Wedding Confetti
Showering the newlyweds with confetti after the ceremony is a popular custom - unless you're the poor soul who has to tidy it up afterwards! So why do we throw little bits of paper over the bride and groom?
What Is Confetti?
Modern confetti is simply small pieces of paper - usually tissue or metallic - cut into a varity of designs. This can be thrown over the bride and groom at the end of the wedding. Confetti is usually cut into various appropriate symbols such as bells, hearts, stars etc and throwing these the newlyweds with this can be seen as way of symbolically showering the newlyweds with good fortune and happiness.
Always check with the venue before buying and using confetti. Somebody needs to clean up the mess, and some venues ban its use.
As an alternative to throwing confetti some people today prefer to scatter it lightly over tabletops etc, for example at the wedding reception. It still needs clearing up but at least it isn't blowing down the street!
Variations
For those who want something special it's also possible to buy specialised or even customised confetti in almost any shape - perfect for matching a themed wedding. You can also get various forms of luxury confetti where the paper shapes are augmented with flowers, rose petals, etc.