This is certainly our most frequently asked question!

In short, the quick answer to the question “how much confetti do you need…?” is – as much as you want! There are no rights and wrongs with wedding confetti. It’s totally up to you how you want your confetti moment to be.

We sell our petals by the handful, so just add up the number of guests you want to be involved, and that’s what you need. 

But we can be a lot more helpful than that! There are a few factors to think about to help you decide how much confetti you need. We have outlined them all below…

Biodegradable Confetti - a traditional confetti throw in the village churchyard

Please start by having a little think about what you are imagining for your confetti moment. What’s the picture inside your head?! Alternatively, if you are the designated confetti shopper, have a quick chat with the couple to find out what they are hoping for. You might find our quick How to Guide – Where to start with your wedding confetti is useful here.

The confetti moment is a once in a lifetime experience. It is so much fun! But it’s your moment, and so you can have it happen exactly how, when and where suits your big day plans.

Top Tip –

The smaller the wedding the more likely it is that all your guests will want to get involved! If you are having a little celebration, you can be sure everyone will be excited to throw confetti. However, if you have large numbers of guests, certainly some of them will have wandered off to find the loo or the bar or will just be nosing around the gardens!

When and where will the confetti throw take place?

Choosing the timings and location can help you work out how to organise things.

The traditional time to throw confetti is after the ceremony – as the newlyweds leave the church, for example. If you’d like to do this, take a look at the space available outside the church: Can everyone can stand in a long line down a pathway? Is there, for instance, a flight of steps people can be arranged on? Similarly, there may be some natural banking you can use to get a bit of height for a photo? Or is there plenty of space to group guests around the church door?

A bride and groom enjoying their confetti moment outside a church

If you are getting married at a lovely venue with fabulous grounds, you might want a big group photograph in the gardens. In which case you should take a bit of time to find the perfect place. Look for a pretty setting with backgrounds of flower beds, topiary, balconies or just a great view! In addition, natural banks, steps, avenues of trees, archways and doorways are all useful features for arranging people.

Alternatively, you could have an indoor confetti moment. How about when you are walking down the aisle or a dance floor confetti throw. Staircases can create fab photos. Guests can stand on stairs or balconies to frame the happy couple. This is wonderful in castle or manor house! For more ideas and lots of tips on ‘How to organise your confetti moment’ please read our blog feature.

A bride and groom enjoying their Rainbow Rose Petal Confetti Moment with an amazing backdrop of Tintern Abbey

How many guests do you want to get involved?

The space available for the throw, and the timings of it, will help you decide how many people can get involved. On the other hand, how many people you want to take part, may steer the decision as to where and when to have your throw.

For instance, lining the pathway outside the church door will probably allow you to get everyone involved. But, if you want to throw the petals as you walk back down the aisle after the ceremony, then realistically only those seated closest to the aisle can take part.

Another factor to consider here is your budget. An easy way to make a saving is to have a small confetti moment as part of your formal photos. You can include just the bridesmaids or your close family. It will still be lots of fun, but it won’t require so much confetti.

A bride and groom surrounded by four bridesmaids in aqua dresses throwing hydrangea petal wedding confetti over them

Top Tip –

Many people say to us that they’ve been told it’s just the ladies that want to throw confetti. In our experience, men enjoy it all just as much! It depends on your guests – they are your favourite people, so if you think they will all get involved, make sure you have enough confetti!

Ways to get your confetti to your guests

10 Handful Bags –

The easiest way to organise the confetti moment is with baskets of loose petals. People can simply take a handful. Or the basket can be handed around by bridesmaids or family members. Add up the handfuls you require, then order as many 10 Handful Bags of confetti as you need.

In addition, you can use our pretty handmade Confetti Cones to divide up the loose petals. (Moreover, cones will make it a little easier for your guests to hold the confetti whilst waiting for the throw to take place.) Confetti Cones are a lovely way to add a personalised touch.

Rainbow Delphiniums Flower Girl Basket - an oval, buff coloured, wicker basket full of multicoloured real flower petal confetti

Individual packaging –

Alternatively, we have some lovely packaging options that divides the confetti up. This can make it easier to hand it out to your guests. Confetti Bags, Confetti Envelopes and Confetti Sachets are all sealed items. That is to say, they can be left on seats or at table settings. Similarly, they are easy to hand out with the order of service. And, furthermore, packets could also be left somewhere outside ready for the confetti moment – but the wind won’t blow the petals away!

