A Guide to Smoking Etiquette for a Safe and Stress-Free Wedding

The wedding day is one of the most anticipated events in a couple’s journey, making it essential for every aspect to be perfect and organized. Thus, a previous post outlines fail-safe practices to help guarantee your special day unfolds smoothly. These include hiring a day-of wedding coordinator to cover all bases, from coordinating with vendors to assisting family and guests and making contingency plans for logistics like music, lighting, and venue.

However, another aspect of the event you can’t overlook is smoking etiquette. With nearly 12 of every 100 adults (11.8%) in the US currently smoking cigarettes, you’d likely encounter guests who’d light one up and, therefore, expose non-smokers to health risks and overall discomfort. If you want a healthy, safe, and stress-free ceremony while considering everyone’s habits and lifestyles, here’s a brief guide to smoking etiquette for weddings.

Check the venue’s smoking policies

Before anything else, check your chosen venue’s smoking-related policies. Indoor wedding venues like hotels, country clubs, and banquet halls will most likely have a strictly no-smoking policy, making it your responsibility to ensure all guests stay smoke-free.

If you know multiple family members and friends who are heavy smokers, it’s best to consider an outdoor location for better ventilation and less exposure to secondhand smoke. Fortunately, there are various outdoor wedding ideas that are budget-friendly and never go out of style, such as rustic barn settings with haystack seating and romantic gardens with cozy string lights.

Designate a smoking area

If you plan to allow smoking, whether it’s an indoor or outdoor wedding, delineating a specific smoking area is always a good idea. This step is especially crucial if the venue has no clear smoking policies, as designated sections separate smokers from non-smokers and remind them not to just light one up anytime and anywhere.

Let your guests know about this policy by creating a comprehensive venue map and displaying signs that guide them toward the smoking lounge or area. Additionally, you can coordinate with wedding planners and event staff to escort guests to designated smoking zones.

Consider smoke-free alternatives

Even with clear smoke-free policies and areas, your guests who actively smoke will likely experience intense urges and cravings. Thus, you can offer them the option to try nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products that satisfy their needs without emitting any odor or smoke.

When it comes to oral NRTs, coffee nicotine pouches are a viable option, especially for guests who are among the 62% of Americans who drink coffee every day. These decaffeinated pouches from ZYN, LUCY, and On! discreetly ease nicotine cravings and come in coffee flavors ranging from sweet and creamy to rich and robust to cater to varied tastes and preferences. Besides flavored pouches, guests can also try other oral nicotine products like gums and lozenges from top brands like NicoDerm and Nicorette, as they also offer discreet and smoke-free nicotine experiences.

Inform guests ahead of time

Lastly, don’t forget to communicate smoking etiquette to your wedding guests by including venue rules in the invitation. This way, they can adequately prepare by getting their nicotine fix before the ceremony or leaving their cigarettes and vaping products behind to instead use smoke-free alternatives. You can also utilize written paraphernalia like place cards and seating charts to inform guests about smoking rules and remind them to respect non-smokers.

Overall, planning a wedding can be especially tricky when you take into account your guests' smoking habits. However, there are various ways to implement smoking etiquette at the wedding venue and ensure all of your guests, regardless of whether they smoke or not, have the happy and healthy experience they deserve. Continue reading the rest of our blog posts for more helpful resources on wedding planning.

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