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No birdseed or bubbles - what to do?

18 years ago

I'm a bridesmaid trying to help a very stressed-out bride. She is trying to plan a huge (400 guests) wedding with no wedding planner! She has been fine up until now, but the big date is only a month away, and she has run into a snag.

They won't allow people to throw rice or birdseed as the bride and groom come out. No bubbles or rose petals allowed either. She doesn't want bells to ring - went to a wedding where that didn't go over very well.

Got any other ideas? Thanks!

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Comments (8)

grace3
18 years ago
I was at a wedding just 2 weeks ago wehre they did something I hadn't seen before...

they had small dowels -- smaller in diameter than a pencil, but about 12-15 inches long -- and at the end of each one they tied 5-6 ribbons, all different widths, in the wedding theme colors. These were passed out to the guests, and then after the B&G exited the church they walked through an aisle of fluttering ribbons as the guests "waved" their sticks.

If you decide to try this, I would suggest that you experiment with the lengths of the ribbons. I don't think the ribbons at the wedding I was at were quite long enough. On the other hand, though, you wouldn't want them *too* long, either. And you probably want to experiement with the length of the dowels, too, since you wouldn't want any injuries!
sheilajoyce_gw
18 years ago
I like the ribboned dowels idea, but I'd give them to adults only.

Here's another thought. Make an aisle of helium balloons in the wedding colors by tying one or a few to a weight. (They wrap a brick or weight or rocks in mylar wrapping paper here and tie the balloon string to the weight.) Then towards the end of the ceremony, have a volunteer line up the balloons down the steps of the church and along the walkway for a colorful exit. Keep in mind that the balloons need to be far enough away from each other that they will not tangle their strings in the wind. Also, if they are in the sun for very long, the balloons lose their shine. Or you could contract with one of those baloon companies to make a tall balloon arch.
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User
18 years ago
Or they could exit to the sound of thunderous applause and big smiles from all their guests.
talley_sue_nyc
18 years ago
Or trumpets; a cousin of mine did that.

But really, I'm w/ dian57--just the natural, spontaneous applause of the folks who love them.
row1
18 years ago
we did bells at our wedding. it was really cool. my mom went by a hobby store and bought enough bells for each reception guest. then, bought ribbon in our wedding colors and tied this on each bell. she enlisted a couple kids to help distribute these as the time came for my bride and me to depart the reception. as we left, we saw everyone joyously ringing the bells. that is a beautiful memory for us.

the bells came out well in wedding pics - better than bird seed or bubbles.

no clean-up required.

the bell was each guest's little gift - if i had thought of this sooner than 4 days befoer the wedding, i could have arranged names and date on ribbon.

not very expensive.

the only trick is getting people to hold off on the ringing until the couple departs. we didn't really hear bells being rung early because we were dealing with luggage confusion (the wonderful wedding planner was working on the day's next wedding).
Twinkle
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks to all who replied. The bride has decided: thunderous applause and big smiles.

I think she's gotten to the point where she just doesn't want to deal with anything else.
scarlett2001
18 years ago
400 guests and no wedding planner?? What is she thinking??
mindy_sue
18 years ago
How about releasing some butterflies? Look under "butterfly wedding favors" or something like that - in one of the search engines.

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