Where to Buy Wedding Sparklers in Iowa

Particularly in the summer, Iowa is home to thousands of weddings; which has led many to wonder where to buy wedding sparklers locally before their big day. Fortunately, sparklers are one of the few items that are actually allowed legally in the state of Iowa, though coming across them can be difficult depending on what time of year it is. Also known as “the Hawkeye State”, it can be tough to locate sparklers in Iowa except for the few weeks leading up to the 4th of July. Fortunately there are several online stores that sell wedding sparklers and deliver to Iowa year-round to supply the huge demand in the state.

Choosing Your Type of Sparklers

There are several types of sparklers that are on the market today, so choosing the right ones for your needs is vital to having a successful reception. If you need to have your sparklers burn for a long time, you’ll want longer ones like the 20 inch or 36 inch variety. If you want something really cheap, you can go for the 10 inch variety. Lastly, if you want something colorful, there are several different options available for that as well. Regardless of your preferences or needs, research the different sparklers options that are available and choose the type that is appropriate for your reception.

Iowa Fireworks Laws

Following local laws is always important to ensure a successful wedding reception, and people living in Iowa are not an exception to these laws. Before you plan to use sparklers at your wedding, it’s important to find out the Iowa fireworks laws in addition to the rules at your reception venue. Even if you are allowed to use your sparklers under Iowa state law, your venue can reserve the right to deny their use or require an additional charge in the event of an incident. By checking with your venue before making a purchase, you can avoid buying items that you end up not being able to use.

Some Historical Facts About Iowa

It was 1673 when the first European explorers were documented as traveling to Iowa, and those travelers were Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet. At that time, the territory was claimed as part of the French territory and remained that way until 1763. The French then handed over control to their ally Spain who oversaw the creation of trading posts along the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Iowa officially became part of the territories controlled by the United States. After agriculture tanked in the mid-century, they greatly diversified their industries. Since their economy bottomed out in the early 1980s, the population of Iowa has increased at a faster rate than the rest of the United States and maintained a lower than average unemployment rate.

Sparkler Tip #5: Supply a Way to Light Them

Sparklers are really fun when you make them part of your wedding, but that fact can quickly become moot if you don’t give your guests a reliable way to light them. Whether you are handing out the sparklers during your reception for your guests to use at their leisure or coordinating a specific use for them such as a grand exit, the ability to quickly and efficiently light your wedding sparklers is crucial to a successful and enjoyable time. Fortunately, since sparklers are such a popular addition to weddings these days, there are a few tried and true methods that work very well.

BBQ Lighter

BBQ lighters are a fast and simple way for your guests to light their sparklers. Simply pass out a few of them to your guests, and they can be having fun with their sparklers in a short period of time. They are also a great choice because of how easy they are to use, but they are more expensive than some of the other options so it may be out of the question for couples on a budget.

Matches

Matches are another simple way to light sparklers, but not as fast as some of the other methods. The main problem is that taking the time for each guest to strike a match and light the tips of their smoke-free sparklers can be a bit time consuming, but you can buy personalized matchboxes which adds a fun and elegant touch to the whole affair.

Using Another Sparkler

A super-fast and inexpensive method to light everyone up in a hurry is to use another sparkler as the starting device. Once your guests touch the tip of their sparklers to another lit sparkler, they will immediately light. However, once a sparkler is lit, your guests may get the wrong idea and light their sparkler up before you can start passing it around. You will want to make sure everyone knows what is going on if you use this method.

Candles

Likely the most elegant and overall best way to light your sparklers quickly and efficiently is to have a few candles scattered about the area where people will be lighting their sparklers. The beauty of using candles is that they burn for hours as opposed to seconds, so there is no rush in coordinating everything in a massive hurry. Also, candles are fairly inexpensive and look very nice at a wedding. This makes them both useful for your purposes and also a great addition to your wedding décor.

Halo Engagement Ring Sales on the Rise

Halo engagement rings are a classic setting style, but their sales are recently starting to rise again after they fell off over the last decade. It’s unclear why the popularity of this style of ring setting lost popularity momentarily, but many experts attribute the small downturn to the “old school” look that they embody. However, as vintage engagement rings start to gain traction in the marketplace once again, halo engagement rings are once again surging which has spawned a whole slew of new styles and designs for the modern bride to sift through.

