Weddings & Party Ideas

Sparkling Graduation Party Ideas

It’s Graduation Time! All the senior’s in your life will be walking across the stage getting ready to graduate high school and embark on the next big chapter of their lives! Throwing a big graduation party not only to celebrate what an accomplishment graduating high school is, but also what an accomplishment for you, (mom and dad!) you guys made it! You got your teenager through high school (alive) and you should have fun celebrating this accomplishment as well! So, let’s talk about Graduation Party Ideas!

A sparkling graduation! We have everything from cake top sparklers to our traditional smokeless sparklers! You can’t go wrong choosing any of these sparkling ideas for your upcoming graduation party! Our 20 inch sparklers burn for about 2 minutes and are perfect for the kids to take pictures with, to capture these last memorable high school moments with. Your kids will cherish these memories of their high school friends forever, as friends split up to go to college all over the country. We also have cake top sparklers which add that little extras glitz to any celebration! These sparklers burn for around 50 seconds, and they shoot up smokeless flames that are safe, fun and exciting for any party.

You have the perfect cake for your graduation party, but you are still looking for that cake topper that will make it unforgettable. Look no further, I have the perfect cake topper. Our number sparklers are the perfect way to display your graduates graduating year. Then once you light the sparklers they create a beautiful gold sparkler lasting about 30 seconds. These sparklers are virtually smokeless ensuring the best pictures, as well as making your graduation party unforgettable!

Want to add a POP to your graduation party? Confetti cannons are a great way to celebrate a graduation, and they make for picture perfect moments that you won’t forget. Whether you choose black and gold confetti cannon, or multi-color confetti cannon, you will have some great memories shooting these cannons off. Our confetti cannons are super easy to use! Just hold with two hands, point the cannon towards the sky, twist the bottom and POP! You’ll have confetti flying 10 to 15 feet in the air!

If you choose from any of these fun graduation party ideas, you are certain to have an unforgettable graduation party full of fun, laughter, and memories. Our number sparklers are a great way to show pride in your graduation year, the confetti cannons are a fun party favor to use with your friends capturing memories, and the cake top sparklers are sure to make your cake unforgettable from all the other graduation cakes that will be made this year. You can’t go wrong choosing any of these party ideas, and your friends and family are sure to love them as well. Don’t forget to tag us on Facebook and Instagram! We would love to see all your sparkling graduation pictures!

Create a Magical Birthday Celebration

Want something different than your ordinary birthday candles? Cake top sparklers or bottle top sparklers are exactly what you have been looking for. These sparklers will make you feel extra special on your birthday! Cake top sparklers add that little bit of magic and excitement to every party. Just imagine a cake that lights up with spectacular smokeless sparkles!  What an unforgettable birthday celebration that would be. Our cake top sparklers come in two different sizes for you to choose from. Our 4 inch cake top sparklers come in silver wrapping and create a gold sparkle that shoots about 10 inches high. These beautiful sparklers last about 30 seconds giving you plenty of time to sing Happy Birthday!  Our 6 inch cake tops sparklers last about 60 seconds and shoot 12 to 16 inches in the air! Talk about a birthday cake for the books! These 6 inch cake top sparklers are wrapped in gold wrapping and create a gold sparkle. With the extended burn time for 60 seconds you not only have plenty of time to sing Happy Birthday but also get beautiful pictures to remember this special day!

Kids look forward to their birthday every year! Add some excitement for the kiddos this year with our 20 inch sparklers. Watching kids laugh and play are what make memories so precious. Give your little one some magic and wonder this year at his or her birthday with some surprise birthday sparklers. Our 20 inch sparklers are safe and have a burn time of 2 magical minutes of fun and excitement.

 

Number sparklers are another fun addition to any birthday celebration. Whether your little man is turning 7 or your baby girl is turning sweet 16, these sparkler numbers will be the highlight of their birthday celebration. Lets be honest, the birthday cake is the best part of the party and what every kid remembers. The singing, the candles, making a wish, so make this year extra special with a cake and candles they will never forget. You can also pair our sparkling numbers sparklers with regurlar candles allowing your child to still blow out candles as they make their wish! These wonderful birthday candle number sparklers are available in numbers from 0-9. So whether it is your first birthday or you ninety ninth make your birthday celebrations one to remember!

