Why Micro Weddings Are a Go To Choice 

Less can mean more at a small wedding, and simple touches can have a deafening effect as guests reflect on a momentous celebration between two people they deeply care about. 

When celebrating with the most special people in your life, sometimes you just want to cut all the noise and focus on what matters most by celebrating connection. A fleeting, intimate, significant moment can be something you share with people who believe in you and your Greatness. This is for the people that celebrate all of your milestones as if they were their own. And like a modern collective tribe, they are the only people that matter to you.

For times like these, there are weddings to match the vibe. Not everyone needs a massive flamboyant wedding that speaks volumes, instead they would rather a more meaningful celebration that allows more interaction with guests. Now that many are seeing the alternative cultural benefits of Micro Weddings, they’ve become more popular over recent years.

From Superficial To Profound, Micro Weddings are Hip Now

While any wedding can be posh, regardless of the size, many micro-weddings lean towards minimalist luxury. What’s popular in intimate micro wedding aesthetics include:

Organic Textures

You’ll notice that many micro wedding decor trends have a lot of neutral themed linens draping around arches, wrapped around chairs, or even seat cushions are tan or white colors. Your elevated decor can also include textured fabrics, raw wood benches or chairs, and polished marble or raw stone. 

Outdoor Themes

Hanging botanicals is one of the top choices in outdoor weddings, typically from an arch and not from the ceiling for smaller weddings. Lush greenery, such as eucalyptus branches or fern foliage, is also a common theme that provides a soothing and tasteful touch to fill in any empty spaces. 

Many choose to select candles as the main decorative touch with everything else falling into place around candles. The warm light provides an even more natural ambience compared to electric lighting, giving it an even more romantic feel. It’s also easier to set up if there are no electric outlets or long cords that can reach a make-shift altar. 

Nature’s Decor

Many boutique weddings opt for a lake or ocean in the background, with guests walking on sand or on a platform set up over dirt. Small wedding designs often have a simple platform leading up to a make-shift garden style altar, with beautiful waves or a calm lake amplifying the positive vibes. 

Intimate Wedding Aesthetics 

These ultra-intimate celebrations lean towards smaller gatherings, which can be anywhere between 5 to 50 guests. What sets these weddings apart are the incredibly personalized experiences each guest is immersed in. They have a deeper engrained memory of the wedding because of tailored name plates, micro wedding souvenirs, and other party favors. 

Some ways to make guests feel extra special include:

Signature Menus

You could procure a menu that has funny inside jokes, family specials, or even favorite dishes you know would delight specific guests. They can also be tailored to guests’ allergies. And of course, each guest will have signage with their name elegantly scripted before their seat.

Group Activities

Engage your family, friends, and loved ones with activities. It keeps a wedding from becoming an obligation while keeping guests on their toes. Make your wedding reception an eventful and fun way to spend time. For example, Dueling Pianos, Photo Booths, Scavenger Hunts, and Themed Games, Date Night Idea jars are quite popular. If you want to keep it simple, a bonfire everyone can gather around or a well-wish board where guests leave positive messages is also fun. 

Artisan Favors

Everyone absolutely LOVES artisan favors, which can include items such as handmade soaps or candles, local jam or honey in personalized jars, and other signature gifts. For crafty gifts, traditional pottery, textiles, or wooden ornaments are very enjoyable. You can also do something more inter-active, for example a tea bar with guests can customize their own tea jars with loose leaf teas or flower petals. 

Micro Wedding Attire

Most married couples aim for modern and elegant clothes. With class and respect, the bride often has a sleek gown with soft lines or she may choose a more classic dress with lace and tasteful cut-out designs. The alternative are eccentric brides who love to break out of tradition, with dresses unique to their style and taste. The dress might not even look like a wedding dress, but to the bride, it is perfection. Typically, the groom wears something that matches the colors and is equally simple or counter-culture. 

Cost and Budget Benefits Detail of Micro Weddings

Of course, you must know how micro weddings can save couples money. Instead of spending on 200+ guests, you only have your special loved ones to cater to. Micro wedding cost savings include:

Lower Venue Prices

Because you’ll have much fewer guests, micro-weddings can cost anywhere between $1,000 to $20,000 for venue packages. That’s a stark contrast to a majority of weddings that go from $40,000 to over $150,000 in wedding expenses. 

Boutique Catering

When you work with a boutique caterer, they are likely going to be cheaper unless they’re a famous gourmet chef. These caterers tend to be small businesses that create personalized dining experiences for small weddings. That tends to be around 50 guests. Some have specific margins and limits on how many guests they’ll serve.

Cut in Decor costs

With a small number of guests, that’s less space to cover with fewer decorations. Most micro-weddings have a well-decorated altar, an area for guests to sit, and then a dining area where the reception is held. There won’t be much decoration to worry about with only a handful of guests to entertain.

Sustainable & Eco-Friendly Choices for Micro Weddings

A lot of couples love sustainable micro weddings, where they act on eco-conscious principles. This includes green wedding ideas such as:

Local Food Sourcing

Smaller weddings with fewer guests don’t require that much food, and if you love quality and purpose, you can take advantage of sourcing your food locally. This can give you delicious quality food at a great discount, since sourcing food from other states or countries is more expensive considering the shipping costs or the brand name.

Biodegradable Elements

If you prefer sustainability and protecting the environment, consider using biodegradable decorations, utensils, diningwear, and more. Everything can be made of natural organic materials, bamboo, wood, or hard paper to prevent and waste from entering the environment. 

Small Wedding Planning Tips and Common Challenges

All though your mini wedding isn’t nearly as stressful as the more traditional and massive weddings, you might experience some common planning anxiety. For example, choices might feel heavier for a smaller event. Also, there’s no traditional rule book for an avant-garde wedding such as your own. You might need help with:

Vendor Selection

It’s hard to know what vendor will honor your time allotment with the same respect as much larger events. Additionally, they might not be used to micro-weddings and typically cater to birthday parties or other small celebrations. Knowing what vendor would work best for your beautiful wedding ceremony comes with research and experience.

Constructing a Timeline

Even though you have a smaller wedding than most traditional brides and grooms, you will still need a timeline to keep you organized. There are still preparations to be made, such as catering, decoration setup, souvenir packaging, picking florals, coordinating each stage of the event, sending invitations, selecting colors and utensils, bridal dress shopping, and so much more! You’ll need to construct a solid timeline that meets your needs and makes sense for the amount of guests you’ll have.

Contingency Plans for Unexpected Delays

Sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes vendors make mistakes. Regardless, you should always have a plan B and C. If the caterer runs into an issue, have a backup, for example.

Weather

Weather is possibly the biggest antagonist to a successful dream wedding story. You should always have a plan for when the weather is haywire. For example, if you have an outdoor wedding ceremony, you’ll want to have clear tents in the event that it pours. 

A wedding planner can make sure everything comes together beautiful without all these hiccups.

Anyone Can Attend Your Small Wedding

Distant loved one can still participate through virtual live streaming. That way, no one can miss your nuptials, especially if they’re penny pinching. You can use Wedding Websites for your micro wedding live stream. Other wedding tech tips include a digital RSVP tool that also sends reminders closer to the date. All you need is a tripod and a cellphone or laptop’s camera to livestream online. 

When you need help creating an intimate wedding experience, or simply need micro wedding inspiration, talk to our top tier designers at Moments by Mona. We can walk you step by step how to organize your small wedding to make it a heart-warming experience for you and your guests. Contact us now to get started or text “Consultation” to (561) 405.0018.