Let’s face it, weddings are a reason to celebrate and one of the ways I like to celebrate is with a good cigar. So whether it is your wedding or just a wedding you are attending why not celebrate it with friends, family and cigars? This is meant as a guide for anyone who is unfamiliar with cigars, but is looking for more information about cigars for weddings.
If you are planning a wedding why not include cigars as part of the special day. Whether your guest list is chocked full of cigar smokers or not, smoking cigars in celebration of the wedding will help make it a memorable event.
So there are a couple of ways to approach having cigars at a wedding. You could be supplying them for all of the guests at the wedding or you could just be getting them for the groomsmen, best man or just the immediate family. The cigars you buy and how you present them will vary based on which path you take. Below I go through some of my suggestions and options for each.
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Cigars for a Wedding Reception
So you have decided you want to offer celebratory cigars to all the guests at your wedding… That’s awesome. I know that I would appreciate that if I were in attendance. The two major things to things to thing about now are what cigars should you buy and how will you present them.
Things to Consider Before Buying the Cigars
When shopping for cigars for your wedding the first thing to think about is how many you will need. Cigars typically are sold in boxes of 20-25 cigars. So depending on how many guest you will have at your wedding you can determine how many boxes you will need to purchase.
If you are going to need more than one box, you will also have the option to buy different kinds of cigars. Or you could stick with just one for simplicity sake.
Another thing to think about before you buy the cigars is storage. Cigars need to be stored in an environment where the humidity is around 70-75% or they will begin to dry out and crack and become unsmokeable.
If you are going to buy them at a local cigar shop, you should contact the shop at least 6 weeks to a month in advance to make sure that have what you need in stock. Also I would recommend working with the shop to see if they would hold the boxes of cigars in their storage for you until it is closer to the date of the wedding. The longer the cigars are stored at the proper humidity levels, they better and more enjoyable they will be for your guests.
If you want to get the best value for your money you may want to look at buying the cigars from an online retailer. The online retailers will typically have better prices than local shops, because they deal in a larger volume. Plus, in most cases, they will have what you are looking for in stock. The big difference with buying the cigars online, is that you will need to figure out a way to store them.
One option is to buys cigars that come from manufactures that include a humidification element (like Boveda) in each box of cigars. This will ensure that as long as the boxes remain unopened the cigars will be in perfect shape when you are ready to open the boxes and present them to your guests.
If you buy your cigars more than 6 months in advance of the wedding, you live in a dry arid climate or you buy cigars without humidification in their boxes you will need to take extra steps to ensure the freshness and smokeability of your cigars. A quick and easy way to do this is to setup a coolidor.
A coolidor is nothing more than a cooler (preferable a chest style cooler) that you are using to store cigars. The cooler’s insulation and lid seal make it an ideal solution to store boxes of cigars. Check out this write up on how to build your own coolidor.
Picking the Cigars
You will want to stick with cigars that are on the medium to mild end of the strength spectrum. This will give the cigars you choose a broader appeal to your guests. They will also no be too overpowering. Depending on how many cigars you are purchasing you can also purchase some medium strength and some mild strength to provide you guests with an option.
As far as size goes, I would stick with a Robusto. Robustos are typically 5X50 and this is a size that will provide you and your guests, with cigar smoking experience that will last about an hour. The robusto is also a size that will be large enough to be a significant smoke, but no so big that it smoking it seems like a daunting task to the new cigar smoker.
Here are some links to some cigars that I would recommend for your wedding party that will come in boxes that include Boveda humidification
This cigar is another great choice, but at the time of writing this it does not come with any humidification in the box. This is a great choice if buying locally closer to the day of the wedding or if you have setup proper storage.
Cigar Presentation for a Wedding Reception
How you present the cigars to your guests can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. You can just place the boxes out and open the lids or go as far as removing the cigars from their cellophane, removing their labels and placing them in flower pots, pails or some other type of vessel. You can find great examples of different presentation options on Pinterest.
My personal preference would be to just place the boxes out or maybe to take the cigars out of the boxes and place them in galvanized pails. This limits the amount of work for the setup (removing the cigars for the cellophane and removing the labels would be time consuming) and makes it easier to deal with any leftover cigars. Plus, as a cigar smoker I would prefer that the labels were left on so I would know what I was smoking.
In addition to the cigars you will also need to have a way for your guests to cut and light their cigars. Here again there are options for each of these items.
