\u201cYoung celebrities are puffing away like a cigarette is the new Loewe bag. Kylie Jenner, Charlie XCX, Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams, they\u2019re all routinely photographed smoke in hand or mouth. They probably feel the invincibility of relative youth.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLysaght\u00a0also noted that while attending a friend\u2019s wedding in the UK during the summer, platters of cigarettes were on offer. The \u2018cigarette platter\u2019 appears to be a more modern rendition of cigars at weddings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone is aware of the dangers associated with smoking, so why is it \u2018trendy\u2019 again \u2013 and how are cigarette platters slowly becoming more commonplace at weddings?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The high prices attached to cigarettes, no more than cocaine, have perhaps given them an unwarranted and unintended luxury appeal. Smoking seems to be considered by some to be a bit edgy, and just the tiniest bit rebellious. For social smokers, it\u2019s a bit of fun \u2013 a prop to wave around and an accompaniment to a large glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.<\/p>\n
They also appear less juvenile than brightly coloured plastic vapes, which could be a factor.\n<\/p>\n
Unholy matrimony<\/p>\n
![\"thebrideandgroomholdglassesofchampagneanda\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791759130_82_.jpeg\")
\n mil87olia \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n
mil87olia \/ Shutterstock \/ Shutterstock\n<\/p>\n
Molly, who got married last winter at the historic Cabra Castle, had a stand with menthol Vogue cigarettes her brother had brought back from Abu Dhabi. She bought second-hand fur coats for people to wear when making the trip outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cWeddings are meant to be fun, so I just thought, for a bit of a celebration. People usually have a cigar on celebration, so I thought the girls and the women can have a cigarette too,\u201d she told The Journal.<\/p>\n
The setup was a big hit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spent most of our night outside, unintentionally,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n
Molly got the idea online, and thought given the grandeur of their wedding venue, it would add a fun twist with the Vogues and the fur coats.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been to a wedding in a castle, so I was like, feck it, let\u2019s go all in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irish weddings typically follow the same formula: a church ceremony, a drink reception, a four-course meal that features a choice of beef or fish for mains.<\/p>\n
But this is changing, say wedding planners.<\/p>\n
The Irish wedding is no longer about a simple act of matrimony; it\u2019s about experiences. It\u2019s about your wedding being the one people remember out of the slew of Fridays and Saturdays they begrudgingly donned a new set of glad rags for throughout the temperamental summer.<\/p>\n
From cigarette trays to live illustrators, couples are competing for their weddings to be memorable.<\/p>\n
Sandra Scharlach of Infusion Weddings, a premium Irish wedding planner, told The Journal that she sees couples opting to abandon wholly traditional cookie-cutter style weddings to incorporate their own personalities and interests into the event.<\/p>\n
Social media plays a part, both in terms of inspiration and sharing the experience online.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Irish people have been to so many weddings,\u201d Scharlach said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to have more and more of an experience, and just want to make sure their wedding is different from everybody else. That can be through the look, through the feel, through the experience. This is very much depending on the couple.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are many small changes across the industry that have taken hold, she explained, like the abandonment of the long top table that overlooks guests in favour of a central table, or reallocating money that may have been used for wedding favours for something like fireworks.<\/p>\n
Cigarette trays are definitely something she\u2019s been seeing more of.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a little bit more for Americans because it\u2019s actually more bold \u2013 I think cigarettes are quite out, as I heard in the United States. So it\u2019s definitely very naughty having cigarettes out in Mount Juliet.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Mount](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791759131_569_.jpeg\")
\n Mount Juliet Manor House in Co Kilkenny – a luxury wedding destination. PR<\/p>\n
PR\n<\/p>\n
These types of weddings can deviate in other areas to make it a bit more of a party.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of having that boring wedding DJ who plays Sweet Caroline or whatever, maybe to really get a house DJ and do a little bit of a party vibe two hours after, because that is what the couple like to do.\u201d<\/p>\n