For some brides, the concept of a halo engagement ring is totally new. In fact, many couples have never seen or heard of this particular style; though many of them have a mother or grandmother with this very style of ring setting. A halo engagement ring usually consists of an oval center stone with a ring of smaller accent stones circling around it. These smaller stones are almost always diamonds, but the center stone can be any number of stone including a ruby, sapphire, or diamond.

Benefits of Choosing a Halo Engagement Ring

Choosing a halo engagement ring style is a great way to show off the stone that you have chosen. Regardless of whether you choose a diamond or another type of stone, the full circle of diamonds will highlight all the fine details that the stone has to offer. Also, with vintage ring styles drastically on the rise, your ring is certain to look timeless for generations to come. By opting to go with a halo setting for your ring, you can pass your engagement ring down to your children and grandchildren with the knowledge that it will be a cherished heirloom for centuries to come.

Colored Stones in a Halo Engagement Ring

Though many brides choose a diamond as their center stone for their engagement ring, colored stones are showcased beautifully when you place them in a halo setting. While some brides choose colored diamonds for this purpose, you can easily replace them with a ruby, sapphire, emerald, or garnet to achieve a stunning look for a lower price than a diamond will run you.

Furthermore, the halo style has seen resurgence with even royalty like Kate Middleton (the future Queen of England) sporting a halo engagement ring. The stunning blue diamond at the center of her ring has led to a huge amount of brides wanting the same spectacular look on their finger. Because that size of blue diamond is so expensive, many choose either dark blue tanzanite or a blue sapphire to replace the use of a diamond as the center stone.

Where to Buy Wedding Sparklers in Indiana

As home of the famous Indy 500, Indiana is commonly associated with cars. However, I’m asked a lot where to buy wedding sparklers in Indiana because there are so many people who flock to the gorgeous landscapes the state has to offer to say their vows. In fact, there is a whole plethora of different landscapes in Indiana ranging from flat plains to rolling hills, and even areas of beautiful forests. Also called the “Hoosier State”, Indiana has the 16th highest population out of any state in America which also helps fuel the huge amount of weddings hosted in the state each year. That coupled with the cold farmland winters that they experience, it’s easy to see the demand for wedding sparklers in Indiana.

Different Choices of Sparklers

There are so many different types of sparklers available that most companies in Indiana aren’t able to carry all the variations that are manufactured. Deciding on which type of sparklers you’re going to have at your wedding can be tough and really boil down to your preferences in color and the purpose for which you are buying the sparklers.

Depending on how much time you have to shop around and weigh your options, the amount of variety available can be either good or bad. Available colors include red, green, blue, and even neon; while the most popular color is obviously gold. Additionally, there are several sizes available with the most popular being 10 inch, 20 inch, and 36 inch sparklers. Though the variety can ensure you get the perfect size and color you want, it can also be problematic if you are running short on time; so make sure you do some research before you make your purchase.

Know the Rules for Indiana

Indiana has pretty loose laws pertaining to the use of consumer fireworks such as sparklers, but part of the law requires that the owner of the property approve the use. For this reason, it is crucial to check with your venue before planning to use sparklers during any part of your wedding in addition to checking with the local laws and overall Indiana fireworks laws to ensure that they will be allowed for use on your special day. Also, the state laws require you to use your sparklers between 9am and 11pm unless your wedding is taking place on an approved holiday such as the 4th of July or New Year’s Eve. By making sure you’re following all the state laws in advance, you can be sure that you aren’t wasting any money when you make you wedding sparkler purchase.

Fun Tidbits About Indiana

One of the most interesting pieces of information I found about Indiana is that unlike other states where the people who live are referred to as an extension of the state’s name such as “New Yorker” or “Minnesotan”, people from Indiana are referred to as “Hoosiers”. This is also where the nickname for Indiana came from which is the “Hoosier State”, but nobody can agree where the term originated from. The term was first documented as showing up in the early 1800s, but there is n0 feasible reference to what it stands for in any way. In fact, though many schools and businesses throughout the state use it as a mascot or part of their name, there is no physical embodiment of a “Hoosier” so they are forced to just use the name and the initials of their institution.

