Smoke grenades: how to use them and where to get them from

Let’s talk smoke grenades!

You’ve seen them all over social media and you are toying with the idea of smoke grenages (also called smoke bombs) Great! Before we get too excited by them, lets go over the do’s and don’ts of using smoke bombs at your wedding to be sure they are for you.

Here’s my guide to smoke grenades, where to buy them and how to use them! Of course, these are my personal opnions and holds a huge disclaimer: please puchase and use at your own risk! These are my personal opinions and I’d still suggest you research the instructions and guides from the manufacturer!

Know what you are buying | Enola Gaye smoke grenades

The tried and tested brand is Enola Gaye. From experience, the safest and most reliable smoke grendade is the Enola Gaye ring-pull model. You can purchase these straight from Enola Gaye here

The coloured smoke grenades are my favourite! Red’s, blues, greens, purples and pinks. The black sadly just comes out as a light grey and arent as gothic as you’d think!

You can also bulk buy a certain colour from Just Paintball here

Do not be tempted to buy the big burst versions. They spark and are generally too overwhelming and will make you cough!

Country weddings vs City weddings

Smoke grenades are great for private properties, exclusive wedding venues or in the middle of no where! They are not well suited for City weddings whether members of the public could grow concerned and photo the fire brigade. For city weddings, I’d instead investing in some confetti cannons. Read my guide to confetti here

In clear, open spaces with little wind are ideal locations for smoke grenades.

If you do decide to use in a city wedding, it needs to be where no membres of the public are likely to see it!

Too hot to handle

When I first started using smoke grenades, I had no idea the buggers would be such a health risk to your beautiful hands! My suggestion now is do not hold them. There has been too many crispy fingers have been burnt over the years

I’d thoroughly recommend keeping them a safe distance from you. Handling them could result in all sorts of burns. So if you insist on handling them, you do so at your own risk!

Night time smoke bomb photographs

Smoke grenades are great for night time too. Either light by lights available at your venue, or using flash guns, you can create some incredible portraits with smoke grenades

I lit the portrait of Jo & Dan using my car headlights!

Keep a safe distance from the smoke bombs and this really is only suited to couples who arent thoroughly enjoying the gins by the time it comes to sun down

How to use smoke bombs

The best experiences I’ve had with smoke bombs is to ignite, get a safe distance from them and just enjoy! Kiss, dance, rock n roll poses all work!

Smoke grendades are thoroughly un-predictable. Make sure to just enjoy the short experience. Each smoke grenade lasts around 2 minutes so its best to have an idea of what you want to do with them before you light them!