What is a Faux Exit?

Planning your wedding day timeline and trying to figure out whether or not you should do a Faux Exit? You’re not alone! This is a question we get from L+L Couples all the time, so we decided to write up a little blog post about it!

First, what is a Faux Exit?

A Faux Exit, also known as a Controlled Exit or Fake Exit, is when the couple performs their grand exit from the reception early-ish in the evening, then moments later turn right back around and rejoin the party.

There’s no quick answer to the question of “should I do a faux exit?” – that will depend on your goals, timeline, priorities, budget and more – but here are some of the benefits it can offer and why for some couples, it’s a great fit.

FREE YOUR TIMELINE

By doing a Faux Exit you free up valuable time in your photography and videography timelines, since your coverage can theoretically conclude once the Faux Exit is complete. This allows you to shift some of your coverage earlier in the day, which is especially helpful if your wedding features multiple locations. In fact, if you have separate getting ready, ceremony and reception locations, we would definitely encourage you to consider a Faux Exit!

THE MORE THE MERRIER

When it comes to the grand exit, the more the merrier! I can’t tell you how many weddings we’ve photographed where the couple doesn’t do their grand exit until 11:30pm and over half of the wedding guests have already left. You want your exit to be a triumphant moment – to walk though those doors to roaring cheers from the people who love you the most! Doing a Faux Exit helps to maximize the number of guests who will be there to participate, plus it means you won’t be feeling any anxiety or stress if the reception starts to thin out as the night wears on.

FIRE + ALCOHOL = DANGER!

Sparklers can be dangerous. Just ask this photographer, who almost lost a hand to a sparkler exit! Now, obviously that’s a SUPER rare instance at weddings, but at the same time, we’ve probably all seen a guest or two gleefully grab lit sparklers and start swinging them around while making lightsaber noises. And honestly we’re glad those guys are having a grand old time and we love Star Wars too, but let’s save the lightsaber practice for later, eh?

Faux Exits allow you to do a version of your exit before your wedding guests have spent the whole night celebrating and enjoying the cocktails you’ve provided them, which is a big bonus in the safety column. And sure you’re going to do a grand exit at the end of the night, but then there will likely be fewer guests, everyone will have already have had a practice run, and your photographer will have already gotten photos where less liquid courage is on display. Win, win, win!

BEFORE YOU BOOGIE

If you’re anything like us at our wedding, you’ll spend a lot of your reception on the dance floor with your wedding party, singing at the top of your lungs to Don’t Stop Believing and doing the Wobble. But chances are your hair, make-up and clothes will look a little more pristine BEFORE a few hours of open dancing rather than after, so doing a Faux Exit earlier in the evening means you’re far more likely to look and feel confident in front of the camera. Always a bonus on the wedding day!

MORE PHOTOS (AND MORE FUN!)

If you’re having a really unique exit, or if exit photos are something you really value and have been looking forward to, it’s definitely worth it to do a Faux Exit! If you’re not driving off into the sunset immediately afterwards, you can play around a lot more with your exit. You can dance your way down the aisle, interact more with your guests, and repeat the process multiple times if you want to. Heck you can even throw in a booty bump if you want to! The point is, the Faux Exit can create a really fun, playful environment, alleviates the time crunch pressure and allows you and allows you and your person to get even more photos of the whole process.

CONCLUSION

To sum up, we think Faux Exits are awesome, and most of our couples who have done them are glad they did! We hope you found this blog useful and that it helped you decide whether or not a Faux Exit is right for you!

With all the love,

L+L

If you enjoyed this deep dive on what is a Faux Exit, make sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Family Portraits on the Wedding Day! And if you’re interested in booking us for your wedding or an intimate engagement session with your person, we’d love to talk to you! Click here to get in touch!

Lacey + Lee Photography is a wife + husband photography team based in Austin, Texas who specialize in creating bold, bright and emotive wedding, engagement and elopement photography. Within the Austin Area they serve South Congress, East 6th, South Lamar, The Seaholm District, Mueller, Dripping Springs, Kyle, Hutto, Georgetown, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, and Bastrop. They also serve San Antonio, New Braunfels, San Marcos, Waco, Dallas, Houston, and any State or National Park you get to by plane, train or automobile. They are available for destination weddings, proposals, elopements and micro weddings.

Get in touch today for more detailed pricing!