I love sparklers, they just look so nice and are wonderfully romantic. But there is one drawback of using them during the first dance or during entrance into reception: you have to light them up all together at the same time. It will not be that long before they burn down one by one. It would be a shame if the dance starts and some do not even have their sparklers lit up or it already died. Some brides especially organize lighters for all guests so that everyone can light their own sparkler. Supposedly that works wonderfully. However, no sparklers are allowed in our wedding location, so I wondered what to use instead. Glow sticks would have been just an emergency solution for me, so it had to be something else.

Therefore, I used some white LED hair clips to create great electric sparklers or fiber optic wands by myself.

They are a real highlight in the dark! The LED light hair clips I chose as the base material provide a white color. I had to search for a long time, because most of these hair clips you can find online are flashing, glow in multiple colors or change color every second. They are probably intended for a techno party not for a wedding.

If you just want to purchase done-for-you set of 20 „Leuchtwedel“ you can do so in our Shop or on Amazon.

or

 

Instructions to craft white LED fiber optic wands for your first dance

Materials

• white LED hair clips
• Plant rods from the hardware store (diameter approx. 5-8 mm)
• hearts from unbleached kraft paper (2 pieces each)
• Ribbons or flowers for decoration

Tools

• small pliers
• Glue Gun
• small handsaw and sandpaper

Remove clip

The metallic clip, which is actually intended to be clipped into the hair, bothers when attaching the kraft heart and would render the end result quite ugly. Therefore, we remove this clip with a small pliers. The clip is stuck with hot glue in a plastic flask, but can be easily bend back and forth and will move after a while.

Saw wooden sticks

Planting rods from the hardware store are quite suitable, they often only cost 1-2 euros. Cut them to approx. 10 cm and then sand the edges with an abrasive paper. In the end the rod should feel good in the hand.

Stick on rod and kraft paper

First hot glue a kraft paper heart onto the flat side of the clip. Then attach the wooden stick and finally glue the second kraft paper heart on the uneven side with more hot glue. Press firmly.

Beautify

Now decorate the completed white fiber optic sparkler wands for your wedding just as you like, eg. with a flower or a bow of a satin ribbon. Et Voilá finished: Electric sparklers for your first dance!

In the dark they are a real alternative to sparklers 😉

A very detailed list of many of my favorite crafting products can be found on the „Vintage / Kraft / Rustic / Lace Materials“ list.

Details about the switch

The on/off button of the fiber optic wand is on its side. It’s a small switch that you can toggle with a finger or fingernail by sliding your finger between the hearts. If you have big fingers, the heart will be bend slightly outwards, but will not break. I recommend appointing a person to distribute the LED sparklers before the first dance, who turns them on when handing them out or tells the guests where the button is.

Greetings and let LOVE shine,
Stephanie

 

These are the wands by Birgit. She tinkered with my idea and printed beautiful sayings onto the hearts. She also gives another hint: shorten the light fibers a little with scissor so the will stand up almost straight and look almost like real electric sparklers.

 

Christina also crafted some LED sparklers. On her pieces she glued these little pretty bows in her theme color. Beautiful!