Did you use our any of our beautiful sparklers at you birthday celebrations? We would love to see your pictures! Tag us on Facebook or Instagram! I hope these ideas will help you create a magical birthday for you or your loved ones.

Unique Wedding Ideas

Some girls dream about their wedding day from the time they are a little girl. As they get older those fairytale wedding dreams change from Cinderella and her horse drawn carriage to trying to the current trends and trying to find something new and exciting. I have 3 exiting new wedding trends that are must tries! Make your wedding one they talk about for weeks to come.

Guests books are a great way to create memory book to be able to look back on. To remember who came to your wedding and each guest’s warm wishes for you and your new husband on your big day. But traditional guests’ books aren’t something you’d normally display in your home. Make a sentimental memory piece, one you can look at every day and be reminded of all the love your friends and families have for the two of you. I came across this great idea for a guest log! I love the pay one words with this one! Rustic, chic weddings are all the rage these days, and this guest log fits that theme to a tee! This beautiful guest log  is customizable with your name and will make their perfect addition to your new home as a married couple.

An old must have wedding idea is making its way back! Disposable cameras! Place a disposable camera at each guest table or give each guest a disposable camera to use throughout the night. Now, I know what you’re thinking, I have my cellphone and that technology is amazing, but the beauty of film camera is you truly never know exactly what you get until its developed. No filters, no 100 poses, just you and your guests having the time of your life. Plus they are so fun to use and will help to create the very best memories! Love and Luxe Handmade makes adorable disposable camera wraps. Such a fun way to make the cameras an addition to your wedding décor!

The last big event of your wedding will be your big exit! There are so many beautiful ways to exit your wedding and saying goodbye to all your loved ones. One of my new favorites are confetti cannons! Our confetti cannons are biodegradable and we have some that are even water soluable, making clean up a breeze! Our confetti cannons as easy to use, hold with both hands, twist the bottom and POP! You will be showered with confetti that has been shot 15 feet into the air. Give all your guests a confetti cannon for a grand exit you’ll never forget!

I hope these ideas have helped you while planning your dream wedding! Planning to use our confetti cannons for your grand exit? I would love to see them! Tag us on Facebook and Instagram. Don’t forget we also have a monthly photo contest, so send us your confetti cannon grand exit pictures for a chance to win!

3 Tips for an Unforgettable Summer Wedding

Planning a summer wedding? Everyone loves summer time! Everything is green, the warm sun giving you that perfect tan, it’s the perfect time of year for all your cookouts and beach parties. For those of us that count down the days until summer is here, summer weddings are for you! Not only to you get all the fun summer time activities you enjoy, but you also get to marry the man of your dreams! Talk about the best of everything. So today I am here to give you 3 tips for an unforgettable summer wedding!

First off you have to plan for the evitable summer heat! Whether you wedding is going to be a beautiful outdoor country side wedding or a dreamy beach wedding you want to make sure your guests are comfortable. One neat idea I have seen recently is program fans, GENIUS! Your ceremony program can be printed on a fan and handed to guest as they are seated. This is both functional to help keep cool as well as informative about your wedding. For your reception you can set up “hydration stations” with water or fruit infused water, yummy! This is a must for those beachy themes, not only does it provide a cooling drink but also a colorful display.

Want a summer wedding, but you’re afraid of that sweltering heat? My next tip is plan for an evening wedding! Depending where you plan to have your wedding ceremony and reception, planning an evening wedding can make a huge difference temperature wise. Plus you can have a beautiful sunset ceremony. Talk about gorgeous pictures! You can also set up an event tent to not only provide shade, but event tents can come with fans to help circulate air providing a more comfortable environment for your guests to dance the night away.

Now let’s talk about my last tip for the best summer wedding, your send off! There are so many great send-off trends going around right now, but my favorite is the sparkling exit! Each guest gets a sparkler and lines up to watch you drive away as husband and wife. Sparkler send offs are so much fun for you and your guests! Your guests get to be an interactive part of your wedding and they also get to help you capture the most gorgeous pictures! Our 36 inch sparklers are the perfect send-off sparklers, and since they are virtually smokeless they are a photographers dream to photograph.

