Coronavirus may have brought on lots of unpleasant events, but it also brought a new and beautiful wedding trend: microweddings. The year 2020 has been a large disappointment for many people who started the new year with plans of vacation, celebration, growth, and matrimony. Many of the mandates brought on by the pandemic caused couples to have to postpone or even cancel their nuptials. Some courthouses were not open for marriages so couples couldn’t even get married on paper.
While the pandemic is not yet over, many states have been able to reduce their restrictions, which has allowed couples to make their vows in a much more intimate and personal setting.
What is a Microwedding?
A microwedding is considered a compact, intimate affair only in comparison to the scale of a typical wedding. An average wedding has a guest list ranging from 150 – 250 people. A microwedding has no more than 50 guests.
It’s not just the mass expansion of Covid-19 that’s leading couples to consider microweddings. The stark contrast of cost is a large factor that is pushing more millennials to opt for microweddings. The cost of a standard wedding can be well over $30,000 while microweddings cuts cost almost to half, bringing the total cost of a wedding closer to a car loan than a down payment for a home. More than anything, the appeal for microweddings is that little of the staples and time-honored traditions can still be featured in a small-scale celebration.
Microweddings Help People Have a Celebration of Their Dreams
There is an unimaginable number of people who skip wedding planning altogether because they just assume that they don’t have the funds to have a ceremony, much less a reception. Rather than sharing a grand day of love and joy with friends and family, they settle for a courtroom, a judge, and a couple of witnesses. With microweddings becoming more mainstream, couples are now seeing that they do have the opportunity, and more importantly the means to do something special for each other.
How To Make the Most of Your Microwedding
There are plenty of venues and professionals that are more than willing to work with you and your budget. Weddings are not just about the size and scale, it’s about sharing the occasion with the important people in your life. The bare bones of planning a wedding celebration include obtaining a marriage license, hiring an officiant, and inviting a few family members and a couple of friends. With a party of this size, you can get married nearly anywhere from the top of a national monument to a beach boardwalk. But if you’re looking to have more than a swift ceremony, here are some tips for creating a microwedding celebration that you can remember fondly without breaking the bank or the mandates.
First, Plan Your Budget
You can decide which of the many parts of a wedding you’d like to incorporate and which parts you’d like to omit based on your personal wishes and needs. Maybe you have a home or backyard that’s perfect for fitting your compact guest list, so rather than paying for a venue, you can opt for floral designers and caterers. If you do need to rent a venue, find one that fits your budget first then work on cutting down your guest list. You can save money on space and catering costs by having a smaller party.
Use Your Imagination
Microweddings are much more flexible because of the smaller guest list, food quantity, space required, etc. Because of this, so many more options become available to you for venues, catering, and design. Restaurants and cafés, parks, galleries, and even bars become a viable option for hosting your celebration. You can save on decor costs, high-priced catering and delivery, and even seating.
Book Only The Basics
Even if you’re hosting your wedding in a private room of your favorite restaurant, the key pieces of a wedding are food and alcohol, entertainment, and design. People love going to weddings because it’s a celebration complete with meals, dancing, and a great ambiance. You don’t need to hire a whole band if a DJ fits your budget better. You don’t need to have flowers all over your venue if your budget only covers the head table and a few guest table centerpieces. Starting with the bare necessities allows you to get the ball rolling on the important pieces that require advanced notices. Stationary invitations, spectacular room decor, and live music are nice to have, but they are not absolutely necessary for the core of the celebration.
You Don’t Need to Spend Big Money on a Dress
Whether you have a big wedding or a small ceremony and reception, you don’t need a multi-thousand dollar dress to enjoy your wedding day. You can shop for beautiful wedding gowns that fit your style and shape without having to step foot into a bridal store. Online shopping has come a long way. You can find a gorgeous, bespoke dress and suit for you and your fiance that will feel just as special.
To Hire or Not To Hire a Photographer
If you can fit it into your budget, it will be well worth your dollar spent to hire a photographer. Regardless of the size of your wedding, a photographer is going to capture the memories of your big day. You’ll want to document all of the funny, beautiful, silly, and important parts of your day. You can reserve a photographer for a shorter amount of time than the average wedding, so it may be a cost-effective addition to your wedding celebration. If you absolutely cannot hire a photographer for your wedding day celebration, you may be able to hire one for a few hours for just bridal shots, photographs of you and your fiance in your wedding attire. These may not capture the celebration but they do capture you and your partner in the most beautiful way.
Find a Professional Willing to Work With You
The wonderful thing about a microwedding is that there are no limits on what is too big or what is too small. You can incorporate all of your wishlist items. Rather than do it all yourself, you can find professionals that can fit your budget and scale, while still providing you with beautiful designs. A wedding planner is always helpful regardless of the size of your wedding because they are familiar with a variety of vendors and services. For wedding design, you can hire a floral designer that can help you pick out your linens, florals, and any other rentals you’d like to include. Floral arrangements to include can be as simple as bouquets and table centerpieces, or as grandiose as floral arches and seating designs.
Make It Personal
Because your wedding guest list is significantly smaller, you can make your invitations and party gifts to guests much more personal. Chances are the guests on your microwedding list are immediate family, parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and close friends. You know these people on a deeper level, which is why you’re sharing this momentous day with them. You might consider hand-writing your invitations and explaining what their presence means to you. Rather than getting generic parting gifts for dozens of distant cousins or great aunts, you can hand-deliver specially chosen gifts to each of your guests as a thank you for participating and celebrating your union. They’ll be touched by the added thought, and you’ll be glad you did it too.
Nadine De Leon Can Make Your Microwedding Look Spectacular!
Whether you have a guest list of 200 people or 20 people, you want to have a wedding celebration that is gorgeous to behold. Floral designer Nadine De Leon can help bring your wedding style and design to life. Nadine De Leon specializes in creative floral artistry to create stunning designs and decor for your big day. She provides comprehensive design and organization to allow you to enjoy your big day to the fullest. Nadine is passionate about taking all of a client’s individual inspiration pieces and ideas and bringing them together in a creative and cohesive design that is nothing short of stunning. Bringing unique, creative, and customized floral designs that match your wedding color palette, venue, and personal style is what we do, but seeing the eyes of couples and their guests light up with enchantment and admiration is why we do it.
Contact the office of Nadine De Leon for floral design services for your wedding, event, and holiday display. We have a large inventory of rental pieces such as arches, tables, candles, candleholders,and much more. We have the tools and the creative artistry to create the event of your dreams. You can learn more about the services and products we offer by visiting our website at https://nadinedeleon.com/. If you’d like to schedule an appointment or consultation, you can call our office at (240)360-1602 or fill out the contact us form on our website.
