One of the important pieces of the evening that couples typically do at the end of their evening is the wedding exit. Usually, with sparklers, bubbles, or glow sticks, it’s a popular send-off for the couple.

Well today on the blog, Carole and I want to chat with you a bit about having a fake or faux exit and why you should highly consider it.

What is a Fake Exit Anyway?

It’s an exit typically done at the reception, usually between the hours of 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm. The exit usually has guests standing on opposite sides creating a walkway for the couple and it allows for great images with the photographer and videographer.

The only real difference is that after a fake or faux exit, couples and their guests go back to partying while those that want to leave early, can.

Guests with Children and Elderly Guests

If you have wedding guests with small children, then you may want to consider that as one of the main reasons why you should have a fake exit in the first place.

As someone with firsthand experience in weddings, many couples make the mistake of waiting until late to have a send-off, not thinking about the little ones and them needing to get to bed at an earlier time.

The longer the kiddos are running around, the faster they’re more likely to cry, whine and be upset because they are in need of sleep.

The other reason to consider having an early send-off is for those that are elderly and also want to return home sooner than later.

Typically, most older couples will start to leave the reception once the wedding cake is cut and been passed out to guests.

If you really want grandma and grandpa to partake in a sparkler-style exit, then it’s another good reason to think about offering one earlier.

Here is a valuable resource to visit about wedding sparklers by the way.

Guests Have Had a Little Too Much to Drink

I will also tell you that those that tend to wait for the exit at the last minute have a couple of things to consider further, the lack of guests and those that have had a little too much to drink!

If your friends are inebriated, you don’t really want them holding a lit sparkler in their hand only to find out the person they are standing next to catches fire because they were drunk.

I’ve seen it happen once or twice over the last couple of decades, that sort of thing does happen from time to time, although it’s fairly rare.

Your Wedding Photographer and Videographer Will Appreciate it (so will your pocketbook)

From the wedding photographer and videographer standpoint, if you only have a handful of people dancing the night away, there are only so many photos of the 10-15 you can get.

Capturing the same people from song to song is okay, you’re just going to get a lot of those people dancing.

I remember filming a wedding back in 2015 when the couple decided to dance the night until the venue was to kick them out, 11 pm. What started out with 135 people dwindled down to just the bridal party of 8 people.

Needless to say, the exit was pretty short and the bride was bummed because no one really stuck around after 9 pm.

How many couples have a fake/faux exit?

Truthfully, its an answer with a mixed bag of results. We asked 250 couples across Virginia what they would have choose, real or fake and the answers were as follows:

Of the people that gave us feedback, we also collected a handful of thoughts from people too: