Sparklers, Fireworks and Lanterns at Your Wedding: What's Allowed

Once the clocks go back, an autumn or winter wedding is dark by the time the meal ends. That is when sparklers, a few fireworks or a row of lanterns start to look like a good idea.

They can be. But fire at a wedding comes with rules from three directions: the law, your venue and your insurer. Sort those out early and the moment itself is easy.

Sparklers

Sparklers are the most common choice and the easiest to get right.

The venue decides. Plenty of venues allow them outside and ban them indoors. Some ban them entirely, especially historic houses, thatched buildings and timber barns. Ask before you buy, and get the answer in writing.

Buying them. Sparklers are fireworks in UK law, and the government's guidance is clear that they cannot be sold to anyone under 18. Buy from a UK seller rather than an unbranded listing online, and check the packaging carries UK safety markings.

Buy the longer ones. Wedding sparklers are sold in longer lengths so they burn for longer than the garden kind. That matters, because lighting a line of fifty guests takes time and the first ones will go out before the last are lit.

Think about who lights them. Give two or three people a lighter each and a section of the line. One person with one lighter will still be going when you walk out.

Buckets. Put a metal bucket of sand or water at each end of the line for the spent wires. They stay hot for a while, and you do not want them dropped on a lawn, a deck or a dress.

Children. If children are coming, decide in advance whether they hold one. Many venues say no, and it saves a conversation on the night.

Fireworks

A short display at the end of the night is memorable, and it has the most rules attached.

The curfew. Under UK law you must not set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am. The only exceptions are Bonfire Night (until midnight) and New Year's Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year (until 1am). A reception that runs to midnight means the display goes earlier than you might think, often around ten.

Use a professional. A professional display company brings its own insurance, handles the safety distances and deals with the venue. The biggest fireworks can only legally be used by professionals anyway.

Tell the neighbours. Rural venues sit next to farms, stables and livestock. A good venue will already have a process for this. Ask what it is.

Check the insurance. Your venue will want to see the display company's public liability cover. If your own wedding insurance has exclusions for pyrotechnics, find out now rather than later.

Sky lanterns

Our honest advice is to leave them out.

Every one of the 22 councils in Wales has banned sky lanterns on its land, and many English councils have done the same. The NFU is campaigning for a national ban because of the fire risk to crops and buildings and the harm the wire frames do to livestock. Most venues will say no before you ask.

If you want the look of lights rising into the dark, there are better options: lanterns on the ground along a path, festoon lights, or floating candles on water if the venue has a pond.

Cold sparks and indoor effects

Some venues that ban sparklers will allow a cold spark machine for the first dance. These are run by a supplier with its own insurance and risk assessment, and the venue will usually want to see both. Treat it like any other supplier booking: ask the venue first, then book.

Plan the moment, not just the kit

This is where most sparkler photos go wrong. The couple plans a sparkler exit at midnight, and by then the photographer has gone home.

Check your photographer's finish time. If they leave at nine, do the sparklers at half eight. Nobody minds a sparkler moment that is not literally the last thing that happens.

Put it on the running order. Give it a time, tell the venue and the DJ, and let the photographer set up the shot before anyone lights anything.

Tell the guests. A short note on your wedding website and an announcement on the night gets everyone outside at the right time with a coat on. In Build The Day you can add it to the schedule on your wedding website, so guests know it is coming.

A quick checklist

• Ask the venue what it allows, and get it in writing.
• Check the photographer's finish time and plan around it.
• Buy long wedding sparklers from a UK seller, with enough for every adult guest.
• Arrange lighters, helpers and buckets.
• For fireworks, book a professional and finish before 11pm.
• Skip the sky lanterns.

Done well, it is five minutes of the evening. It is also one of the photos you will look at most.