What Confetti is Best for Photos

One of my favourite things to photograph on a wedding day is the confetti throw. It’s so much fun! All your guests will want to be involved and look ridiculously happy about throwing it at you, plus, even if you’re a couple that’s a bit camera shy, it allows you to relax, be in the moment and really get into the spirit of things. One of the questions I get asked a lot is what confetti is best for photos? Well I can help you with that! After years of being a Birmingham wedding photographer, I like to think I’m a bit of confetti expert. So read on to get the low down on what type of confetti to buy and how to get the best confetti photos at your wedding.

What kind of confetti looks best in wedding photos?

There’s quite a choice when you’re deciding what type of confetti to get for your wedding. Dried petals, fresh petals or bio degradable tissue paper. All have their place but from a photography point of view some types of confetti look better in photos than others. If your wedding venue only allows petals, then my advice would be to go for the dried variety. Bigger is best with dried petals. The larger, more colourful petals will show up more in your photos and flutter more. Shropshire Petals have a huge choice of dried petals and lots of advice on their site. Avoid teeny tiny petals and especially lavender, which smells great but you’ll be fishing it out of your hair, teeth and clothes all day. Lastly, you have biodegradable tissue paper confetti. This confetti definitely has the best flutter factor/stays in the air the longest and creates an epic confetti moment. Gone are the days of little itsy bitsy paper horseshoes, now you can get tissue paper circles in every colour imaginable, mixed and matched to your wedding colours. I recommend having a look at Flutter Darlings, they have a great range of tissue paper confetti in hundreds of colours.

How much confetti do I need

More is more! There’s no such thing as too much confetti! Trust me on this. No one ever said ‘that’s too much confetti’. If you want a big confetti moment and for your photos to look epic, you need one and a half handfuls per guest (2 handfuls is even better). This way you’ll have photos that are full of confetti and not just tiny bits floating around if the wind changes direction. Don’t rely on your guests to bring it, those days are long gone. If you want a confetti photo, you’ll need to supply it.

Tips for getting the best confetti photos at your wedding

1. More is more! At least one and a half handfuls per guest
2. Look up, look ahead, look at each other, just don’t look down
3. Don’t pull a face. Confetti doesn’t hurt, even if it goes in your face, so smile and enjoy the moment
4. Walk slowly. Slower than your usual walking pace. You could even stop half way down the confetti tunnel and have a kiss, your guests will definitely give you a cheer if you do this.
5. If you’re carrying your bouquet, hold it low so it’s not covering your face.
6. Throw the confetti ‘up not at’ the higher the throw the better, that way the confetti will be in the air longer

When is the best time for the confetti photo

I always like to organise the confetti throw, straight after your ceremony. Whether you’re having a civil or a church ceremony, I like you to take a few moments on your own, while I organise everyone for the confetti photo. You can then walk out to a sea of happy faces, all cheering you on as you stroll through a blizzard of confetti.

Confetti cones or confetti basket

Whilst confetti in cones looks pretty, they’re really not necessary. Guests usually tend to throw it directly out of the cone, which never gets the same height as when it’s thrown straight from a hand, plus I’ve even seen guests throw the cones by accident and no one wants to get hit in the face by a pointy cone! I say save yourself a load of hassle and just get a couple of baskets that you can fill with your confetti. Your wedding party helpers or myself will then simply walk down the line, before you come out and ask guests to take a big handful – easy peasy!

If you’d like to have a look at some more of my wedding photography, head over to my portfolio page