Choosing the right company to do a professional fireworks display for your wedding can sometime seem really confusing. The biggest problem is a lot of companies will give you quotes and its very hard to compare each. A lot only give very little information in the product you are getting. This is why we have written this guide so you can understand what will make your dream display at value for money.
Make sure the company is fully insured, don’t be afraid to ask for a copy and phone the insurance if you have any doubts. All professional firework companies by law must have 365 day insurance.
The difference between a shop brought fireworks and a pro fireworks display is the general public uses rockets, pro’s uses shells. this can be a good way of comparing quotes as the shell size will give you an idea of the size of your display. For example (if it gives an idea the London eye new year’s eve display only uses up to 5” shells and the biggest rocket the public could buy compares to a 1” to 2” shell.
So bare minimum we recommended 2″ and 3″ shells to be included in your show, You can get some really big fireworks using 3″ and above but a lot of companies will give try give a really cheap quote but wont include any shells.
The next thing to help you compare quotes is total time. A good display we recommend between 7 – 10 min if it is just fireworks or if you are having it done to music then between 8-15 Min is a good guide. Anything longer and your audience will get bored.
Sometimes added extras is where a lot of companies make their money and it is where costs start adding up for you. for example, We get a lot of requests for heart shells (heart shapes in the sky) and we have heard of some companies charging over £90 for just 6 hearts. Truth is they cost about £4 each and take 1 sec to add into a show.
Lancework (name / initials written in fire) can be the same (some companies will charge up to £150 for 3 letters when maximum per letter should cost no more than £10. Quite often on larger displays you can get these things added for free.
if you can only afford a small display (2″ to 3″ shells) but want some big fireworks at the end, ask if you can have 3x 5″ willow shells added at the end. 5″ is a good value for money firework ending and the willow effect (looks like a gold willow tree falling from the sky to the ground.) this should only cost around £20 but means your display will not be restricted to a small ending and is the best effect to end the display (very long lasting)
If your going to have a photographer or someone videoing your day make sure you let them know you will having fireworks and ask them to speak to the firework company. This will make sure they know what to expect and when they can get the best photos.
Lastly if you have the budget we always recommend requesting a pyro musical (fireworks computer controlled and set to any music you want) this also means you can have a lot more added effects as some fireworks can only be used when computer controlled. This can truly give you a night to remember and even people that don’t like fireworks will enjoy it.
What ever you choose please feel free to come on our website at www.pdcfireworks.co.uk for more information and prices.