Winter Wedding Fireworks: Can You Still Buy Fireworks in January or February?

Whether you’ve been wondering about buying fireworks in January, planning winter wedding fireworks in the UK, or checking if winter wedding fireworks are legal, you’ve probably run into the same problem time and again:

• Supermarket shelves: empty

• Seasonal pop-up shops: gone

• Blogs full of Bonfire Night advice and not much else

So let’s answer the big question straight away:

Yes – you can still buy fireworks in January, February and any other time of year for a winter wedding. You just need a licensed specialist retailer, not a seasonal aisle next to the crisps.

The law limits when ordinary retailers can sell fireworks, but specialist shops with an all-year licence are allowed to sell them outside the usual Bonfire Night and New Year windows.

Epic Fireworks falls very firmly into that second category – which is why we’re still here talking wedding display packs long after the last supermarket sparkler has left the shelf.

Let’s break down how it all works, and how to actually pull off a winter wedding display without falling foul of the law, your venue or the weather.

Can You Actually Buy Fireworks in January, February and beyond?

Short version: yes, from the right kind of seller.

Under UK rules, most “normal” retailers (supermarkets, corner shops, garden centres) can only sell fireworks to the public during limited seasonal windows, such as:

• 15 October – 10 November (Bonfire Night season)

• 26 – 31 December (New Year)

• A few days before Diwali

• A few days before Chinese New Year

Outside those dates, you can still buy fireworks, but only from shops that hold a long-term / all-year licence to sell them – specialist fireworks retailers who’ve paid for the privilege and comply with extra storage and safety rules.

So if you’re planning:

• A New Year’s Day wedding

• A January or February winter wedding

• A “we moved the big day to off-peak because we’re not made of money” ceremony

…you absolutely can still have fireworks. You just won’t find them wedged between the Doritos and the dog food.

Why Winter Weddings and Fireworks Go So Well Together

Once you stop worrying about whether you can buy fireworks out of peak season, winter weddings are actually brilliant for pyro.

Epic’s own wedding articles practically swoon over them, and with good reason:

• It gets dark early – you can have fireworks at 6–8pm, not midnight

• Cold, clear nights often give crisper skies than muggy summer evenings

• Candles, fairy lights, sparklers and fireworks all feel very “winter fairy-tale”

• Guests are genuinely grateful for an excuse to move and warm up

You also avoid clashing with every Bonfire Night or festival display within a 50-mile radius, and suppliers tend to have more breathing space in the diary.

What the Law Says About Using Fireworks for a Winter Wedding

The good news: wedding fireworks follow the same rules as any other private display.

The basics for England, Wales and Scotland:

• You must be 18 or over to buy Category 2 and 3 consumer fireworks.

• You can only set them off on private land with the landowner’s permission – usually your venue’s grounds.

• You must not set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am. Except on New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year, Diwali and 5 November, when the cut-off is later (midnight or 1am depending on the occasion).

Scotland adds a few extra wrinkles (control zones, event restrictions) under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, so if you’re getting married north of the border, it’s worth checking your council’s guidance and your venue’s conditions carefully.

But broadly, for a typical winter wedding in a hotel or country house, the default plan is: One 5–10 minute display between the meal and the dancing, well before 11pm.

Which, frankly, is when everyone’s still sober enough to appreciate it.

Venues, Noise and “Can We Actually Do This Here?”

This is the part that can’t be solved by the law alone: what your venue will and won’t allow.

Most venues with any interest in fireworks fall into one of three camps:

1. “Fireworks welcome – here’s our policy”

   • They allow fireworks in designated areas, often with time limits (e.g. “before 10:30pm”).

   • They may require you to use a preferred professional display company, or they may allow DIY packs with clear conditions.

2. “Low-noise or quiet fireworks only”

   • Increasingly common at country houses, hotels near livestock or venues with close neighbours.

   • They’ll specify low-noise fireworks to limit disruption – exactly the kind of effects Epic specialises in for wedding kits.

3. “Absolutely not, the last couple set fire to the hedge”

   • In which case, you pivot to sparklers and indoor fountains and try not to sulk.

Things to check with the venue:

• Do they allow fireworks at all?

• Do they require low-noise only?

• Do they insist on a professional firing team, or are DIY wedding displays okay?

• Are there any preferred suppliers or paperwork requirements (risk assessments, insurance certificates)?

Epic’s wedding firework articles and packs are built with these conversations in mind, including low-noise options for sensitive venues.

