7 Ways to Have the Best Sparkler Exit

If you’ve followed my work, you know I’m obsessed with sparkler exits. 99% of my clients opt to do some sort of exit and I’ll always be a little biased toward sparklers if the venue allows them. I wrote a post before about all the important tips for your wedding day and mentioned sparklers but wanted to do a full post since I’m constantly asked about how to have the best exit.

1. Purchase Long Sparklers

The best way to ensure your exit is the best is to purchase long sparklers. I recommend 36-inch sparklers that will last for approximately 2-3 minutes each. I would avoid sparklers labeled as “wedding sparklers.” These are typically low smoke and the best sparkler photos include lots and lots of smoke!

Instead of waiting until close to your wedding to order online, stop by a firework stand around the Fourth of July. You’ll get more variety and better prices!

2. Plan a Faux Exit

Contrary to popular belief, your exit does not have to happen at the end of the night. By the very end, a lot of guests will be gone or too drunk to handle fire. You don’t want any disasters to occur on your wedding day, so this allows you to still have gorgeous images without a catastrophe.

Along the same lines, it’s not necessary to have your photographer stay all through open dance. After a while, it all starts to look the same, so having an early exit is a good end time for your photographer and then you can continue to party the night away.

3. Fewer People is Key

This might seem contrary to my previous point, but some of the best exits happen as private exits with only your close friends and family. That way, you don’t need to break up the party. We can step out for a few minutes and your guests won’t even notice you are gone.

When you have all the guests participate in the exit, some of the sparklers might be dead before you even get halfway through. From a photographer’s perspective, my lighting looks best when you only have 10-20 people to get through as opposed to 100+.

Your DJ will appreciate you for not breaking up the party and you’ll get even better images!

4. Add Extra Smoke to the Mix

Who says you have to stick with just one type of exit? I personally love adding some smoke bombs in the background to really up the smoky effect. This way, you’ll be able to utilize your wedding colors while adding a unique element to your exit.

5. Be Prepared to Stop and Pose

I always instruct my couple to stop halfway through the line and do a few poses. This can be as simple as kissing or you could do a dip, twirl, or lift. It’s fun to go through the line a few more times to get more variety. If the couple is cool with it, I’ll ask you to keep going through until the sparklers die (2-3 minutes), so there is no shortage of ways to make this your own.

6. Look Happy and Walk Slow

I know this seems obvious, but a lot of couples try to rush the exit without a great expression. You should really have fun with it! Do some cheers, skip down the aisle (in slow motion), hold hands, and have fun! The more fun you have, the better your pictures will look! You can’t overdo this part.

7. Stay After For Even Cooler Photos

When the timeline allows it, it’s always a good idea to take photos with just you two and the sparklers. We could do long exposures with the sparklers twirling around you or something as simple as you holding the sparklers.

To summarize, just have fun and make the exit your own. There is no cookie-cutter formula for a good exit. As long as you are having a blast with your favorite person and follow some of the tips above, you will have the best sparkler exit ever.