Everything you need to know about the latest micro-wedding trend and how to host your own.
There’s been a great deal of speculation over what weddings after Covid-19 will look like, and the buzz-word on all the industry insiders’ lips? Micro-wedding.
Couples due to marry in 2020 and 2021 have been through a lot. While many have had already had to postpone or cancel their weddings due to lockdown measures, the newly-engaged are left wondering if they will even be able to have the wedding they’d dreamed of at all. But whatever your circumstances may be, a micro-wedding might be the solution to your wedding woes.
What is a Micro-Wedding?
Micro-weddings fall somewhere between an elopement and a small traditional wedding. They are a wonderful solution to the drastic adjustments that have recently taken place in the wedding industry.
With social distancing here to stay and numbers being kept to a minimum, we’re expecting micro-weddings to be a big trend as we head into 2021.
Typically, a micro-wedding will have no more than 20 guests, however as with any wedding trend, it’s all about interpretation. You may feel like you want your special day to be as intimate and private as possible.
How to Throw a Micro-Wedding
We’ve put together the ultimate guide on how to plan your micro wedding. If you’re starting from scratch, then get ready to be creative and plan the big day you’ve always dreamed of, on a small and intimate scale.
No-Guilt Guestlist
Possibly the trickiest part of planning a micro wedding is the guest list, and you’re going to have to be pretty cut throat. After all, it’s going to be a very exclusive event.
As we mentioned before, by definition, a micro wedding is a ceremony that has twenty people, or less, present. However, if the current lockdown measures are anything to go by, your ceremony may be limited to ‘a group of up to six people’.
Our advice? Keep the list short with your nearest and dearest, and cut out the distant relatives and fair-weather friends. You may have had your heart set on a huge celebration, but your new VIP guest list will cut down the expense and make the day even more special.
Fuss-free Food
When planning a micro wedding, the beauty is in the budget. When you’re catering for such a small group of people, you can make your money go further, and turn to smaller businesses to provide for your special day.
Not only will your wedding be cared for with personal touch, but you can support your local businesses during this time when they need us most.
If you’re wedding is really small, you can even cater for your guests yourself with pre-prepared finger food, a BBQ, or your favourite restaurant.
When it comes to the cake, it may seem excessive to splurge on a traditional wedding cake for a small group of people. Instead, get creative with smaller designs or unconventional desserts. Alternatively you can opt for a cupcake per guest, and arrange them to make a beautiful, yet unconventional, display.
Get Creative
When planning a more intimate wedding, you can experiment with tradition. That means letting the ceremony reflect who you are. If you and your partner aren’t the traditional types, then consider a theme for you and your guests to dress in accordance with. This could be anything from your favourite era in time or wedding inspiration from your favourite film set.
If you are opting for a more traditional dress code, then don’t feel that you have to abandon your dream of a black-tie wedding simply because the guest list is small. It’s still your wedding day, and that’s the only excuse you need to put on your finest attire.
Cut the Cost
Non-essentials? Wedding favours and centrepieces are an opportunity to save money and get creative. Wedding Ideas have plenty of advice on how to DIY your wedding favours, which can add a personal touch to your special day.
When planning a micro wedding, you can eliminate a lot of the frills. Cut the non-essentials things on your checklist, and even consider getting married without a photographer and a band. Buy a few disposable cameras, and ask a guest to bring their largest speaker, and you’ll enjoy a more intimate celebration.
If you’re still stuck for advice on whether to postpone your wedding, or how to plan a simple home ceremony, Wedding Ideas have plenty of how-to’s and advice on where to start.
The Perfect Place
A smaller ceremony means that you can be even more flexible with where you do it.
You can pick your home, a park, or somewhere isolated, as you don’t need to worry about capacity.
The best part? When you aren’t worrying about the cost of herding hundreds of people across the country, and a little help from Uber, you can allow yourself to venture somewhere new and unexplored for your special day.
Wedding Dresses for a Micro-Wedding
With less than 50 people on the guest list and chic, intimate city venues being a popular choice for smaller-scale ceremonies, there’s plenty of opportunity to break away from tradition when it comes your micro-wedding wedding dress. From statement two-pieces to short, vintage styles we’ve curated an edit of the best wedding dresses for a minimony as the new trend continues to take hold this year.
