Wave 'em high and proud!

First let me say thanks to all the wonderful ladies who commented yesterday just giving me that extra boost of encouragement as we head into the final stretch.  I am feeling much better today and Mr Fix It and I had a great night Tuesday just taking it a little easier...I watched LOST on tv while he started painting our bedroom and hung some bathroom fixtures.  He can never sit still!  But I feel like we are getting there and I am not quite as exhausted now.  I just need to remember to EAT!  Running around makes you forget food.  :(

Anyway, I always loved this photo of my sister and her husband walking back down the aisle with the rose petals being tossed at them:

Photo courtesy of Jim Kennedy Photographers

So I definitely figured, I'd want rose petals tossed at me and Mr Fix It as we made our way back down our aisle, too.  But something happened a few months back.  I got a looksy at a picture on a wedding web site that sold these cute little ribbon wands:

Source

I fell in love with photos like this:

Source

And thought to myself that this is another DIY project that I could easily tackle because it's just cutting, taping and assembling.  So while at the LA Flower Market with my cousin (BM) and a newly engaged girlfriend, I purchased a couple extra rolls of the turquoise and cranberry colored ribbon that I used to wrap my wedding favor takeout boxes.

I also bought the plastic wands from that printmyribbon.com site.  The whole thing was probably around $50 for like 200 ribbon wands.  I'll post a simple DIY step by step guide at some point in the future but it's really easy to figure out yourself.

So I've decided to leave these on the guests' chairs at the ceremony and have the ushers instruct them to wave them in the air as we make our way back down the aisle.  Anyway, the reasons I loved this idea instead of tossing petals are as follows:

1)  Every guest can be involved, not just the few that are sitting on the aisle.

2)  No mess or clean up...even though we will have the aisle lined with tons and tons of rose petals, it's easier to just pick up (or have the guests turn in) a bunch of wands rather than picking up scattered petals.

3)  Nothing thrown at me and Mr Fix It - no bubbles in our eyes, no stains on my gown from the petals (which can happen ladies), and no chance of getting my eye poked out!

4)  They match our pretty wedding colors and will hopefully make for a super cute photo op.

I was going to assemble one for every guest originally, but while putting them together at my grandma's house last week, my aunt and mom and the hospice nurse both said they didn't think any of the men would be picking up wands to wave at us.  Plus, with everyone waving wands, there would be no one left to clap for us.  :)  So I opted for only making 1/2 of the wands - putting one on every other seat at the ceremony so half the guests can wave and half can clap :)

I personally love them, though my aunt thinks they're silly.  :)  I don't care though. 

What about you, ladies?  Was there something you wanted to incorporate at your wedding that everyone thought was just silly or stupid?  What are you planning (or did you do) for your recessional or big exit at the end of the night?