Sparklers stink.

I'm pleased to report that the entire wedding planning process has gone pretty smoothly.  Minus a few stressful moments, I feel like things have fallen into place nicely, and usually without too much labor on anyone's part.  We are well on our way to creating the event we've always wanted, and that, in and of itself, is a victory.  Despite all of our successes, one recent failure has me licking my bridal wounds.  I feel stupid complaining that one tiny detail isn't going our way whenever we've nailed down a great photographer, a perfect dress, an awesome bridal party, dashing men's attire, and the list goes on an on.  Nevertheless, hard as I try, I cannot shake this one source of heartache.  The culprit?  Sparklers.

Simply stated, sparklers were persona non grata in my home growing up.  Parents Snow Cone agreed that giving a flaming stick to a child of any age was probably not the best decision in the history of parenting.  Despite my inexperience with these little fire-sticks, I was still enamored.  I loved the way they looked in photos, and I pretty much made it my mission to use them for a grand wedding exit (never mind the fact that the grand wedding exit doesn't even exist yet).  I wasn't sure how this idea would go over with the parentals or Mr. Snow Cone, so I decided to dream and scheme from afar before making my pitch to them.  Well, I never even got to that point.  Instead, my sparkler dreams got extinguished (haha, I made a funny) by our on-site coordinator.  She summarily stated that handing fire-sticks to people after giving those same people hours of access to an open bar was probably not the best decision in the history of weddings.  Sparklers officially were stricken from the Snow Cone wedding, before they were even officially included.

Rationally, I know that this idea posed a supreme fire hazard.  I also know that you run the risk of singing your dress with sparklers, and I am not interested in that.  Grumpily, I'm pouting that hundreds of other brides at hundreds of other venues gave the go-ahead for sparkler action at the conclusion of the reception.  Now I'm confused if I even want or need a grand send-off.  It's almost as if now that sparklers aren't a possibility, the send-off in its entirety goes right down the drain with the fire-sticks.  I know that other possibilities exist, like ribbon wands and bubbles, but nothing really makes my eyes light up (haha, funny #2) like the thought of a sparkler send-off.

In order to be as masochistic as possible, I'll leave you with a sampling of photos that made my heart go pitter-patter for months on end.  Harrumph.

Image via Intimate Weddings / Photo by Swensen Photography

Image via Intimate Weddings / Photo by Stephen Seward

 Image via Bridal Inquirer / Photo by Melanie Mauer

Image via and Photo by Luster Studios

Image via Sparkle.com / Photo by Shannon Ho Photography

Image via and Photo by David Wittig Photography

Image via and Photo by Joshua Gill Photography

How do you handle wedding planning disappointment?  Any super-awesome send-off ideas or photos out there?  And, best of all, anyone have a miserable experience with a sparkler exit that could help me get over this heartache?