Butterflies?!?

fwbflutegirl

I want to have a butterfly release at the end of the reception as we exit the church, but I'm afraid that something will go wrong since I'm dealing with live, fragile creatures. Does anyone know of a reliable source to buy butterflies from??? Thanks!!

Lasairiona

Living creatures are not decorations. I have heard tons of stories about them being dead on arrival and/or traumatized from the experience so they don't fly away. That in itself will gross out anyone.

ootmother2

No. They die and plop on your guests

Brie2010

DON'T.Would you release kittens as part of your wedding ceremony?  No?  This is pretty much the same thing.  Cruel, and the butterflies die.  Just don't.  Animals are not decorations.

mbcdefg

[url]<a href="http://www.naba.org/weddings.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.naba.org/weddings.html</a>[/url]

ksylvester3

I agree the butterflies do not deserve that!

dsouldiva

No, NO, NOOOOO!!!!!other things that come under this umbrella....Live Fish Centrepieces ..... NO!Doves..........NO!Petals and confetti are perfectly acceptable, romantic and pretty!

ffmaid

It is a creepy and gross option. This is not pretty not romantic but creepy with dead bugs. You would be better off doing a termite release. In reality how about trowing lavendar or bubbles or something like guests clapping . For goodness sake as much as I think they are silly ribbion wands are a better choice  

fwbflutegirl

Wow. I wasn't expecting a slew of animal activists. Never mind...back to the ugly birdseed **My wedding is this September (so I'm running out of time) any creative ideas on how to leave the church without using the old standbys???? (I hate bubbles)

mbcdefg

Did you ask your church what's allowed? Many churches don't allow anything to be thrown (or bugs/birds to be released). If they allow things to be thrown ... natural rose petals, eco-confetti, lavender buds, rice. You could pass out bells or noisemakers. Heck, even ribbon wands are a better option than butterflies. Or just do nothing to save your money, and people will likely clap & cheer on their own.

Brie2010

Instead of live animals: confetti, flower petals, birdseed, sparklers, noisemakers, bells, ribbons, etc.  Or how about good old fashioned friends and family clapping and cheering?

dsouldiva

I'm by no means an animal activist but seriously, read the link that was posted, butterfly release can have serious repercussions on the local eco system, half of them end up dead anyway and all for the sake of "romance" seriously, take your head out of the wedding magazines and pink fluffy clouds for a bit and remember the last time you thought your enjoyment of a situation would be heightened with the presence of bugs or animals??? (eating them aside)Remember this was probably thought up by some uber rich princess with the IQ of Paris Hilton ala The Simple Life... do you really want your guests to draw comparisons to that?!

faith194

Oh my goodness--Comparing the ladies on here to PETA is not at all right.  I'm all about protecting animals, but this is more about your guests and the eco system. Dead butterflies, not romantic. Why do you need something thrown or released? I really like the good ol' fashioned clapping and cheering. No clean up necessary!  Besides, you do need to check into what your church allows.

ffmaid

I'm not peta. I like animal testing and think it is a much better alternative to testing on humans. I have even done animal studies. I just think that a release or dead or dying bugs is not romatic it is discusting. If you want guests thinking yuckk gross then go for it but normal people think that swarms of bugs are distasteful not romantic or lovely

wedforlove2010

I hate to say more bad news....but I have heard that they are often dead when u get them. sorry... i think it would be pretty but not a good idea.

jacquikev

I think the idea sounds beautiful and I looked at the website the only other pro person left you and one of them garantees there to be as many live as you ordered. The monarch butterflies are seen around my area all the time, so releasing a few of them im sure wouldnt be detrimental to society. Try looking for butterflies native to your area if your worried about the environment. Just be sure to care for them properly before release. The butterflies from one site are sent in a box you open. The dead ones would just stay inside and the live ones would fly, so no dead bugs decending on your unsuspecting guests! I wish you luck with your wedding :-) and making your decision!

fwbflutegirl

Thanks Nikki and Jacquikev. I'm not trying to be an extravagant airhead, and since the type of butterflies I was looking at are local to the area I wasn't worried about hurting anything.  The church allows anything that is biodegradable and will not require them to clean anything up. My worry is that the butterflies would be dead or would just sit in the boxes not flying away.  Has anyone been to a wedding with a butterfly release?  How did it go? I like the bells idea but they don't really go with my "enchanted forest" them.  Birdseed would go, but I'm not crazy about the idea of having birdseed in my eyes, hair, and down my dress....

