Cozy and intimate weddings are on the rise, and definitely carry with them a special kind of charm. No matter if you had your plans altered because of the pandemic, or have always dreamed of a small wedding, going micro does not mean having less. On the contrary, it leaves space for so much more!
Small weddings are often extremely personalized, rich in detail, and crazy romantic. Highly customisable, this kind of wedding gives you a carte blanche, letting your imagination bloom. If all of this sounds good, follow our how-to guide on planning a small wedding to make sure your wedding is everything you’ve wanted!
1. Guest list
Having a small guest list is, in fact, the only small part of the small wedding experience. Keeping the list short will ensure you have the intimacy you want, making every one of your guests a VIP.
Sit down with your partner and each make a list of the people you’d definitely love to attend. Whichever names find themselves on both lists are your must-have guests, so separate them from the others. After this, talk about the remaining potential attendees and try to find common ground.
Just like in marriage, compromise works best when planning a intimate wedding, so think of the experience as “training” for all the happy years to come!
2. Budget
Once you have your guest list, your budget basically determines itself. An intimate wedding is a wedding that has less than 50 guests, so customize and plan your spending according to this.
Take into account everything you’ll need to make your wedding work, from food and beverages, to decoration and music. Always keep in mind that the micro wedding is DIY friendly, so get creative! Remember that if you save on one thing, you can splurge on another!
Make a menu to suit your budget. Find a small band or DJ to entertain the guests. Have a cake made, or play around and have cupcakes. The only thing you shouldn’t do yourself, though, is photography. Having a professional cover that part will ensure your wedding photos are high quality, so set aside a special budget for this purpose.
3. Venue
Since your wedding is small, and the aim is intimacy, a big venue is a big no. One popular idea when planning a small wedding nowadays is using your own backyard, especially if your budget is a bit tight.
Through setup (tables and chairs, a wedding tent, etc) and decoration, it can be transformed into a wonderful wedding venue you’ll be happy to say your “i do” at.
If you don’t like this idea though, there’s always the alternative of renting a small, open-air wedding venue. Equally intimate, and most often equipped with everything you’ll need, the small wedding venue will need no extra setup, only decoration!
4. Decor & more
When we said planning a small wedding is extremely customisable, we meant it.
Decoration is one of the things we were talking about.
Determine a wedding theme beforehand. Since you’re going micro, the table count follows suit, so you can really play around. Different centerpieces on each table, hand written notes for each guest, customized goodie-bags – you can have it all!
The invitations can also be a playground. You can work with your partner and make them yourself or have a professional do it. Either way, as every guest at a small wedding is a VIP guest, make sure the invitations reflect how much they mean to you, and that you’d love to have them!
We hope you found this how-to guide on planning a intimate wedding helpful.
We wish you many happy years together, and hope your micro wedding reflects the love and intimacy you feel for one another.