Most people buying cigars for a wedding aren’t cigar experts. They just want something suitable for the day, enough for the people who are actually likely to want one, and the right accessories so nobody is standing outside with a cigar and no way of cutting it.
Willy Banjo has been selling smoking gear in Preston since 1993. We’ve been selling cigars and cigar accessories online for around four years, and our approach is fairly simple: you don’t need to know all the terminology before you’re allowed to buy a decent cigar.
This guide covers the practical stuff.
How many cigars do you need for a wedding?
The first thing we’d avoid is automatically buying one cigar for every guest.
At most weddings, only a proportion of the people there will actually want one. The number depends far more on your friends and family than it does on the size of the venue.
A better way to work it out is to make a rough list of:
- the couple
- best man, ushers or wedding party
- parents and close family
- friends you already know smoke cigars
- a few extra for people who decide they’d like one on the night
If you know twelve people are likely to have one, it makes far more sense to buy for twelve or fifteen people than to buy eighty cigars because there are eighty guests.
What sort of cigar works best at a wedding?
Think about smoking time first.
Weddings are already busy. There are photographs, speeches, food, music and people disappearing every five minutes.
A large cigar that takes an hour or more can be great for somebody who genuinely wants that experience, but it isn’t always the most practical choice for a mixed group.
For guests who don’t smoke cigars regularly, a smaller mild or medium cigar is often an easier option.
Petit Corona and similar formats are popular for occasions because they give you a proper cigar without necessarily taking over the whole evening.
Do wedding cigars have to be Cuban?
No.
Cuban cigars are only one part of the cigar world.
There are excellent cigars made in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras and elsewhere, often at very different prices and strengths.
If you’re buying for a wedding group, we’d choose by:
- strength
- size
- smoking time
- how experienced the group is
- your budget
Buying the most expensive cigar purely because it is Cuban doesn’t automatically make it the best choice for the occasion.
What if most of the guests aren’t regular cigar smokers?
Keep it easy.
For a mixed group, particularly where several people may be trying a cigar for the first time, we’d generally look for something:
- mild to medium in strength
- not excessively large
- reasonably easy to smoke
- not too expensive if you’re buying a quantity
You don’t need to turn a wedding into a cigar exam.
What cigars does Willy Banjo sell?
Our range changes with stock availability, but we carry a mixture of cigars and cigarillos from established brands, along with cutters, humidity control and other cigar accessories.
Our current range has included cigars such as:
- Leon Jimenes Petit Corona Vanilla
- Leon Jimenes Petit Corona Caribbean Rum
- Leon Jimenes Petit Corona Bee Honey
- J. Cortes cigars
- Buenaventura Mini Maduro cigars
- Backwoods flavoured cigars
Some are available as singles, small quantities or larger packs depending on current stock.
Do you need cigar cutters?
For most traditional capped cigars, yes.
The closed end of the cigar needs to be cut before smoking.
You don’t necessarily need one cutter per person. If you’ve got a small group, two or three decent cutters can easily be passed around.
The important thing is simply to check what your chosen cigar needs before the day.
What about lighters?
Don’t rely on one lighter for a group of twenty people.
If several guests are likely to smoke at the same time, have a few suitable lighters or cigar matches available.
That sounds obvious, but it’s exactly the sort of thing people remember five minutes after everybody has gone outside.
How should cigars be stored before a wedding?
Cigars don’t like being allowed to dry out.
If you’re buying shortly before the wedding, keep them sealed as supplied and somewhere cool and stable.
If you’re buying further ahead, humidity control becomes more important.
We sell Boveda two-way humidity packs, which are a straightforward way of helping maintain suitable humidity during storage.
If you’re unsure how long you can keep a particular cigar before the wedding, ask us when you buy it.
How far in advance should you buy wedding cigars?
We wouldn’t leave it until the morning of the wedding.
Buying in advance gives you time to:
- make sure you’ve got enough
- check your cutters and lighters
- store the cigars properly
- check what the venue allows
- sort out any stock or delivery problem without panic
For a larger order, it’s worth contacting us before ordering so we can confirm what quantities are actually available.
Check with the wedding venue first
This is probably the least glamorous part of buying wedding cigars, but it’s important.
Smoking at UK wedding venues will normally be restricted to an outdoor or designated smoking area.
Ask the venue beforehand:
- where smoking is allowed
- whether the area is covered
- whether they provide ashtrays
- whether there are any venue-specific restrictions
If the British weather does what it usually does, a covered area is worth knowing about.
Do you need a full cigar bar?
No.
You absolutely can make it elaborate if that’s what you want, but for many weddings there’s no need.
For a small group you might only need:
- the cigars
- a couple of cutters
- suitable lighters or matches
- ashtrays
- somewhere permitted to smoke them
That’s it.
You do not automatically need a mahogany cigar station, a bloke in a waistcoat and somebody explaining tobacco-growing regions to Uncle Dave.
How many should you buy for a small group?
For a small wedding, stag party, birthday or other celebration, working backwards from the number of likely smokers is usually easiest.
As a simple example:
- 5 likely smokers — buy around 5 plus a couple of spares
- 10 likely smokers — look at 10-cigar quantities or suitable pack sizes
- 20 or more — speak to us first so we can check stock and box quantities
There isn’t one perfect “wedding cigar”.
The right one is the cigar that suits the people smoking it, the time available and what you actually want to spend.
Cigars for birthdays, parties and other occasions
The same advice applies outside weddings.
People buy cigars for:
- birthdays
- anniversaries
- stag nights
- retirement parties
- Christmas gatherings
- after-dinner occasions
- small celebrations with friends
You don’t need a huge event to buy cigars for a group.
Can Willy Banjo help you choose?
Yes.
And you don’t have to ring us pretending you know what a ring gauge is.
Just tell us:
- roughly how many people you’re buying for
- whether they’re regular cigar smokers or mostly beginners
- your approximate budget
- whether you’d prefer a shorter or longer cigar
- when the wedding or event is
We’ll tell you what we’ve actually got and what makes sense.
Visit or call Willy Banjo
Willy Banjo
13a Lowthian Street
Preston
PR1 2EP
Phone: 01772 887772
View our current cigars and cigar accessories →
Tobacco products are age restricted. Age verification applies to tobacco sales. Smoking is harmful to health.