Wedding Ceremony Send-Offs and Reception Formal Exits – Ideas, Tips, Tricks

I’m sure you’ve seen the photos: what appears to be hundreds of guests creating a beautiful archway of sparkler light for a bride & groom to walk through. Or, maybe it’s a crowd of guests cheering and pulling confetti-poppers, showering the bride & groom with millions of pieces of confetti. Or, maybe it’s the magic of millions of tiny bubbles being blown as the roar of cheers rise from the wedding guests.

Regardless, I’m confident you’ve either been a part of or at least seen photos of the formal exit of a bride & groom on their wedding day.

So, what about your wedding day? There are so many different options to consider! Let me give you some ideas.

To formal exit or not to formal exit – that is the question:

First off, there is a difference between a “send-off” & a “formal exit”.

A send-off takes place immediately following the ceremony. Traditionally, guests file through a receiving line and then gather outside of the church, or down away from the ceremony site (if outside) to await the bride & groom.

A formal exit takes place immediately following the reception. Traditionally, after the last song is played, guests usher the bride & groom off to their getaway car and send them off on their honeymoon.

A send-off or formal exit during the day..

Since a send-off  happens immediately following the ceremony, it is usually during the day.
Further, if you are having a morning or early afternoon wedding, or maybe a wedding in the middle of summer (when it is still light out until 9pm or 9:30pm!) your formal exit might still be in the daylight.

In the case of a formal exit taking place when it is still light out, I’ve seen:

• Balloons
• Birdseed
• Bubbles
• Ribbon Wands
• Confetti
• Rice (most traditionally)

A formal exit at night..

For a formal exit that takes place at night, there are two options:

1. Do a “fake exit” earlier in the evening, before the party has officially ended. This allows guests the option to still take part (and for your photos to still be full of people) but then be free to leave before the reception ends. After the exit takes place, the bride & groom and their guests head back inside to continue the party.
2. Wait until the very last song is played, and then do a formal exit. Depending on what time your reception ends, you may lose over half of your guests, but by definition, the formal exit is the bride & groom actually leaving the reception.

In the case of a formal exit taking place at night, I’ve seen:

• Sparklers
• Glow Sticks
• Fireworks

What time does your reception end?

No matter what time your reception ends, you will slowly lose guests as the night wears on. And if your reception is late & isn’t scheduled to end until 11pm or 12am, you will lose guests earlier and at a faster rate. Simple things like work the next morning or a long drive will cause your responsible guests to bow out earlier in the evening.

If your formal exit would look best with the bulk of your guests taking part, consider doing a “fake exit” earlier in the evening!

No matter what you decide: having an outline of events on display at your reception, will entice people to stay until it’s time for the fireworks/sparklers/glow sticks. If your guests don’t know that a formal exit is occurring, they might not stick around!

A special note about sparklers:

Sparkler exits are amazing – they are simply magical. However, please take into consideration that you are placing an extremely hot fire stick into the hands of your potentially very drunk guests. If you have an open bar at your wedding, please think thru the level of intoxication you foresee your guests reaching. Especially if you are waiting until the very end of the night (when everyone will be at their most tipsy) – sparklers have the potential to be extremely dangerous! There are boatloads of horror stories out there (a little Google searching will prove that) and the last thing you want to happen to end your perfect wedding day is a trip to the hospital. And unfortunately, the people who tend to be in the most danger are the bride & groom (they have to walk thru a tunnel of fire) and their photographer (who is usually trying to corral all of the intoxicated guests).

If you are planning on having an open bar & foresee most of your guests having a very good time enjoying it, I would strongly suggest doing a “fake exit” earlier in the evening, before everyone gets too impaired!

One more thing: if you are set on doing sparklers, I highly suggest getting the extra long ones! The little ones you can buy at WalMart around the 4th of July will only last for a few seconds – and you have to realize that with a group of 50-100 people, it will take some time to not only get everyone’s sparklers lit, but they need to still be burning while the bride & groom walk through! The little sparklers simply will not cut it. There are extra long 36″ sparklers that you can find online – I’d highly recommend getting those! They will burn longer & give you the most flexibility!

Last but not least..

Make sure you double-check with your venue to verify that the formal exit you have planned is within their parameters. It would be awful if you went to all the trouble of buying extra long sparklers and planning a grand sparkler exit, only to arrive on your wedding day and be told by your venue coordinator that sparklers are prohibited on their property (it is fire after all).

Have you seen a “different” send-off or formal exit that you thought was extremely unique and memorable? I’d love to hear about it! Leave me a comment below & tell me all the details!