Fire Safety at Weddings
| By Richard ~ June 24th, 2009 ~ Wedding Planning | 1 Comment |
www.hireafiretrucktampa.com
My clients do not expect silk flowers or flameless candles. And I could not agree more. Until this past weekend.
My client’s wedding was at a truly magical landmark location in Manhattan, and this venue has a wonderful dressing room. As is often the case, the dressing room serves multiple purposes; it is also a private oasis for the bride and groom, and a place where they can store their valuables and gifts.
photo flamlesscandles.net
The banquet staff had placed hors d’oeuvres and Champagne in this room, dimmed the lights and decorated it with flowers and votive candles. It was just lovely.
At about eleven that evening, someone smelled smoke. Some tissue paper in the dressing room had caught fire. We were very very lucky, mostly because no one was injured, but also because there was no property damage and no gifts were lost. No envelopes – many bearing cash gifts – were destroyed. Whew. As many of you know, there have been some really tragic fires in public spaces.
So from this point on my plan is to require venues to use flameless candles in any unattended rooms, dressing rooms and restrooms included. If the venue balks, I will provide the candles. They are easy to find in stores such as Bed Bath and Beyond and online at sites such as www.flamelesscandles.net. I hope you will follow my lead on this one, there is absolutely no excuse for compromising the safety of your guests.
Lynn
6/24/09
I’m a wedding photographer and this is something I’ve actually thought about a lot lately, because whenever I do detail shots at tables, I’m always moving a candle an inch or two because it’s entirely too close to flowers or other table decor. Once the reception is in full swing, and people are shuffling around, tables get bumped, things fall over, etc. And many tables may be unattended while your guests are mingling/dancing. It’s kind of scary. Add the dynamic of guests that may have had a few too many drinks and it gets even scarier if a building had to be evacuated.
From Lynn’s own blog: Wedding: Paul & Nikole | Michigan Wedding Photographers