Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Supplies: Scissors, Ribbon, and Keepsakes

A ribbon cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a business, building, or space with the symbolic cut of a ribbon by stakeholders. This collection covers every part of that moment: oversized ceremonial scissors that make the cut, the ribbon that spans the entrance, and the keepsakes that preserve the scissors afterward. Coordinating the scissors and ribbon as one set keeps the finish, color, and scale consistent for the photo that ends up in press and social coverage.

What Is a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony?

A ribbon cutting ceremony is a formal event where a ribbon stretched across an entrance is cut to signal that a space is officially open to the public. It is the standard ritual for grand openings, store launches, and the completion of civic and commercial buildings across the United States. The oversized ceremonial scissors are the centerpiece, and many organizations keep the scissors and a section of the cut ribbon as a lasting memento.

Unlike a groundbreaking, which turns soil before construction begins, a ribbon cutting celebrates a finished space that is ready to welcome guests. The scissors used are deliberately larger than household shears so they read clearly in a group photo and create a sense of occasion at the cut.

Which Ceremonial Scissors Size Is Right for Your Event?

Ceremonial scissors in this collection run from 6-inch mini pairs to a 40-inch model billed as the largest in the world, with finishes in gold, chrome, nickel, black, antique gold, matte metallic, and colored handles. The right size depends on how many people cut at once and how wide your ribbon is. The table below maps the main tiers to their best use.

For a single owner, a 12-inch to 15-inch gold or chrome pair photographs cleanly and stores easily afterward. For a multi-person cut or a wide ribbon, a 25-inch to 40-inch pair fills the frame and gives several hands room on the handles. To browse the full depth of oversized options, see the dedicated giant ceremonial scissors selection.

What Ribbon Do You Need for a Ribbon Cutting?

Ribbon cutting ribbon comes in custom-printed and plain styles, in satin, velvet, nylon, and metallic, in widths from 2.5 inches up to 42 inches. Wider ribbon makes a bolder statement and is easier to cut on camera, while custom-printed sections carry a logo, name, or message across the span. Plain satin and velvet suit a clean, classic look, and grand-opening lettered ribbon prints a ready-made message in capital, cursive, or colored letters.

Match ribbon width to scissor size so the two read as a set: a wide 36-inch to 42-inch ribbon pairs naturally with 25-inch or larger scissors, while a 4-inch to 8-inch ribbon suits smaller pairs. Specialty options in this collection include gold lame, rainbow stripe, finish line ribbon, ribbon sashes, custom pin rosettes, and full-color satin rolls in 25, 50, and 100-yard lengths for longer or repeated spans.

How Do Ceremonial Scissors Compare to Regular Scissors?

A standard pair of scissors is built only to cut, while ceremonial scissors are designed to be seen, photographed, and kept. The ceremonial version uses show-quality plating or colored finishes, scales up to 40 inches so it reads in a wide shot, and is often retained as a keepsake on a plaque or stand. For a ribbon cutting that doubles as a branding and press moment, the oversized ceremonial pair is the piece guests and cameras focus on.

What Are the Benefits of Ceremonial Scissors and Ribbon?

Coordinated scissors and ribbon turn an opening into a photo-ready milestone and leave the organization with a lasting symbol of the day. The advantages reach past the event itself.

• Photo-ready scale: Oversized scissors up to 40 inches and wide ribbon up to 42 inches read clearly in press and social photos.
• Custom branding: Custom-printed ribbon and colored-handle scissors carry a logo, name, or brand palette into the cut.
• Matched sets: Sizing ribbon width to scissor length keeps the scissors and ribbon reading as one coordinated look.
• Lasting keepsake: Scissor plaques, executive wood bases, and lapel pins preserve the moment after the cut.
• Range of options: From 6-inch mini pairs to a 40-inch showpiece, the collection scales to any size event and budget.

What Scissor Keepsakes and Displays Are Available?

After the cut, the ceremonial scissors become a long-term display piece, and this collection offers several ways to present them. A Scissor Plaque and an Executive Wood Base with Scissors mount a pair for a lobby or office, while a velvet zippered case protects the scissors between events and a cutting-scissors lapel pin gives attendees a small memento.

On the plaque and wood-base combinations, the plaque or base is the personalized piece, carrying the text and any embedded logo, while the mounted scissors are decorative and are not customized. Choose a plaque display when you want a wall-mounted record of the opening, or the executive wood base when the scissors will sit on a desk or shelf.

Ribbon Cutting vs. Groundbreaking: Which Do You Need?

Choose a ribbon cutting ceremony when a finished space is ready to open to the public, and a groundbreaking ceremony when construction is about to begin. Many organizations host both for the same project, using ceremonial shovels at the start and ceremonial scissors at the public opening, and the two lines share the same personalization and color-matching so a brand stays consistent across both milestones.

To stage the full opening in one order, a grand opening kit bundles scissors, ribbon, and bow into a single package. Finish the entrance with crowd control stanchions so the queue, the ribbon, and the scissors all share one polished look from sidewalk to door.