If I said to you the word “confetti” you may think of the tiny coloured circles of paper from the 1980’s and before. (It may depend on how old you are!!)
Confetti is an Italian word that means ‘little paper’ and traditionally has been used in celebration of festivities, weddings, parades and New Years.
As a paper product - confetti at a wedding can be awful stuff. If coloured - once wet from rain or perspiration the colour can run and believe me - we have seen some rainbow brides in our time!
The best type of confetti to use is a NATURAL product like fresh rose petals, dried whole rose petals (not pot pourri style) or a new type of confetti called ‘ecofetti’ which is made out of corn starch. Ecofetti Australia | Facebook
The point here is we insist you choose BIODEGRADEABLE products.
Fresh and dried whole rose petals are a natural product that will break down in time. Your florist can usually provide you with a bag of petals that may match your bouquet at a discounted price - or sometimes free.
Ecofetti or similar products made from corn starch actually disintergrate as soon as they are wet and so disappear rapidly.
Now another old tradition was to throw seed or rice at the bridal couple. This option too has its draw backs. Uncooked rice and bird seed can injure people - especially if they are hit in the eyes AND reminants of this brings rodents. So we ask that you and your guests do not throw rice.
In recent times - we have seen a few brides bring confetti in the shape of white hearts that are actually made of tissue paper. While these look pretty and on first appearance look biodegradable - they are not actually biodegradable and so do not break down and do not disappear.
We had a couple of weddings throw these tissue paper hearts outside of the chapel and even with 24 hours of rain - these hearts did not biodegrade and instead made a mush of paper on the ground which has been very difficult to clean up.
Similarly - we have recently had confetti canons used and the contents were also not biodegradable. It has been 6 weeks since a confetti canon was used here at the Chapel, l and I am STILL finding shiny circles of paper in the grass around the chapel!
If you are thinking of purchasing a confetti canon - read the label. See what is inside the product and ensure it is an environmentally friendly choice.
So, the moral of this story is…..: If you plan to have some sort of product thrown at your ceremony, please ensure it is biodegradable. DO NOT use any paper type confetti - or tiny chopped up pieces of dried rose petals inside the Chapel - unless you plan on paying a clean-up fee! If unsure - do a test. Place your confetti in a bowl of water. See if it disappears or if it just turns to mush.
Fresh petals are so much nicer and better for the environment. Speak to your florist about the options they have for throwing petals at the wedding.
If you are in any doubt - contact the Chapel office to discuss your confetti options.