Should you use Sparkler Tags?

Sparkler Tags-Use or Ditch for your Wedding Sparkler Send Off

About a year ago, a close friend of mine was getting married and she asked me to be in charge of the send off. Of course I said yes with much enthusiasm and the wheels in my brain started churning.  Since she gave me full reign, I had so many  fun ideas.  They were having  a traditional reception scheduled to  end at 10pm.  After all, I do own a  sparkler company, making a sparkler  send off an obvious  choice. Knowing that her send off was going to be taking place down a sidewalk, I opted for the 90 second 20” sparklers. 

Over the years after starting Utah Sparklers, I always wondered about those cute paper tags that you see on the sparklers. Were they a good idea or a pain in the rear? When I have seen them in pictures, the sparkler tags  are usually a color that matches the theme of the wedding. The paper has two holes punched out and the sparklers slide into  holes. Often, the couple's names, date and a catchy phrase is printed on the paper. 

My friend was kind enough to let her wedding and send off be my guinea pig. I found 100 sheets of  cardstock that were the same color as her wedding colors and printed their wedding date on them. Along with the date, I included “Let love light the way for Dennis and Derrah”. Using my Cricut, I made them into a cute heart shape and punched holes in the top and bottom. After that, I was left wondering how and where to insert the sparkler. Should I insert the handle into the cut holes or should I put the actual sparkler into the holes? After looking on Etsy and Pinterest, I determined standard practice was to put the sparkler through the holes. 

I was pretty happy with the finished product and I couldn’t wait to display the sparklers and see them, and the tags, in action.

The evening of the wedding, I put all 100 of the 20" sparklers with the attached sparkler tags into a galvanized bucket. I had to admit the tags made the sparklers not look so dull, gray and boring. I have always been challenged by how to dress up a gray, metal stick? The tags were a little crowded in the container, but it was still sufficient. It did bring some color to an otherwise plain looking decor.

At the end of the evening, all the guests lined up outside the venue, and formed two lines on either side of the walkway. I heard a few people ask what they were supposed to do with the tag and how they were going to light the sparkler. I instructed everyone to tag the tag off the sparkler and hold it in their other hand and light their sparklers. 

Photo credit: Sarah Doyle. IG Click here to see Sarah's work

Preventing a fire

Some guests listened, while others just tossed the tag on the ground. One gentleman, who had a few too many cocktails, didn’t even remove his tag from the sparkler. Luckily the guest next to him saw it and pushed the tag onto the metal stick so it wouldn’t catch fire. 

Not only did the tags pose a potential fire hazard, it created additional work for the venue staff by having to clean up the papers tossed on the ground. 

My takeaways for using sparkler tags for a wedding grand exit

*The tags look cute and add color.

*Guests were at a loss with what to do with the tag when lighting the sparkler

*Guests had to hold a sparkler and a piece of paper that could potentially catch fire

*Tags were tossed on the ground, thus leaving the venue staff to have to clean them up

*Not worth the added expense

*Tags do not enhance the wedding experience or any photographs

*Drunken guests may not remove the tag before lighting causing a  fire to start

*If tags are attached to the handle, they fall off easily

It ended up being a beautiful send off and we hid any near disasters from the bride.

I would not recommend purchasing or making sparkler tags. In my opinion, they are more of a safety and fire risk than the aesthetic look. I recommend that couples omit the tags and instead spend the money on a cute sparkler container or upgrade to the larger 36” inch sparklers.