A DIY or Professional Fireworks Display at your home Wedding is a great highlight to your evenings entertainment. A Fireworks display is a great way to pump up the excitement level of your guests for the final part of the evenings entertainment.
Here are a few questions we are often asked about having fireworks and some of our thoughts and tips.
What type of fireworks to buy?
Unless you have a real firework fan who will love letting off lots of individual fireworks most people go for Single Ignition Display Boxes. These fireworks are a large single firework that has one fuse and lasts anywhere up to 3 minutes without having to light anything more. They are also easy to set up. Just place them on a board and because they weigh about 8KG they're not going anywhere so that's it - just light and enjoy. These boxes are usually designed as an entire display so they have a beginning, middle and finale and fire a wide range of effects up to about 30M / 100ft.
What time to let them off?
Under the Fireworks Act the Government made it illegal to let fireworks off between 11pm and 7am. Your fireworks display must therefore be finished by 11pm. There are some exceptions to this like New Years Eve (December 31st) when the fireworks must be finished by 1am, on Bonfire Night (November 5th) the deadline is Midnight. Both Chinese New Year and Diwali also have later curfews - find out more here.
What Safety Distance do they need - Where to let them off?
Most Display Class Fireworks (Category 3 Fireworks - learn more here) have a 25 metre safety distance recommendation. Garden fireworks (Category 2) have a 5 Metre safety distance but you are unlikely to use these fireworks for a Wedding display as they are just too small. Our recommendation is to have even more safety distance of up to 50 metres if you can as this makes for a more pleasant viewing experience for your guests. And remember most fireworks burst at 60 - 100ft in the sky - rockets even higher, so don't worry about firing the fireworks behind trees or the house from the audience - they will still enjoy them.
Pets and local livestock?
If your pets dislike the noise from fireworks you can read some advice here. Local livestock owners should be notified of the firing time of your fireworks so they can move them if they want to. Horses tend to be most prone to panicking when fireworks are let off - so talk to their owners about when you are letting the fireworks off - they will know the best course of action to take for their particular animals. Government advice here.
Fireworks and alcohol don't mix!
I know its a party but the person responsible should stay sober until after the fireworks have been fired. Remember these are explosives - you need to have a healthy respect for them and a clear mind!
Neighbours and noise disturbance.
Hopefully your neighbours are invited to the party! But if not do let them know about your firing time - they might want to watch a free firework display! Also remember that you are perfectly entitled to fire fireworks as long as they are not in the curfew regardless of what a problem neighbour might say. Any environmental officer called will take note of sound levels but as long as the duration of fireworks is not unreasonable they won't do anything. You could always buy reduced noise fireworks that don't produce loud bangs and don't fire so high in the sky (that reduces the radius of disturbance) - you can see some reduced noise fireworks here.
What about the Weather?
Firework fuses don't like getting wet. The firework once light will usually fire in the rain (unless its absolutely torrential). You best plan if the weather is bad is to set the fireworks out just as you intend to use them in a break in the weather. Alternatively you can set the fireworks out earlier and place them in plastic bags (bin liners are ideal), make sure water can get in. When it comes to firing just rip open the bags and light the firework. High winds can be a safety problem with hot sparks or debris drifting into the audience or property. You only course of action is to move the audience up wind of the fireworks or more the fireworks down wind. Increasingly safety distances is also a good idea.
Safety & Set Up advice
We will have more posts on how to set up your fireworks - but any good firework supplier ought to have a safety/set up guide for you to follow. Government advice here.
Professional Fireworks Display at Home.
If you book us professionally we will take care of all the Health & Safety aspects as well as, of course firing the show. We use professional class fireworks (category 4) that are much bigger and more powerful than consumer fireworks - also more spectacular. We therefore require a minimum of 50 metre safety distance. We quite often work on adjoining land such as farmers fields to your home - we have even worked half a mile a way from the Wedding (yes its possible!) so have a chat with the land owners around you and ask if we can use their land. Some Farmers might want to charge but most are happy to let us use the land, especially if they can watch or get an invite to the celebrations! Take a look at our professional services here.
