In the world of weddings, bigger has often been considered better. However, the concept of micro weddings (10 – 50 guests), one of the post-pandemic trends from the wedding and events industry, has risen to beautifully challenge the bigger is better theory. At the end of the day, I always advise my couples to do what’s best for them as it is their wedding after all. If you’re about to kick-off wedding planning and are wondering whether to go big or micro, here are some benefits of having a micro wedding for you to consider:
1. Flexible Venue Options:
With a smaller guest count, you automatically have more options and flexibility when searching for a wedding venue. From your favorite restaurants, hourly rental event spaces, and even your parents backyard. The possibilities become endless in finding a location to celebrate your love story with your closest and dearest.
With a smaller sized wedding, there’s less worry about certain logistics. For example making sure there’s enough parking or valet service for guests, hiring additional bar staff to avoid long lines, and so on.
2. No (official) Bridal Party:
Hear me out on this one…your best friends will be in attendance anyway. They simply don’t have to bother about ordering a dress, getting up early for hair and makeup services, and all the other stuff that sometimes comes with bridesmaids duties. They can focus on celebrating you, and having a good time.
How does this benefit you? First off, not having a bridal party significantly cuts down on bridal prep time and management. As a planner, instead of creating a timeline that starts pretty early to accommodate every bridesmaid getting their hair and makeup done in time for photos, that prep time is now for just you, and maybe your Mom. This way bridal prep does not have to start at the crack of dawn, and there’s less to worry about with regards to hair and makeup not wrapping up on schedule
3. More Mingling, Less Formalities :
You and your guests get to have more time to chat, and connect. For example cocktail hour, which can sometimes feel rushed because guests are trying to enjoy the different food stations, the open bar, grab some pictures for the ‘gram, all while making the rounds to connect with folks they haven’t seen in a while and some new folks, can simply be extended for longer to 90mins. This allows the bride and groom to get photos out the way (if they didn’t prior to the ceremony), and still join their guests at cocktail hour.
For the reception, you get to have a few more speeches, if you’d like or more dancing, entertainment etc whatever your preference might be.
4. Quality over Quantity:
Having a smaller guest count frees up your budget to allow you to invest more in an elevated guest experience. With a larger sized party, where you might have opted for a mid-tier food and beverage package, you can now select the all-inclusive option that gives your guests more food options or courses, and top-shelf drink choices of all kinds to meet every guest’s preferred choice of drink.
Other areas where this comes into play is with the decor. With a micro-wedding you can splurge a bit more on elegance and provide a highly curated experience for your guests – florals, rentals, personalized seat placements, and more! Your guests can have a personalized seating experience that’s grand as it is intimate. Here’s a link to a micro-wedding we coordinated that had all of these elements.
5. Cost Savings:
As a wedding planner, when couples ask how best to save when wedding planning, the number 1 answer is always to first cut down on your guest list. This is because lowering your number of guests immediately slashes your expenses across the majority of the other categories as most items are priced based on guest count. Food and beverage, save the dates, invitations, floral centerpieces, rentals, etc these are some of items that are priced per guest or based on the number of guests.
Being able to go through that list together and narrow it down to just close family members, and a limited number of friends who you absolutely couldn’t imagine the day without will be hard. However, once you’re able to complete that you’ll be able to then focus on deciding how you want to allocate your wedding budget.
Lastly, I want to reiterate that no one wedding size is better. Whether you decide to go the intimate, small route or choose to have a grand event, what matters in the end is that it is how you want it, and what works for you financially.
Ready to get started with wedding planning? Give me a call or send a message here. Let’s deliver a seamless planning process, and a stress-free wedding day execution for your peace of mind.