We’ve talked about this in more detail in our ‘How to organise your confetti moment’ post.

Three Hydrangea Petal Confetti Bags with blue and white mixed petals

Top Tip –

If you are reading this as one half of the happy couple – above all, you must remember to ask someone to help organise everything on the day. You’ll be busy! It’s an ideal job for bridesmaids/ushers or Mum/Mother-in-Law. They can hand out confetti petals and tell people where to stand. Most importantly, be sure to chat it all through with your photographer, and let them know who will be there to help them.

Do you want a get that perfect photograph?

It might sound like a silly question, because everyone loves the confetti picture! But there are many different styles and ways of approaching this photo. It is essential to talk it through with your photographer to make sure you’re all on the same page. They will be able to give you advice. They may even know your church/venue better than you do, and have some great ideas.

Our blog post on how to ‘Get the perfect picture’ is a must read. It is packed full of suggestions, tips and ways to make sure you capture that magical moment.

How much confetti do you need for that perfect picture? Well, what you want in terms of the photograph might make you order more petals. If guests are stood in a long line, there are more opportunities to get that great shot. If you have one big group throw, it’s all over very quickly. You might want to buy two handfuls for everyone, so that you’ve got more chance of capturing it perfectly!

A bride and groom, surrounded by their wedding guests, enjoying their Real Flower Petal Confetti Moment

Top Tip –

The setting for your confetti moment can also influence your choice of petals and colours: For instance, lighter colours work well against dark background (and vice versa).

So now that you have a better idea of the plan, and how much you need, let us give you a bit more detail…

Everything is measured in handfuls

We sell our petals by the handful. It might sound a bit odd, but this makes it very easy to work out how much confetti you will need!

To clarify, these are closed handfuls – what a guest can hold whilst waiting for the confetti throw to take place.

We recommend Delphinium Petals or Small Natural Rose Petals as the best throwing confetti.

A 10 Handful Bag contains 10 handfuls of throwing confetti.

Our Confetti Bags, Envelopes and Sachets contain 1 handful of throwing confetti.

1 Confetti Cone will hold 1 handful of throwing confetti. Our Confetti Cones are sold in packs of 10. You need to buy one 10 Handful Bag of petals to fill 10 Cones.

How much confetti do you need? A photo of one handful of Delphinium & Wildflower Petals

ONE HANDFUL

Delphinium & Wildflowers

(approx 200 petals)

How much confetti do you need? A photo of one handful of Small Natural Rose Petals

ONE HANDFUL

Small Natural Rose Petals

(approx 30 petals)

How much confetti do you need? A photo of one handful of Hydrangea Petals

ONE HANDFUL

Hydrangea Petals

(approx 8 petals)

How much confetti do you need? A photo of one handful of Coloured Rose Petals

ONE HANDFUL

Coloured Rose Petals

(approx 30 petals)

Confetti Baskets:

Our Small White Rectangular Basket will hold: 20 handfuls of petals, 10 Cones, 10 Envelopes or 12 Sachets.

Our Oval Baskets will hold: 30 handfuls of petals, 20 Cones, 20 Envelopes, 24 Sachets or 20 Confetti Bags.

The Rectangular Basket will hold: 40 handfuls of petals, 20 Cones, 30 Envelopes, 30 Sachets or 20 Confetti Bags.

A Deep Oval Basket will hold: 60 handfuls of petals, or up to 40 Confetti Bags.

Our Confetti Cone Stand: 20 Confetti Cones.

Two small white wicker confetti baskets
two oval confetti baskets, one with a cream ribbon handle
two rectangular confetti baskets, one with a cream ribbon covered handle
Two deep oval confetti baskets made of buff coloured wicker. One basket has a cream ribbon covered handle.
Two white confetti cone stands. Cardboard boxes with inserts full of small holes for cones to stand in.

We hope that you now have a good idea of exactly how much confetti you need! If you’d like some more inspiration for your big day, check out our Real Weddings Gallery on Pinterest.

However, if you want a bit more advice please just get in touch. Email us at – info@confettidirect.co.uk or call 01386 555045.

If you are looking for quantity advice in relation to decorating with flower petals, please head here.

Enjoy your confetti moment!

With love from,

The Petal People x

Written 06/04/2020. Updated 6.11.2023.