I hope these tips have given you some inspiration for a unforgettable summer wedding! We cannot wait to see your summer wedding pictures! Tag us on Facebook and Instagram. Did you have a sparkling exit? We have a monthly photo contest, so don’t forget to send us your sparkling exit pictures for a chance to win!

5 Tips for a Flawless Sparkling Exit

Your sparkling exit is the grand finale of your dream wedding, so of course you want it to go flawlessly! Here are some tips to help make sure everything goes off without a hitch!

Tip number one for your flawless exit is to make sure you order the correct type of sparkler! I know there are so many different types of sparklers to choose from, so making sure you get the correct one for your wedding is important. Everyone wants that perfect sparkling exit picture, so be sure to use smokeless sparklers. Now let’s talk about how many guests you’ll be having. You want to make sure you get sparklers that have the correct burn time for the amount of guests you will have. The last thing you want is to come out for your beautiful exit, only to see half of the sparklers have burned out. Our 20 inch sparklers have a burn time of 2 mins and are recommend for weddings with 150 guests or less. Our 36 inch sparklers have a burn time of 3.5 mins and are recommend for weddings with 150 guests or more. Both sparklers are made with easy light tips and are smokeless allowing you to get the best pictures!

Tip number two! Make sure all your guest know when your sparkling exit will be taking place! This sign from Hadley Designs is a cute and fun way to display your sparklers as well as let guests know when your exit is taking place. You can also leave instructions for your guest on how to light the sparklers. Did you know that the best way to light a sparkler is with another sparkler? In our sparkler packages we include a few 10 inch sparklers to make the lighting process as easy as possible, helping to ensure you get all those sparklers lit and ready to go for your sparkling exit!

Want to add a fun touch to each sparkler? Check out these sparkler tags! They are the perfect finishing touch.

Tip number three! Be sure and talk with your photographer about the shots you want! Do you want your new hubby to dip you back and give you a kiss, do you want to fist pump in the air with excitement you are finally married, whatever you want, be sure your photographer knows. Don’t forget to send us your beautiful sparkling exit picture to be entered into our monthly contest!

Tip number four, HAVE FUN! You did it! You made it through the chaos of planning a wedding, you are marring the man of your dreams, so relax and enjoy it! Your wedding day will be a day you’ll never forget, but it goes by all to quickly! So, don’t forget to have fun! Celebrate this new chapter of your life with the ones you love.

Last but not least here is tip number five! We get asked all the time how to properly dispose of the sparkler stick after they have all gone out. Be sure your wedding planner, venue coordinator or whoever is staying behind to clean up after you leave, knows how to dispose of the sparkler sticks properly. Have a bucket of sand or water for your guest to put their sparkler stick in. Easy trick, use the same container you used to display your sparklers in! Once they are out and cold they can be thrown away. It’s as easy as that!

Well that’s it! Those are my 5 tips for a flawless sparkling exit. Congratulations on your big day, I know it’ll be amazing! Don’t forget to send us your beautiful sparkling exits! You can also tag us on Facebook or Instagram. I can’t wait to see them!

Creating Christmas Traditions

First comes love, then comes marriage, then come babies….and realizing that making Christmas magical can be a lot of work (and expensive)! If you are like me and you love this time of year, it can be hard not to splurge for every expensive Christmas “experience” out there. I have 2 little girls and another little on the way so we are trying new things to find the traditions we really love and can afford to continue. Here are three inexpensive things we have tried and loved.

Christmas Book Countdown

This tradition has been a favorite of mine for a couple of years now. I collected Christmas books from my childhood, garage sales, and discount stores throughout the year and set them away. You could also borrow some from your local library for free. In the end, it doesn’t really matter how many books you have. How many books you have will determine when you start the countdown.

All you have to do is wrap your book collection and put it under the tree.  To save money, I use leftover paper and scraps from last Christmas. The wrapping can be tedious but you can get help from older children. My four year old loved helping this year. She is learning how to write numbers, so she also numbered each book in black marker from 1-24.

