Your wedding day will be one of the most special days of your life. It’s important that your celebration reflects you and your partner and is meaningful to both of you. A micro wedding is a wonderful way to celebrate your love with your closest family and friends. A smaller guest count allows you to focus on aspects of your big day that are most important to you, whether that’s a gorgeous venue, unique entertainment, or creating special moments for your guests. If you’ve been thinking about a smaller wedding, here are 6 meaningful micro wedding ideas to consider for your special day.
What Is a Micro Wedding?
A micro wedding is a small and intimate celebration with no more than 50 people. It’s a smaller version of a “regular” wedding and the guest list is typically comprised of immediate family and close friends. They’re wonderful for couples who don’t want an extravagant event with hundreds of guests, but want more than an elopement. Although micro weddings are small in guest count, they’re typically super stylish and involve a full team of vendors for decor, flowers, music, catering, photography and videography. Many couples use the lower guest count to maximize their budget and splurge on jaw-dropping floral instalments, live entertainment or special extras for their guests. Of course, you can also use it as an opportunity to save money with a pared-down event.
3 Things to Consider Before Planning a Micro Wedding
1. Guest List
Since you have a smaller invite list with a micro wedding, you need to consider who you really want to be there for your special day. Make a list of your close family and friends and see if it’s feasible to even have a smaller guest list. You may need to create “cutting rules” such as reconsidering offering plus ones to single guests and cutting extended family members.
2. What the Day Looks Like
You can choose to have as many traditional wedding day aspects as you like or create a more unique experience. Do you want to have a wedding ceremony with all your guests, or do you want to get married at city hall and have a party with everyone after? Do you want a traditional ceremony with vows, or would you rather have a more casual ceremony with a friend as the officiant?
3. Vendor List
A smaller guest list doesn’t have to mean a smaller vendor team. Consider how full out you want to go with your celebration. Do you want extravagant floral arrangements and installations or are you okay with minimal flowers? Do you want the day documented by a videographer for those you weren’t able to invite? Do you want to splurge on special customizations and unique entertainment? These are all important considerations for your micro wedding.
6 Micro Wedding Planning Tips
- Get creative with your wedding venue- a smaller guest list offers more opportunities to throw your wedding wherever you like, from a restaurant to a local art gallery to a cruise ship. Choose a wedding venue you and your partner are in love with.
- Focus on personalization- from a custom bar to individual guest sketches or a range of food stations, more personalization will create a more meaningful experience for you and your guests.
- Create the menu based on your favourite food and drink- opt for personalized cocktails and consider food inspired by your family heritage.
- Hire a planner- a wedding planner can help you make the most out of your micro wedding, helping you nail down your theme, the perfect venue, and amazing vendors, while keeping everything organized for your big day.
- Choose the perfect photographer- your photographer is one of the most important vendors you’ll have for your wedding day as these are memories you’ll keep forever. Make sure you like their photography style and get along with them on a personal level as you’ll work closely with them before and on your big day.
- Decide your must-haves- you and your partner should each write down your “big 3”. These are three things you absolutely want at your wedding, whether that’s a videographer, a cigar and whiskey bar, or a live painter. Knowing your must-haves from the start will help you plan your dream micro wedding.
6 Meaningful Micro Wedding Ideas
1. Your Favourite Restaurant
Would your favourite restaurant make for a gorgeous wedding venue? While restaurant weddings don’t always work with a large guest count, a micro wedding is the perfect way to do an intimate restaurant wedding. Depending on the number of guests you have, see if they have a room they rent out for events or consider renting out the whole space if it’s a smaller restaurant. Work with the restaurant team to create the perfect menu and drinks list, and deck it out in stunning flowers and signage that stuns.
2. Destination Micro Wedding
A smaller guest count offers a great opportunity to have a destination wedding. This doesn’t have to just be a beach resort. Think about yours and your partners’ interests and aesthetic and get creative with your location. Consider a gorgeous lodge in the mountains, a historic manor in Ireland, or a gorgeous vineyard in Tuscany. A venue that reflects your personality can make your wedding even more meaningful and create an abundance of lasting memories.
3. Hire a Band
Live music is such a special touch for your big day. A live band typically comes at a higher cost than a DJ, and a micro wedding could free up room in your budget. A live band is a memorable way to elevate your wedding, providing energy and excitement from the moment guests enter your venue. If you want your night filled with non-stop dancing, a band can pack your dance floor and keep your guests on their feet.
4. Backyard Nuptials
Whether it’s your backyard, a family members’ or a rented out Airbnb, a backyard wedding can be a stunning way to celebrate your union. It’s also a great way to save money as you don’t have to book out a venue. However, keep in mind that you will still need to rent a tent, tables, and chairs, and consider spots your guests can step away from the heat or cold outside. As for decor, you can get creative as you like to create your dream backyard wedding. String lights make everything more magical and you can create gorgeous table scapes and flower arrangements that your guests will love.
5. Assemble a Welcome Box
While welcome boxes for big weddings can blow the budget, they’re totally feasible for a smaller guest count. Arranging welcome boxes is a special touch that will set your wedding apart. They work specifically well for a destination wedding or long-weekend affair. Incorporate items that represent your relationship, such as wine from your favourite winery or candles with your signature scent. You can also bring in local items like snacks and drinks from a local market, as well as post-wedding must-haves like ibuprofen, emergen-c, water bottles, and under eye masks.
6. Host a Weekend-Long Event
If you’re having a destination wedding, whether it’s a flight or drive away, hosting multiple events throughout the weekend gives your guests multiple opportunities to meet each other and bond. A rehearsal dinner or welcome party will give everyone a chance to get to know each other before the big day, and a farewell brunch is always a nice touch where guests can reminisce about the night before.
If a micro wedding is right up your alley, consider these ideas to create a meaningful and special day.
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