The rise of the micro-wedding!
What is a micro-wedding?
To say last year was crazy for the wedding industry is an understatement. It’s been tough for couples, for suppliers, for venues, for guests… everyone I know has been affected in some way through it. But from the great explosion that was / is Covid has come something that I absolutely love; the rise of the micro-wedding! It’s forced couples to do things differently to how they planned, and for a lot of people that’s been an opportunity to re-focus on what’s important. There can be a lot of expectation put on people when planning a wedding and for a lot of people just having permission to do something smaller was liberating! For some people, it was the opposite, but either way I am still here today to write about why micro-weddings CAN be awesome, and a great alternative to a big affair if that’s still off the cards for a while. I think for a lot of people the hardest thing is letting go of what you’ve originally planned and reframing the celebrations, but if it’s looking like the alternative is months of uncertainty and stress choosing the option of doing something smaller could be really right for you.
“It's taken pressure off, made it so personal and family orientated, felt WAY less nervous for it, meant I wasn't as stressed in the lead up, so many things!”- Alice
”It makes you see how unimportant the extra faff is and how much you take just having your family there by your side for granted.”
All the photos here are from weddings I’ve shot in the last 12 months with 30 guests or under, and I’ve put in some advice and words from one of my lovely brides Jen who has put her big wedding plans on hold for now in favour of a micro wedding in May.
”Stress-wise, my to-do list has gone from about 50 things to 5, and I actually really like it - it really allows you to focus on the things that actually make you both happy.”
BIG POSITIVES OF A MICRO-WEDDING
Less expensive - this has gotta be the biggest one!
You don’t need to invite +1s, distant cousins, uncles you hardly see, people your parents wanted there - you have a legit reason to restrain the guest list
More intimate - more time with those you love and less time worrying if you’ve spoken to everyone
Confidence in it being able to happen - no waiting, no anxiety or suspense, no changing plans last minute
Easier to plan - doesn’t take up nearly as much planning time for logistics or organisation
Focus on the important things - for most couples this is the PEOPLE who are absolutely closest to them!
Informal - even more relaxed; no receiving line, no
More money for honeymoon / travel afterwards
Opportunity to plan a big party later, if you want. Either a wedding party or something else to look forward to - a big 30th, 50th, anniversary party or whatever you like. Another excuse to celebrate when we know for sure we can have as many people as we like.
I think for a lot of couples as well they anchor themselves around the wedding day, and it can stop other big decisions in your life; like changing jobs (don’t want to rock financial stability with a wedding to pay for) starting a family, going travelling, moving abroad, just to name a few. Doing the important part of getting married and then thinking about a bigger celebration later means you’re not as tied in emotionally and financially to one big massive day you are pinning things on.
“You think more about why you're doing it, not to impress people, just to be with each other!” - Alice
“We're still going all out on the outfits because why not, and we're booking the most expensive room at the hotel, because again, why not?!”
HELPING YOU TO PLAN A MICRO-WEDDING
Really splash out on your outfits, accessories, bouquet for the day or your wedding accommodation!
Think about where you’d like some cool photos that you’d never have had time to go with a ‘traditional’ wedding
Think about different, non-traditional venues - restaurants, pubs, small venue rooms, private house, run off to Greta Green
Check out inspiration from what other couples have done - Love my Dress have loads of great posts and I am always crushing on this elopement too!
“By now, we really just want to be each other's husband and wife, so we just want to get on with it! Seeing how much we just want to actually get married has helped us realise what's important and why we're doing it - the actual marriage bit! We were never that caught up in doing things too flashy or to please others on the day, we just wanted to do and have things we loved to celebrate our day together, but stripping the day back has made the reason behind it all even more important which is:
- Actually getting married!
- Having our immediate family with us
- Having amazing food and drink
- Feeling nice in our special outfits
- Having you there to help us capture moments from what'll be a really intimate and special day (not just saying that because I'm writing this for you, but over the however long we've been in touch and at our snap and chat, you couldn't have made us feel more comfortable and excited for our day!) Having photos to look back at that give you happy memories because you remember what was happening at the time (like the ones from our snap and chat) is so so important to us.
From a photography point of view, I’ve added an hourly package as well as my usual full and half days - meaning you can still get amazing photos and for significantly less dollar! For smaller celebrations you often need much less time meaning you can get your dream photographer within your budget and still have wonderful memories captured of the day.
MORE MICRO WEDDING INSPIRATION!