lithiea

I'm failing to see how something like a ribbon wand would "not go" with the enchanted forest theme... google "enchanted forest" pics- what do you see... unicorns> sorry but when I hear unicorns and "enchanted forest" I think ribbons would be the best alternative.

mbcdefg

I like the bells idea but they don't really go with my "enchanted forest" them. So then why not hire some little people to dress like elves?

mbcdefg

Taken directly from the North American Butterfly Association (and not from a website that's only trying to sell you butterflies instead of actually caring about what happens to them after they take your money).If you actually bother to read it, you'll see that they don't recommend releasing butterflies into the wild, even in places where you're already seen wild Monarchs, because of a number of reasons, which I'll even highlight for you: There's No Need to Release Butterflies -- They're Already Free by Jeffrey Glassberg (president of NABA); Paul Opler (author of Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies); Robert M. Pyle (author of Audubon Society Field Guide to Butterflies); Robert Robbins (curator of Lepidoptera, Smithsonian Institution) and James Tuttle (president, (Lepidopterists' Society)    Most fifth graders can tell you how the magnificent Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles every autumn from the United States and Canada to a few small mountain tops in Mexico. There they find the right environmental conditions that allow them to survive the winter. With the advent of spring, they begin their return journey. This migratory phenomenon is truly a wonder of nature that sparks the imagination.    Now imagine tens of thousands of mixed-up Monarchs unable to find the way to their overwintering grounds. This depressing image may become a reality if the rapidly-growing fad of releasing butterflies, including Monarch butterflies, at weddings, state fairs, and other public events continues to spread. Because the released Monarchs may have come from California, for instance, where they do not migrate to Mexico, their offspring may not be able to orient properly. Because the Monarchs were raised inside under unnatural conditions, it is possible that their delicate migratory physiology may not have been turned on.    Public interest in butterflies is increasing dramatically. We hope and expect this greater involvement with butterflies will eventually lead to much-needed support for butterfly conservation and studies, but the release of live butterflies is the dark side of this increase in popularity. Although this practice is understandable to naive newlyweds-to-be (what could be more beautiful than adding butterflies to the environment?) it is really a particularly long-lasting form of environmental pollution.    Butterflies raised by unregulated commercial interests may spread diseases and parasites to wild populations, with devastating results. Often, butterflies are released great distances from their points of origin, resulting in inappropriate genetic mixing of different populations when the same species is locally present. When it is not, a non-native species is being introduced in the area of release. At best, this confuses studies of butterfly distribution and migration; at worst, it may result in deleterious changes to the local ecology. The Hollywood Jurassic park message, "Don't fool with Mother Nature," has scientific foundations. Recently a high profile report in Science magazine found that even the careful introduction of species for biological control often causes unexpected negative results.    In addition, these releases create a commercial market for live butterflies (currently about $10/apiece), with the result that, for example, the Monarch overwintering sites in Mexico and on the California coast are now targets for poachers.    Currently, the interstate shipment of live butterflies requires a permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture but this law is not usually enforced. In general, the Dept. of Agriculture may issue a permit for shipping any of the following species: Monarch, Painted Lady, American Lady, Red Admiral, Giant Swallowtail, Gulf Fritillary, Zebra (Heliconian), and Mourning Cloak. Shipping Red Admirals, Giant Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries and Zebra (Heliconians) is particularly inappropriate because they are not naturally found over much of the United States.    A solution that better serves the public interest with less regulatory burden is to ban the environmental release of commercially-obtained butterflies (we would exempt education institutions, although even here we would encourage schools to keep commercially-obtained butterflies within the confines of the school). The intentional release of native birds was outlawed in 1947. The time has come to do the same with butterflies.    In addition to the above, many wedding planners now avoid butterflies at weddings because they not infrequently arrive dead, or half-dead. (See the recent article in the New York Times "Festive Release of Butterflies Puts Trouble in the Air" on page F4 of the Sept. 15, 1998 edition). Even if alive, they often will soon die because they are released at the wrong time of year, or at the wrong locality to survive.    A truly beautiful and environmentally friendly way to celebrate a wedding is to throw rose petals. You can even use outdated roses from your florist.

faith194

I agree with retreadbride--Definitely. I wouldn't even include our dog(who I love and adore with everything I have) in our wedding. People couldn't understand why not--He's a dog. He has no idea what a wedding is, he hates crowds, and the day if for a wedding for family(as much as I think of him as family, he isn't).Anyway, weddings are for humans. No animals should be used as a prop, regardless of what manufacturers want to sell you!