Here in Victoria there are a lot of Wedding Ceremony and Reception venues that are on Council property that do not allow ANY smoking on the grounds whatsoever and the percentage is certain to increase over the next few years. The government is also looking at legislating to ban smoking in private venues that have food and beverage but that will probably be a few years before it is attempted to be put through as its very unpopular (as you can imagine) with smokers.
Some ideas for how to minimise the impact on you and your guests of a non-smoking wedding venue are:
– Let them know on the invite, let them know where they CAN smoke, even if its on the boundary.
– Tell them that it’s the venue/council’s rules and not your own, quite often smokers may take offense if it seems like your choice as a lot of people aren’t used to blanket bans on smoking outside, yet.
– Take into account that some people will smoke and make adjustments accordingly, I was the wedding DJ and MC for a wedding and had to go around the back of the venue to find the father of the bride as he was nervous and having a cigarette out of sight of the venue staff, keep this in mind and check everyone is in the room.
– In your Wedding Day Kit, put in nicotine patches and gum so that you can give it out as needed during the ceremony or speeches. You don’t want your friends or relatives to miss your special moments on the day because they have an addiction to nicotine, now isn’t the best time to go cold turkey!
If you have any other good tips then let us know.
What to do with smokers at wedding