You’ve just said “I do”. The marriage ceremony is over. Your guests are waiting for you outside as you exit through the church doors to greet your waiting guests for the first time as man and wife.
Now, if this was the ’70’s, you’d immediately be showered with confetti by all your friends and family, but confetti is just not done any more, for a number of different reasons:
~Consider who gets to clean up the paper mess after the ceremony is over.
~It’s almost impossible to get all the confetti off the church property and as a result, most churches say No!
~Throwing paper into the air kills trees and creates garbage – a no-no for today’s environmentally conscious generation.
~Those little paper circles just stick to you and NEVER LET GO! You’ll be finding them for weeks.
But, by golly, somehow people just want to throw stuff into the air in the general direction of that bride and groom! How to carry on the confetti-throwing tradition without throwing confetti?
Some people shower the newlyweds with rice. Check with your church, because most don’t allow even this, for many the same reasons as they don’t want confetti.
Some people provide bubbles for their guests to blow. Some set a flock of doves loose into the air to commemorate the wedding. Both these are pretty standard tributes now.
Want something more imaginative?
Some people light sparklers or fireworks as the happy couple exit the church. Hmmm. Can be pricey and even dangerous.
Some people release butterflies into the air. Do you know it costs about $10.00 per butterfly to do this??!!
The latest trend: Throw dried lavender blossoms. Lavender blossoms are really, really small, environmentally conscious, biodegradable, inexpensive, safe, and the good kind of smelly! You can get them from florists, nurseries or garden centers, or if you want to be really environmentally conscious, buy them from specialty food shops (yes, you can use lavender as an ingredient) as their flowers don’t have pesticides on them.
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