Canada-Ontario

Butterfly release

Were thinking of doing a butterfly release at the end of our ceremony, in memory of my grandmother. I've been looking for a company that supplies butterflies, but they all charge upwards of 150 dollars for 12!  Does anyone know of a company with a more reasonable price? Or should I go and get a net... Wink

Re: Butterfly release

  • APW2010APW2010 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Oooh, that's a great idea. No idea of anywhere that does it cheaply though - let me know if you find someone reasonable!!
  • LittlinLittlin member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I have a story about this.

    My friend got married in July 2007 and wanted to do this.  She ordered the butterflies from this place in the Florida.  They'll only give you Monarchs because they have to be native to Canada.  They shipped them in a cooler which you were supposed to keep in the fridge until the morning of the ceremony.  I guess they left them there for too long and so when we did the release, the butterflies were a little confused and sedated.  They come in these little cigarette like containers, and to be honest, most of them died, or fell on the ground and struggled to fly.  The funny part was trying to get the release to work - I have a lot of funny pictures, but in the end, only one actually flew.

    So caution - follow instructions carefully.  It was about $300 for 10 butterflies.   I hope I didn't burst your bubble - I'm sure it CAN work!



  • crysfacecrysface member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    omigosh! Yea, I'm scared about them not being able to actually fly.. kinda the point! lol
    I'm also not sure I like the idea of having to put them in a fridge, or a little box. Makes me sad :( 

  • edited December 2011
    I think a net is the best idea! Probably the most humane option, too.
  • edited December 2011
    OMG Litllin I know it's not meant to be funny, but I totally laughed out loud at work when I read your post!!
  • LittlinLittlin member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I laughed on the day of too, along with the bride and all the guests.  It was sad, but so funny because of all the trouble she went through to have dopey butterflies.
  • edited December 2011
    I actually ordered 12 butterflies from www.butterfliesandroses.com
    for my wedding last week. With taxes and delivery it came to $200 for 12 butterflies. And then it rained on my wedding day, so we couldn't even use them! However, we just left them in the fridge, and we went back to my new husband's house the next day and released them there. Only one didn't survive. They come with this cute little prayer about making a wish when you release them. They hung around the garden for a while and landed on us, it was really nice! 

    Depending on how much time you have on your wedding day, they definitely complicate things because they need to be in the fridge until 30 minutes before you want to release, so timing wise it can get a little complicated!  HTH! 
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • crysfacecrysface member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I invested in a net (yay dollar store ;) and a mesh laundry basket from Ikea that has a lid. I'm lucky enough that my mom has a garden full of butterfly bush, and we've caught 5 butterflies thus far! She used to teach a nature class at the community school, and we would catch caterpillars so the kids could watch them transform, so she knows how to care for them. Boy oh boy though. Need a good workout? Try catching butterflies!! :D
    Now, we just need to figure out how to get them from the basket, to a box for the wedding day...
  • edited December 2011
    ya you have to be careful, if you get butterflies that aren't native to the area it can reallyy screw up your eco system! my venue won't allow this for that reason... and the freezing/cooling them is a lil mean
    good luck, i think catching them is the best
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