Epic Wedding Firework Packs: Ready-Made Winter Magic

Now for the fun bit: what you actually light.

Epic Fireworks has an entire section devoted to wedding firework packs – curated DIY displays designed to look like a professional show without the professional price tag.

Highlights include:

• Happily Ever After – one of our best-selling wedding packages, packed with elegant comet tails, peonies and golden willows.

• Wedding Day Spectacular – our largest, most extravagant wedding display pack; a full “sky-full of colour” moment in a box.

• Symphony In The Sky – a top-of-the-range DIY wedding display pack built entirely from big, beautiful 1.3G fireworks for a seriously high-end finale.

Common features across Epic wedding packs:

• Ready-made running orders – each pack comes with a firing guide, so you know exactly what to light and when.

• Minimal faff – lots of single-ignition barrages and compounds, so you’re not sprinting around the lawn with 30 individual fuses.

• Free delivery above £295 and planning support if you’re not sure which pack matches your venue and budget.

Planning a Winter Wedding Display: The Basics

Once you’ve squared things with the venue and picked your pack, the rest is just sensible planning.

A few key points:

1. Timing

For a winter wedding, the classic slots are:

• After the wedding breakfast, before the DJ kicks off

• Between the first dance and the “everyone pile onto the dance floor” moment

• For New Year’s Eve weddings, a carefully timed countdown finale (see our separate guide on that)

Because it’s dark early, you can usually schedule fireworks for 7–9pm, which keeps you comfortably within the 11pm curfew and stops grandparents freezing to death outside.

2. Duration

You don’t need 25 minutes. In fact, you probably shouldn’t.

Most Epic wedding packs are built to give you a 5–10 minute show, which is:

• Long enough to feel like a proper event

• Short enough that people don’t start wondering where the bar went

If you’re not sure, aim for 6–8 minutes with a strong finale – many of our packs are designed around exactly that sweet spot.

3. Noise Level

If you’re in a rural venue with houses, horses or livestock nearby, consider a low-noise display:

• Focus on fireworks effects like comets, horsetails, strobes and colourful barrages

• Avoid big salutes and ultra-loud reports

• Use quiet / low-noise labelled items if the venue specifies them

Can You Still Buy Fireworks in January?

A few quick answers to things couples routinely ask us.

“We’re getting married in January – can we buy fireworks legally?”

Yes – as long as you buy from a licensed specialist retailer like Epic, which is allowed to sell fireworks all year round. Seasonal sale windows only restrict non-specialist / short-term sellers.

“Do we need a special licence to buy for a wedding?”

No separate licence is needed for private consumer use if you’re buying standard Category 2 or 3 consumer fireworks in sensible quantities. You just need to be 18+, buy from a legal supplier, and use them on private land with permission.

“Can we fire after 11pm?”

Normally, no – the legal cut-off is 11pm except for certain special nights (Bonfire Night, New Year’s Eve, Diwali, Chinese New Year).

If your wedding is on New Year’s Eve, you can go up to 1am, but you’ll still need the venue’s permission – if they say “all fireworks done by 11pm”, that’s the rule that matters.

“What about sparklers for a send-off?”

Most venues are happier with sparklers than full fireworks, but they’re still fireworks in law, and they burn at around 1,000°C. You’ll need:

• The venue’s okay

• Sensible handling (buckets of water or sand, no small children waving six at once)

They’re a brilliant addition and you can use them to create some beautiful sparkler art photos.

The Takeaway: Winter Weddings, January Fireworks and Doing It Properly

So, back to the question that started all this: Can you still buy fireworks in January or February for a winter wedding?

Yes. Absolutely. You just need to buy from a specialist retailer with an all-year licence, not hope that the supermarket has left a mystery selection box down the seasonal aisle.

From there, it’s simple:

• Check your venue’s policy – fireworks allowed, low-noise only, or pros only.

• Pick an Epic wedding pack that matches your space, budget and noise level: Happily Ever After, Wedding Day Spectacular, Symphony In The Sky, After Midnight and more.

• Time the display for a crisp winter evening slot – dramatic, photogenic, comfortably before the 11pm curfew.

• Let our firing guides do the heavy lifting while you concentrate on not treading on your own dress.

Your love story deserves an ending that’s more exciting than “and then we went home because the New Year aisle was empty”.

If you want your winter wedding to go out with a properly epic bang, not a sad fizz, we’re very happy to help.