Once the prep is done, the kiddos get to take turns finding and opening one book from under the tree each night.  My kids wake up each morning asking if its time to open another book. It doesn’t matter to them that it’s the same books each year. It actually makes for a good guessing game.  Added bonus: they don’t beg to open their other gifts early.

These books looked better than ours but my girls loved helping! Via River’s Edge Curriculum

 

Follow the Bright Star

Adorable sticking out of the tree!

This year I wanted to be sure that we emphasized the Nativity story.  So, I picked up a package of gold star sparklers. The star sparklers come 6 to a package so just one was plenty for my little family. Once I opened them to take a look, the sparklers were so cute I decided to stick them in the tree as decoration. (Disclaimer: I have an artificial tree and double checked how warm my lights got after being on for an extended period of time. Sparklers obviously can catch fire so use your best judgment if you decide to try this.)

On the night we opened the story of Jesus’s birth we talked about how the 3 kings followed a bright star to find Jesus in Bethlehem. I told them that they should also always seek out Jesus and that He is the real reason for why we celebrate Christmas. Then I let them go and “seek out” a star on the tree to take outside to light.

Sparklers are such a treat for kids that they really only get to enjoy once or twice a year. My girls loved this so much they wanted to burn them all in one night. I decided to make them wait and we will burn one each week and talk more about the story of Jesus’s birth each time. This could also be a fun kids Christmas party idea or even as take-home favors.

 

Christmas Eve Box

This tradition is really simple. I wrap a present for my girls with pajamas, snacks, cocoa mix and a Christmas movie to open the 24th. Last year I had purchased Polar Express on sale but you could even record a favorite from the Hallmark Channel or the “25 Days of Christmas” special to watch. We love this tradition, the kids love it and it is a low-cost gift that doesn’t require buying anything the kids don’t already need (face it, by the end of the year they all need a new set of PJs.)  My husband and I also really enjoy all of the snuggles and curling up with a cup of hot cocoa before the craziness of Christmas morning.

However you choose to celebrate the season, we hope its wonderful and full of good cheer!

Why a Winter Wedding? 5 trends we love

The cold weather, fires, soft blankets, cuddling, hot drinks, and the Holidays: all reasons why winter is a romantic and wonderful time of year to have a wedding! Summer is typically the most popular season but there are so many great reasons to have a winter wedding. Here are 5 popular trends right now that we love for winter

 

Long-Sleeved Lace Wedding Gowns

Image via Pinterest

Lace wedding gowns have been trending for some time and it is no wonder why.  The detail is stunning and classic yet subtly sexy. What we love about these sleeved versions is the illusion of being just a little more covered but still baring some skin.

As you can see from the example pictured, the lace sleeve goes beautifully with all cuts of dresses whether your style is A-line, ballgown or more fitted through the hip.  Not to mention that these dresses would also pair beautifully with a luxurious fur shawl for outdoor photos in the cold winter air.

 

 

Photo Credit Hative

Pictures in Falling Snow

Speaking of outdoor photo shoots, who does not love a good snow photo?  Falling snow is so beautiful and soothing. It makes a gorgeous backdrop for a romantic photo. What better reason to plan winter nuptials than to have stunning one of a kind photos?

We do realize that planning a winter wedding is no guarantee for snow. In fact, most of us here in the South don’t have the privilege of ever seeing snow except on vacation. In lieu of real snow, if you live in a warm climate, or as a backup plan, we recommend a wedding confetti cannon to give a similar look for a romantic picture of the newlyweds either outdoors or maybe even indoors during the first dance! The wedding confetti cannon will shoot approximately 15 feet in the air and cascade down on the happy couple much like snowflakes.

Gorgeous Winter Bouquets

Bouquets are gorgeous no matter the season but there are so many unique things that make winter bouquets stand out. There is so much texture and depth that can be added with rich colored berries, bits of evergreen, succulents and even the occasional pinecone. The occasional dried flower or seed pod make a beautiful statement as well. Your florist can typically still get a few of your other favorite blooms for a gorgeous combination.

