Alternative Exits for the Bride and Groom

 
Alternative Exits for the Bride and Groom

By Elizabeth Watts

Leaving your wedding in a shower of rice is the traditional grand exit. However, many brides are creating other options - something more dramatic, or romantic, or environmentally friendly. Whatever you choose, remember this is your guests’ (and your) last impression of your wedding. Make it amazing!
Alternatives to throwing rice include:

1. Toss birdseed.
   Pros: It’s organic and if the birds eat the free meal, no one has to clean up.
   Cons: Think how hard it will be to pick little grains out of your hair - not how you imagined spending your wedding night, huh?
   
2. Toss colored confetti or paper streamers.
   Pros: Pretty and relatively cheap.
   Cons: Rather wasteful (unless you recycle) and lots to sweep.
   
3. Blow bubbles.
   Pros: Gives an affect of childlike innocence and fun. Also, if you decorate the bottles with your names and wedding date they can double as favors. It’s lots of fun for kids and it’s environmentally safe.
   Cons: None.
   
4. Release butterflies or doves.
   Pros: Very dramatic.
   Cons: Live animals can be unpredictable. They may not fly as you wish them to and there can be accidents, if you know what I mean.
   
5. Throw rose petals.
   Pros: To be super-romantic, use petals from flowers your fiancé gave you during your courtship.
   Cons: Can there be anything bad about roses? Perhaps their expense can be prohibitive and there is some pick up and sweeping later.
   
6. Wave sparklers!
   If you are going all out, this option is particularly effective for a late summer evening. Light up the night with fireworks in the background too and exit with a bang and flash.
   

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