There was a time when weddings were a huge affair with everybody invited including family members, extended family, friends, and people that you work with. However, with the rising cost of weddings and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, all that is beginning to change. Recently, more and more couples are choosing to not only get married later in life, but also with fewer guests. Micro weddings, or smaller weddings with no more than fifty guests, are becoming more popular.
Why Have a Smaller Wedding?
Some people decide to have a smaller wedding because they can save money by doing so. As of 2022, statistics say that it costs an average of $27,000 to get married in the U.S. However, a smaller wedding with fewer guests doesn’t always mean that it is going to be cheaper – it might simply be that you can go further with your celebrations as you have a larger budget per person. There are plenty of reasons why more couples are planning a smaller, intimate wedding including cost savings or the fact that they simply prefer the idea of having a more personal, intimate feel for their big day. Fewer guests also means that the catering can stretch further, and you can have more time with the people who are attending, which can be less stressful and more relaxing for the bride and groom. You can check out Greenvelope’s guide to an intimate wedding here to get more information on hosting this type of ceremony.
Planning Your Guest List
One of the most important parts of putting together any guest list is planning who to invite. When you have an intimate wedding, this usually means inviting immediate family and other people who you are close to, which can make it easier to decide on a guest list. Typically, a smaller wedding will have no more than fifty guests – around twenty-five people per side. Decide whether ‘plus ones’ and children are going to be invited to your wedding, or just the guest themselves. Consider whether you are going to have more guests at your wedding reception or are planning to keep the wedding party small for the entire day.
Planning Your Budget
Once you have an idea of who you are going to invite to your wedding, it’s time to consider how much you have to spend in total and where the funds are going to come from. You should have a clear idea of your overall budget to make it easier to plan within it and avoid overspending. Divide your budget by the total number of people on your guest list to figure out your cost per head, which will be useful when you are choosing wedding venues and other vendors such as catering.
Finding the Right Venue
When you are having an intimate and small wedding, one of the most important considerations to make is the size of the venue that you are going to hire. You should choose a venue that is suitable for the size of your wedding party. If the venue is too big, it might look like people haven’t turned up to your wedding. On the other hand, hiring a venue that is too small will come with its own set of problems. With a quick Google search of affordable colorado wedding venues (or wherever you’re having your wedding) you can research different venues well in advance. This will give you a better chance to find one that works for your wedding party size.
Make Your Own Rules
One of the main benefits of having a small wedding is that it is often easier to plan it all on your terms. When you are keeping the day intimate and small, you might want to decide not to do some of the wedding traditions that can be unnecessary, like having a large group of bridesmaids or groomsmen. On the other hand, you can also have a wedding where the majority of your guests are the bridesmaids and groomsmen – with this type of wedding, anything goes.
Add Some Personality
One of the main reasons why more couples are deciding to host an intimate wedding is that it provides them with a better opportunity to break away from the traditional stuff and add some of their own personality to the ceremony and reception. A smaller wedding party will make it easier for you to really make the day your own, and with a smaller number of guests, your budget will likely stretch further to create more bespoke touches on the big day. For example, some couples might get more photos of everybody attending, have their own gin bar set up, or a smaller, more personalized designer wedding cake. With less to film, you might also find it easier to get hold of a videography company that’s able to have a video of the day edited and ready to show at the reception.
Consider Your Privacy
Most couples who have a smaller, intimate wedding do so because they want the day to be more private. Not everybody is interested in all the attention that comes with having a large wedding. If this sounds like you, then it’s a good idea to consider how you can make your day a good one while still getting the privacy that you both want. For example, you could include a social media ban and ask guests to refrain from posting anything about the wedding until you have posted your own official photos.
Find Suitable Accommodations
Some couples decide on having a small and intimate wedding as they are getting married in an exclusive venue or even in another country. This often means that the guests are able to stay on-site, depending on the wedding venue that they are hosting their big day at. If this sounds like your plans for your wedding, it’s a good idea to consider the amount of accommodations offered at the venue, or if there are suitable accommodations nearby that you can book guests into.
Large wedding celebrations are no longer the norm with more and more couples deciding on a smaller big day.
