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What does your dream wedding look like? Do you want a huge wedding with hundreds of guests or would you rather have a small wedding on the beach? While extravagant, luxurious and costly weddings have been the norm for many years, people’s views of what is an ideal wedding are changing.
With marriage rates declining, the average age of marrying rising, and economic uncertainty, many couples do not want the three-tiered cake and hundreds of guests, according to LAist. Some couples are opting eloping but others are opting for micro-weddings instead.
What is a micro-wedding?
A micro-wedding usually has between 25 and 50 guests – usually just family and close friends – and often do not follow the traditional wedding format. Some can be as small as just the couple and officiant and they are highly individualized.
While many couples who opt for large weddings enlist the help of wedding planners, many of them are standardized like, “a wedding in a box,” Emma Thurgood, an elopement specialist told LAist. This one-wedding-fits-all no longer resonates with many people, especially GenZers.
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With the average wedding cost running around $35,000, and with more and more couples choosing the live together before marriage, many people view walking down the aisle as having too steep a price tag. Micro-weddings offer a way to cut down on expenses and to still have a day that is authentic and represents their relationship and beliefs.
Letting your imagination run wild
While micro-weddings have been around for a while, the pandemic – when events had to be scaled back – helped to boost the popularity of smaller, more intimate weddings. This gave people the opportunity to create unique ceremonies.
With fewer guests Whether you choose a destination wedding or opt for a myriad of spaces that are not available to larger weddings, according to Brides, like a café, park, beach or in your own backyard. It’s best to pick your venue first and then plan your guest list so there is space for everyone.
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Annie Lee, principal planner of Daughter of Design, told Brides to start with the basics like food, dancing, and make sure you hire a photographer no matter how small your wedding is. You can wear a traditional wedding gown and tux, or wear something that speaks to your heart. You can choose to have flowers on tables, in just the bouquet, or in a tierra in your hair.
The most important thing is to make your wedding meaningful through personal vows, wearing a special piece of jewelry, or even having your dog walk down the aisle with you.
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