Sparkler Tip #4: Don’t Buy Too Many

When buying anything for your wedding, it can be very tempting to go overboard; and sparklers are no exception. However, it’s important that you don’t buy too many sparklers for several reasons and not the least of which is their cost.

Though sparklers are not going to be one of the most expensive items you purchase for your big day, any wasted money can mean a missed opportunity to make your wedding even better. Whether you overspend by $20 or $200 on your wedding sparklers, that extra money could have gone towards more decorations, wedding favors, or any number of other items that had to be cut from the list. By keeping a few things in mind, you can easily control the number of sparklers you buy to ensure that you don’t buy too many.

Buy for Your Guest List Size

The most important part of buying the right amount of sparklers for your wedding is to calculate based on the size of your guest list. For example, if you are having 200 guests; you don’t need to buy 1000 sparklers. Instead, you’ll want to buy 10 to 20 percent more than the number of guests you expect, so somewhere between 220 and 240 sparklers would be perfect for a guest list of around 200 people.

Buy a Quality Brand

To get the most for your money, you will want to stick to buying reputable brands. While it will be a huge temptation to buy discount sparklers for your wedding, they usually end up burning out quickly and often arrive damaged. It’s important to remember that there’s a difference between cheap and value, so make sure you are buying from a reputable company for your big day.

Choose the Right Length

There are several different lengths of sparklers available, and each is a great choice for different purposes. If you are using them for a sendoff line, then 36 inch sparklers would be the best choice because of their burn time. If you are going to take some pictures indoors, 20 inch sparklers are great because the burn for a long time but don’t produce too much smoke. If you’re just looking for a novelty item to hand out to your guests to make their experience a bit more fun, then you can get away with buying short 10 inch sparklers. Regardless of how you will be using your sparklers, buying the right length for your purposes is the best way to make sure you don’t overbuy.

Choosing a Yellow Diamond Engagement Ring

One of the most unique colors you could hope for in an engagement ring is vivid yellow; something only a yellow diamond can offer. In fact, yellow diamonds are actually rarer than any other color of diamond, which means you get all the value of a diamond with unforgettable color tone of yellow. While most brides opt for a traditional white diamond in their engagement ring, choosing a yellow diamond will make your ring unique, colorful, and stand out from the pack while still being a top grade stone.

Almost exclusively found in Africa and certain regions of Australia, yellow diamonds are found in areas that other diamonds are not. White diamonds are found in mines that stretch long expanses called “diamond veins”, but this is not the case with yellow diamonds. In fact, for every 10,000 traditional diamonds mined, only 1 yellow diamond is discovered; which sums up exactly how rare they are. This has also led to a massive amount of demand and a very large shortage in their supply, and it also means that that more rich the yellow hues are in the stone; the more valuable the diamond will be.

Unfortunately, their rarity and high demand has also spawned a tremendous amount of fakes on the market. As rare as yellow diamonds are compared to other genuine diamond colors, you are likely to see thousands of fake yellow diamonds before you ever lay eyes on an authentic stone. If you are interested in having a yellow diamond as the stone for your engagement ring, make sure you have it authenticated by a reputable jeweler before you shell out the high sticker price most authentic stones will have attached to the ring.

Common Cuts and Setting for Yellow Diamonds

Unlike regular diamonds, yellow diamonds are typically cut in a unique style to show off the color properly. While most people think about large quantities of facets leading to the most sparkly looking diamond engagement rings, yellow diamonds are often cut in asymmetrical shapes to allow the light to show off the color more than the clarity of the stone itself. As part of these cuts, you will usually see very long facets on yellow diamonds.

Of course, the cut of your yellow diamond is only half the battle; you will also need the perfect setting to accent that yellow deliciousness. As one might expect, yellow diamonds look fabulous in traditional settings such as gold or platinum; much like any other precious stone. Many people choose to have their yellow diamond placed in a solitaire setting to avoid creating too busy of a look and to add emphasis to the stone. Furthermore, many people choose either white gold or platinum instead of yellow gold so the yellow tones in the diamond really draw the eye. Regardless of how you set your yellow diamond, it is certain to look fantastic and unique for generations to come