Read More: The Best Weddings Dresses for a Micro-Wedding
The Best Venues for a Micro-Wedding
If you are making the decision to opt for a smaller wedding, you’ll still be spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a venue. From luxe townhouses to country retreats with jaw-dropping views, we’ve been on the lookout for the best wedding venues for smaller guestlists. Here are some of our favourite micro-wedding hotspots.
Read More: Stunning Small Wedding Venues for Intimate Weddings
Barnsley House, Cirencester, The Cotswolds
From hideaway rooms and a private cinema to a magical secret garden suite and picturesque gardens, Barnsley House is not only a gorgeous intimate wedding venue but also the perfect setting to create your first memories together as a married couple. The venue only offers exclusivity quite simply to ensure maximum privacy for your wedding party and the utmost indulgence of the house and outside space. Make the most of the what Barnsley House has to offer by checking you and the girls into the spa the afternoon before the big day.
The Lanesborough, London
A Regency-era landmark, overlooking Hyde Park Corner and adjacent to the grounds of Buckingham Palace, The Lanesborough has long been considered one of the city’s most iconic hotels; the very definition of a fairytale wedding venue no matter the size or scale. Fully licensed to hold civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies, The Lanesborough offers a choice of gorgeous private rooms, available individually or in combination, from the intimate St George’s Room with views of Constitution Arch, to the palatial, Murano-mirror-lined Belgravia Room, whose windows cast their regal gaze across Hyde Park. The hotel recently launched the ‘Rule of Six Series’ on Instagram, inviting esteemed wedding planners to work their magic on some of the smallest spaces within the building to create exquisite, unforgettable settings – and ones befitting a ‘Bridgerton’ bride.
The Lowell, Manhattan, New York
If you’re based in the U.S., or crossing the pond for your future micro-wedding, The Lowell hotel in New York offers beautifully, tailor-made celebrations, ensuring each wedding is as memorable and stylish as ever (even as social distancing measures persist). By pairing down the guestlist, Charles Masson, celebrated restauranteur and the brains behind The Lowell’s famous Marjorelle restaurant, predicts an incredible opportunity for couples to focus more on the smaller details. For example, crafting a culinary experience entirely inspired by and inclusive of the seasonality of local flora during a desired time of year. Set in one of the world’s most celebrated neighbourhoods, The Lowell provides the quintessential backdrop for a classic New York City wedding, with Central Park, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Centre and more, all nearby. But the added bonus of an intimate ceremony, in one of the beautiful spaces on property including the Penthouse Suite and Garden Suite, is the possibility of creating hyper-personal moments that might not be considered “traditional” but are ultimately perfect for your wedding day.
The Kensington, London
At The Kensington, wedding celebrations take on a luxurious dinner party feel as the hotel is more akin to a chic private residence, with the convenience of being in one of London’s most sought after locations. The gorgeous townhouse hotel will soon have a wedding license in line with the appetite for nuptials in the borough, with Kensington Town Hall usually holding up to 27 weddings each day. As with all Doyle Collection hotels, a team of experts are on hand to curate your perfect micro-wedding day, striving to consistently exceed expectations (in spite of the restrictions) and ensure every detail will be taken care of. From fine dinging to the flowers, couples can expect a stress-free, seamless experience.
The Milestone Hotel & Residences, London
While limits on guest numbers at weddings might be in place for the foreseeable future, The Milestone Hotel & Residences has received a surge of enquiries over the past few months for smaller more intimate weddings in The Oratory, a beautiful chapel room, with a capacity for a maximum of eight guests. Located in the heart of Kensington and overlooking Kensington Palace and Gardens, it’s hard to imagine a more romantic setting for a micro-wedding in the capital. Say ‘I do’ under stunning vaulted ceilings and sweeping arches of The Oratory as you declare your vows surrounded by wood panelled walls, elaborate windows and marble flooring. Inspired by the Royal Mews, the hotel can organise traditional horse drawn carriages to add a touch of fairy-tale charm to even the smallest of wedding parties.
Read More:
- 15 Weddings Details You Haven’t Though of Yet
- Weddings After Covid-19: What to Expect for Your Big Day
- 5 Alternative Wedding Speech Ideas
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