 

Photo via Elegant Wedding Invites

 

Photography: Hazelwood Photo

Rustic Woodland Details

The rustic-woodland look is all the rage right now from Joanna’s farmhouse chic to buffalo plaid. While you can incorporate this look during any season it really lends itself to the winter wedding. Raw wood, evergreen sprigs, and candlelight are a beautiful backdrop for your big event.

You know the best part of this trend? It is very budget friendly because so much of it can be found in nature around you! You can use cut logs for pedestals and fresh cut pine or evergreen to spruce up your centerpieces. Take a look at this beautiful table center made from tree branches, berries and candlesticks. Easy on the eyes and the wallet. Win-Win!

Sparkling Grand Exit

Last, but certainly not least, the grand exit! Sparklers have quickly become the exit favor of choice no matter the season, but they are especially helpful in the winter time when the sun starts disappearing in the early evening. Even if you and your new spouse won’t be partying late into the night, sparklers can help light the way into your new life together.

Photo submitted by a happy I Love Sparklers customer

For the best results, we recommend these 20″ sparklers. With these sparklers, you will get 2 minutes of burn time and plenty of time to capture some beautiful pictures. If you are having an extra large wedding of over 150 people you may need to buy enough for each guest to have 2 to make sure everyone has a lit sparkler at the same time. You can even personalize the sparklers with your new name and wedding date with custom tags and display them in a galvanized bucket filled with sand.

Make Your Holiday Card “Sparkle”

No doubt you have noticed that the Holiday Season is already beginning. The music, decor and inevitable barrage of advertising are all signs that it is once again time to start thinking about holiday cards. Since we live in a warm climate, capturing the magic of the holidays is hard to do before Santa comes. The temperature still climbs into the 80’s most days and the thought of donning the entire family in flannel is not appealing. If this sounds familiar or even maybe if it doesn’t, fear not, we have a couple of ideas that may help inject some spark(le) into your otherwise lackluster Christmas photo tradition.

Let it Snow with the Wedding Confetti Cannon

Some of the best photos are unposed action shots and what better way to capture the spirit of the season than the joy of falling confetti? The white color of the Wedding Confetti Cannon will give the feel of falling snow and will undoubtedly spark big, genuine smiles from even the most stubborn of kiddos. For this idea we suggest a large seasonal blanket set out near a wooded area or even a Christmas Tree Farm and 2-4 of the Wedding Confetti Cannons depending on the size of your party. The wedding confetti cannons shoot 15 feet into the air so you could even have someone out of frame shoot the cannon overhead so it would not show in the photo.

It would be amazing to capture not only the initial fall of the white confetti but also children, fur babies and even the adults throwing and playing in confetti.  The blanket will serve two purposes, one is to add depth to the picture and the other is to catch the confetti to make it easier to gather and throw again if needed. The Wedding Confetti Cannons do “pop” when fired so we would suggest doing at least one test run or allowing small children and skittish pets to play in thrown confetti or piles on the blanket for best results. These confetti cannons shoot biodegradable confetti so any stray pieces should not cause issues.

Kids playing in confetti snow

Photo Credit: Britain Earl Photography

 

Light it up with 20″ Sparklers

What I love most about this idea is that even if you don’t get around to photos in time, or you get the cards and forget to buy stamps for 2 weeks (yep, I did that), your “Christmas Card” can easily become a “Happy New Year” card.  All you need to do is work with your favorite photographer to find the best time and place to capture your family encompassed in glowing light and sparkle.

The 20″ sparklers burn for over 2 minutes and come in larger quantities in case you don’t get just the “right” shot the first time. These are the same 20″ sparklers that we recommend for weddings so they will put off minimal smoke and are safe for children and clothing. Besides holding the sparklers, you can also talk to your photographer about slowing down the shutter speed to do some light writing that will send a message that really sparkles! You could write out 2018, create shapes or make a special announcement in the glittering light. For instance, this Christmas Tree design would make an awesome addition to a collage card.

 

Your holiday photo tradition shouldn’t have to be a dreaded obligation. Why not make it a memorable and fun experience instead? Call to book your favorite photographer now and let the creative juices flow!

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