*EKobs*

lburkey21

I saw that you're doing paper lanterns....I really want to use them to decorate my reception venue too. How long do your throwies last? Are you using more than one LED per throwie? Are they hard to make? What size lanterns are you using?

Sorry for the questions - I just realized that I should probably get a move on reception decorations, especially if I want to do paper lanterns and make all the throwies.

EKobrenski

Oh my goodness, these lanterns are going to be the death of me.  They better look fantastic. 

The throwies last a really long time, from what I hear. Evseidl sold me some of her lanterns about a month after her wedding and the throwies still had a little glow to them.  My venue has really bright spotlights that I want to avoid using, so we are doing an average of 6 per lantern (depending on how big it is).  If you just want a glowing look, 3-4 would be plenty.  One other thing I considered what using floralytes in the lanterns, but it was more expensive.  If you're short on time, it might be worth it though.

I got all my lantern info from these links:
http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/04/03/if-only-i-had-majored-in-event-lighting-instead-of-biology/
http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/03/16/tents-and-lanterns-and-layouts-oh-my/
http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Throwies/step1/Materials-List/
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/i-want-to-use-throwies-to-light-my-paper-laternshelp

Well, after I had all those figured out, it turned out that my tent only has four poles and a 16 foot ladder.  Also, I have to hire someone there to go up on the ladder (I'm not allowed to do it myself).  So I can't really do that scattered look.  I'm going for more of a look like the ones at this wedding: http://pinkorchidweddings.blogspot.com/2009/08/chelsey-and-davids-wedding-on-moosehead.html
I THINK I have it figured out haha. The lanterns are going to range from 12" to 30".  One of the other good hints I got was to use dentail floss to tie the lanterns to the fishing line.  It's cheaper and it comes with it's own cutter. 

Sorry for writing a book, this has by far been the hardest thing to plan lol.

lburkey21

Thanks for all the info!! I'll have to check out those sites at home - work likes to block random sites like weddingbee! Are you using an on/off switch for yours? How far in advance do you think you'll make them? My main concern is that we'll be decorating the day before and I obvioulsy need to make sure that they will last either more than 24 hours or that they have an on/off switch that we can turn on the morning of the wedding - that would be a pain but tolerable.

Dental floss - genius idea!!

I'll probably be picking your brain more once we actually decide if we're for sure doing it or not.

EKobrenski

I'm not doing a switch, but I guess you can put a piece of cardboard in and just pull it out when you're ready  to light it up.