Five Benefits Of Having A Micro Wedding

Last week, I presented some of my own personal predictions of what wedding celebrations might look like in the future. Thanks to the pandemic we’re all currently living through, what we once considered “normal” and “usual” has all completely changed & now we’re forging ahead creating new “norms”.

One of my predictions was the rise of the “Micro Wedding” – which I defined as a ceremony and/or reception with less than 50 guests in attendance. With all of the restrictions on venue capacities & the emphasis on social distancing – cutting a guest list down to just immediate family & best friends will likely become more & more popular. The days of inviting “acquaintances” to wedding celebrations are over. Guest lists which were once plump with second-cousins & parent’s co-workers, will now be trimmed back to just immediate family & only the closest friends of the bride & groom.

I have to admit: my knee-jerk reaction to the concept of a Micro Wedding was not very positive. I love celebrating with a huge crowd of people – the bigger the wedding, the better, right?

The more I thought about it though, the more my mind has changed & I really began to fall in love with the idea of a Micro Wedding. The idea has really grown on me & I’ve come up with a whole list of “benefits” to having a small wedding – and now, I’m kind of obsessed with the idea!

Five Benefits Of Having A Micro Wedding

1 Time to see & visit with every single guest

If you’ve ever been a part of a large wedding (whether it was simply attending as a guest, acting as part of the bridal party, or maybe you were the bride or groom), you know just how little interaction you get between a couple & their guests. It’s miniscule. If a couple does a receiving line, they might spent 15-30 seconds saying, “Hello” and greeting each person. Then, if a couple makes rounds during the reception to each of the tables after dinner, they might spend 3-5 minutes talking to the entire table. Outside of those two interactions, you might spend a moment dancing with the bride or groom during a dollar dance, you might give them a hug as you are leaving, but that is about it.
Pretty sad, isn’t it?

However! With a Micro Wedding – the guest list is so small – that there is ample time to have full conversations with everyone! No, you probably won’t be catching up on everyone’s full life stories, but you’ll have time to have delightful, non-rushed chats with all of your guests.

2 Take a group photo with every single guest in attendance

I’ve photographed several larger weddings that attempt to take a group photo with all of their guests & while the idea is solid, it’s a super challenging task. People get shoved into the back, short people disappear into the crowd – it’s just tough.

However! With a Micro Wedding – you have less than 50 guests & that group photo is much more manageable! How precious it is to have a photograph of every single person in attendance of your wedding (and be able to see each of their faces clearly!)

Additionally: a Micro Wedding allows a bride & groom to take individual photos with each of their guests (if they choose). This makes for fantastic next-level thank you cards!

3 More concentrated time with your spouse

Since they are smaller, Micro Weddings are also shorter. Without 200 guests to talk to & feed & dance with, the party simply does not last as long. This means you get to spend more time on your wedding day with the most important person – your new husband or wife.

Micro Weddings also allow a more relaxed time for photos as the timeline of the day isn’t quite as tight. Since there are less people to steal your attention away, you will have more energy to focus on & celebrate with your brand new spouse.

4 Less expensive

Let’s be honest: the largest cost on a wedding day is the “per plate” cost per guest. It is basic knowledge that the cost of the food & alcohol on a wedding day will be the highest line item on your budget. So, it makes sense that if you chop the guest list down, you also drastically reduce your overall cost.

No matter if a bride & groom are paying for their wedding themselves or they have help from their parents – having a Micro Wedding can be the single best way for them to save money. It can even go so far as to allow you to splurge on other things that might have been “out of the budget” before – things like better quality food, more experienced vendors (who provide more than just a “basic” service), gorgeous florals, and more quality details.

5 Freedom to use a unique wedding location

Your guest list truly determines so much about your wedding day: the more guests you have, the smaller your venue options become (trust me, there aren’t very many venues out there that hold more than 300 people). So, with a Micro Wedding, suddenly the doors are wide open to host your wedding at unique or different locations that would never be possible with a large guest list.

I definitely think one-of-a-kind & out-of-the-box locations will become more & more popular as we move forward. Smaller guest lists mean more options & I really think that couples will take advantage of this “new” & exciting element of wedding planning.

What do you think? Are Micro Weddings here to stay? What are your thoughts on this new “trend”?