Cigar Cutters for a Wedding Reception
You will want to get a few cutters to lay out with the cigars for everyone to use. A double bladed guillotine cigar cutter would be your best bet, due to its ease of use and the fact the it will work on almost all types and sizes of cigars. Depending on the number of guests at your wedding you may need more, but I would thing 3-4 would suit most just fine. Know that whoever is cutting cigars may maybe a novice and not know exactly how to cut a cigar, the Cuban Crafters Perfect Cigar Cutter is the way to go. With it anyone who doesn’t know how to cut a cigar can still manage to get a perfect cut. For the more experienced cigar smokers, a great option for an affordable cutter is the Alaska Bear cutter available on Amazon.
Another option would be to get a table top cutter. These will be more expensive, but have much more of a “cool factor”. Having a nice polished one like this one from Amazon will make a statement sitting out on the table. Plus a table top cutter may be a little easier for the novice cigar smoker to use.
Cigar Lighters for a Wedding Reception
After your guests cut their cigars they will need a way to light them. A good option that not only is a great way to light a cigar, but also offers a bit of personalization to add to the cigar portion of your wedding is to get personalized boxes of matches. These will not only give your guests a way to light their cigars, but will also be something they can take home to remind them of the special day. There are a lot of great options for personalized match boxes available on Etsy
One thing to consider is that mother nature may not cooperate. There is a chance that on the special day, it may be a little too windy to easily light a cigar with matches. It may be a good idea in that case to have a couple of butane torches available (just in case). One or two butane torches (like this one available on Amazon) would be a good back up plan.
If you go the butane torch route, just remember to get a can or two of butane also. The torches will be empty and we need filled before you can use them.
Cigars for Groomsmen
So you don’t want to provide cigars for your entire wedding, you would rather create and share a special moment with just a select few. Maybe just the best man, the groomsmen or just the immediate family. Well a lot of the items mentioned above are still applicable, just on a smaller scale.
Things to Consider Before Buying the Cigars
Since you are looking at buying cigars for a smaller number of people you may be only buying a few single cigars or maybe at most one box. While the cigar recommendations above are still great choices, since you a looking at a smaller more select group you may want to opt for a more “special” cigar.
When buying cigars in quantities of 1 box or less (0-25) it may be more suitable to buy the cigars from a local shop. You could then buy the cigars a day or two before you need them and you wouldn’t have to worry so much about how to store them.
If you are buying a whole box, this is definitely a time where you should look at buying cigars that come with Boveda humidification in the box. This will allow you to buy the cigars a couple of months in advance and not have to worry about setting up an additional storage option.
If you buy your cigars online and you don’t get a whole box or you buy a box that doesn’t have humidification in it, you will need to put together a way to safely store your cigars. The coolidor method mentioned above would work, but for 1 box of cigars or less it is over kill. What you want to put together in this instance is a tupperdor. A tupperdor is basically the same concept as a coolidor, but just on a smaller scale. Check you this link to learn how to build a tupperdor.
Picking the Cigars
Here again I would stick with the Robusto size (5X50) or something very close. This will give you an optimum smoking experience that does not seem overbearing for anyone who is new to cigar smoking.
Here are some links to cigars that I would recommend if you are buying them for just a few folks for a special moment either before or at your wedding.
Cigar Cutters
If you are getting cigars with the intention of smoking them as a small group in celebration of your wedding, then you will need to make sure you have a way to cut the cigars. On the other hand, if you are getting the cigars more as a gift and you are giving them to non-cigar smoker, you may want to consider putting together a package with the cigar, a cutter and a lighter.
If you choose to buy just a few cigars from a local shop, they should be able to cut them for you. However, if you buy your cigars online or you get more than a few, you will need to get a cutter for when it comes time to enjoy the cigars. An Alaska Bear cutter from Amazon is a great choice because it is affordable and will work on almost all cigars. You should only really need one cutter in this case.
Cigar Lighters
When you just have a few cigars to light, you have a lot more options. Wooden matches are probably the easiest lighting method to obtain, but they could be a bit tricky to uses depending on where you are smoking the cigars. Even just a slight breeze can wreak havoc on your attempts.
A butane lighter of some sort is going to be your best for ease of use and effectiveness. I would recommend the Ronson Jetlite in this case. You should be able to pick them up at your local Walgreens/Walmart/CVS and they will come already filled with butane and be ready to use. You should be able to get two of them for right around $10…
If you don’t feel that matches or a Jetlite will cut it, you can always go with one of the larger butane torches like this one. Just remember to pick up a can of butane when you order it, because this one will be empty when you buy it.
No matter how you choose to integrate cigars into your wedding celebration, they will be a big hit. They will also help make the day even more memorable for all in attendance. Whether it is the first time they have ever smoked a cigar or if they have smoked cigars for years, the cigar they always remember the cigar they smoked at your wedding.
Are you planning on having cigars as a part of your wedding? If so I would love to hear how. Also if you have anything to add to list above please let me know.