Planning An Intimate Wedding

Image Credit: Terri & Lori Fine Art Photography & Film

Couples choose to host an intimate wedding for many reasons. For some, complicated family situations may prevent them from hosting a traditional white wedding. Whilst couples planning their second marriage may be looking to plan an intimate, understated wedding in contrast to their first marriage. For others, they simply wish to plan a relaxed and personal wedding day to allow them to make choices that reflect them as a couple rather than to please their guests.

I for one adore this trend and love nothing more than planning a wedding for couples who have chosen to keep romance at the very heart of their wedding, by choosing to plan a significantly smaller heartfelt celebration. And whilst this comes with obvious benefits, there are also many additional advantages that couples may not have considered.

Less planning, less stress

Whilst some will relish a brand new venture to project manage, others will wince at the very thought of trailing through endless social media posts gathering inspiration, creating spread sheets about spread sheets, and researching a never-ending list of suppliers to make sure their guests are fully entertained from start to finish. It therefore goes without saying, fewer guests equate to less planning, and less planning will ultimately lead to less stress.

Inviting fewer guests also allows you to include personal touches without experiencing the dreaded overwhelm. Thoughtful ideas such as individual favours for each of your guests, arranging a quirky mode of transport to take your guests from the church to your reception location, creating personalised gift bags for each of your guests to enjoy or repurposing your floral centrepieces and handing them to each of your guests at the end of the night. Thoughtful touches such as these allow you to show your guests how happy you were to have celebrated your special day with them.

More time to spend with your guests and each other

How many times have you heard a couple recall their wedding day passed them by in a flash? With a large wedding a couple will have an endless list of considerations and timings to follow. From bridal/groom preparations, couple photographs as well as group shots with their family and friends, right though to greeting each of their guests. It can therefore be hard for the newly weds to take a step back and enjoy every last second of their wedding day, (that has probably taken the best part of two years to plan).

With a smaller wedding you will have the opportunity to spend quality time with each of your guests, taking time to mingle and create special memories with your nearest and dearest.

As well as spending time with each of your guests, an intimate wedding will also allow you to spend precious time with each other, instead of snatching a few stolen moments throughout your couple shots.

Image Credit: Joseph Kinerman

Greater flexibility to choose a unique venue

With fewer guests to accommodate you can think outside the box and consider a less conventional venue for your wedding day. Unique spaces such as vineyards, art galleries or your local restaurant are all perfect settings to host an intimate wedding.

Some couples are choosing to extend their wedding day to a wedding weekend, and exclusively hiring a country house, boutique hotel or an entire farm with glamping facilities, to allow their guests to truly unwind and celebrate their nuptials in style. Now that is something that would not be possible with a traditional sized guest list.

Common misconceptions associated with intimate weddings

On a budget, last minute & require very little planning and only held in registry offices. All of which are a few misconceptions associated with intimate weddings. Of course, some couples may choose to host a low key celebration for these reasons, or pick their local registry office as their ceremony location. However, the majority of couples do not plan an intimate wedding with a reduced budget, instead, they choose to invest their budget in detail that is important to them as a couple. For some, this could be treating a handful of guests to an exquisite meal prepared by a Michelin star chef, styling their wedding day with an abundance of show stopping floral installations, taking that once in a lifetime honeymoon to a dream destination, or a bride may choose to purchase the ultimate dress and work with a hair and make up artist that would have been out of budget should she of had 100 plus guests to consider.

If you are considering planning an intimate wedding, I hope that this blog post has given you a little insight and has helped you decide whether or not this style of wedding is for you.

If you are planning your wedding, traditional or intimate and are considering working with a wedding planner, I would love to assist you. Please do take a look at the wedding planning services I offer, and if you would like to discuss further please feel free to contact me.

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