Ideas for your intimate wedding.
With intimate weddings on the rise in 2020 due to the social distancing restrictions in place, I’ve put together some of my favourite tips on how to make your intimate wedding perfect. From venue, decor and food, these tips can inspire new ideas and provide you with some my top tips on how to host your perfect small wedding.
Non traditional venue
A great bonus to having an intimate wedding is that you have so many more venue options than most larger weddings have. With intimate weddings you can look into more non traditional venues like museums, art galleries or even restaurants and pubs! You can even go for the unusual and unique and go for a cliff top or in a treehouse! There are so many venues you can look into for your intimate wedding and its worth taking a good look and doing your research to see if there is something different that you love!
Above 2 photos: Camilla J Hard Photography
Destination wedding
Of course you can have a destination wedding whatever sized wedding you have, but there is something extra special when your destination wedding has a intimate guest list, it feels like a holiday with all your loved ones there to celebrate with you. Having a intimate guest list can also give you access to some special venues, you may be able to hire out a villa exclusively for your wedding and have everyone stay on site and make it a week long holiday!
Change up your aisle
When planning out your ceremony, you may start to think/worry that because you have a small guest list the standard chairs in a row for your ceremony space may not work. This may be because the space is long and narrow and you would only have 3/4 rows each side leaving half the room empty. Don’t worry, there is a solution for that! You can change up your aisle and throw the rule book out the window! Flip the room on the side and have your chairs in a semi circle shape, put smaller amount of chairs in the row and put them on the diagonal, use benches and sofas instead of single chairs, use lounge furniture, wrap the chairs around the ‘alter’ there are lots of different ways you can change up your aisle! Pintrest is a great place to gain inspiration for this especially for intimate weddings!
Personal touches/Customise everything!
When you have a small guest list, the personal touches mean everything! Go all out with the place cards, hire a calligrapher and get your guests names written on something special that they can keep and treasure, such as a gem stone slice, engraved on a candle or mini bottles of champagne. Your guests will appreciate it. If you have all your guests staying on site or at the same accommodation near buy why not provide them with personalised welcome packs that could include personalised eye masks or pillow cases. It will be a talking point and something your guests will be able to share with you as a memory of your special day.
Food trucks
If a formal sit down meal dosent seem right for your intimate wedding, set up a food truck station of all your favourite food. You don’t need to have loads but maybe one savoury and one sweet. You can get almost any foods you would want in a food truck these days and they are a great way to cater to your guests in a more informal way.
Skip what's not important
Its your day, its your wedding so do what you want to do! If you don’t want to do the ‘traditional’ items such as cake cutting, first dance, speeches etc don’t do them! If you don’t want to send formal invitations and would prefer to spend your money on something better for the wedding feel free to send email invites, there are plenty of places online that offer beautiful email invitations that you can choose from. Don’t feel like you need to follow the crowd and do certain things because its a wedding, you do you!
Splurge wisely
By having a smaller guest list your budget will go further, so make sure you spend it wisely. I would always suggest investing in a fantastic photographer, someone who is able to make you and your guests feel comfortable and will capture all the emotion of your wedding. These photos will be the memories of your day so make sure you do your research.
Another great thing to invest in for your wedding is the food and wine you are going to provide for your wedding breakfast, if you are having a sit down meal get a great caterer who can provide 5 star food and wine and treat yourself and your guests. Or go all out and do a 7 course menu and make it more of an experience. With a small group you are able to personalise every detail of the menu and make your guests feel super special.
Make your venue feel intimate
If you have fallen in love with a larger space for your wedding but don’t know how it would work for your smaller guest list, speak to the venue and see what you are allowed to do decor wise but also speak to a production and decor company who would be able to transform the space into your perfect intimate wedding. They may be able to drape the walls and add some warm up- lighters and creating an entirely new space perfect for your small wedding.
Family style
Family style dining is a great way to make your wedding breakfast more casual if you don’t want to have the traditional sit down meal. You can get your caterer to provide platters of different foods and desserts and make it more about the company at the table than the food. This is a great idea for intimate weddings and can work really well for those who don’t want to have a formal meal.
Bless Photography
Lounge area.
Creating a lounge area for your guests to chill out, while also looking beautiful is a great idea for you intimate wedding, allowing your guests to be more comfortable in the evening. Decorate this area with festoon lighting, sofas, armchairs, cushions and a small tables to fit in with your theme. This gives your guests an area to relax and enjoy the evening.
If you would like some help with your intimate wedding celebration, whether you need assistance with the planning or gaining ideas and inspiration. Feel free to drop me an email and lets chat!
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