloured napkins or blow bubbles instead?
2 - Paper is best
My couples often ask me which type of confetti is best on a wedding day, and my personal preference is biodegradable paper. Primarily this is because paper is lighter than petals, which means it stays in the air for longer. Even with a lot of petals, because they fall so quickly the photos can often look sparse, whereas the paper effect makes the shot look much fuller.
My personal recommendation is Your Confetti. They have a huge range of colours that can be chosen to match your colour scheme on the day.
3 - More is more!
How else can I put this other than: YOU CANNOT HAVE TOO MUCH CONFETTI!
The more you have, the better. You don’t want your guests to be splitting handfuls because there isn’t enough to go around. If everyone can have two overflowing handfuls with more leftover at the end, then perfect. I promise you, your confetti moment will be a hundred times more spectacular if you are completely surrounded by the stuff.
Plus, if we end up having some leftover after your confetti line, we can always use it later on for bridal party photos and couples portraits!
4 – Don’t pull the ‘rain face’
“What on earth is a rain face?” I hear you cry. Well, you know when you get caught in the rain, and you almost screw your face up in some kind of attempt not to get too wet? That’s what I mean by a rain face, and that is not the look we’re going for with your confetti photos!
It’s a totally natural reaction to tense your face up if you’re having things thrown at your head, let’s be clear on that! So, this is just your little reminder to try and avoid it. Keep smiling, have fun and be silly with your guests. You’re going to get covered in confetti so you might as well embrace it!
5 – Walk slower than you think you need to
The simplest way to think about it is: the slower you walk, the more photos you get!
Some couples absolutely fly down their confetti line. For some people, they want to get it over with because they don’t like being the centre of attention, and for others they just get a little over excited! But if you can go at a really steady pace, laughing with your guests, then I have so much more time to capture those big beaming smiles.
Believe it or not, walking slow is something I like to practise with my couples at their engagement shoot. It’s great preparation for walking down the aisle, walking back down the aisle as a married couple, and of course through your confetti line.
And there you have it! I hope you’ve found these confetti tips useful and can implement a few into your wedding plans. Feel free to let me know if you have any top tips of your own!
