There is no one definition of a micro-wedding.
For a bride expecting a 250-person wedding, the idea of a micro-wedding could be 40 guests. For other couples that want to keep it simple and dislike being the center of attention, that could mean 2 guests.
I’d rather not pay for everyone’s second cousins to get drunk and dance the Macarena.
You can choose a micro-wedding with just parents and siblings or even just friends. The point is that YOU choose with whom to celebrate the joining your life with your partner. You and your partner are the ones with the right to choose who is present for one of the most important days of your life.
The Eloping is Fun Micro-weddings Manifesto
Micro-weddings have been gaining popularity even before pandemic – a lot of our clients choose a destination wedding in NYC with friends and family and now a lot of locals (NYC in da house baby!!!) are rethinking big weddings and using this time to focus on what is most important.
When planning a micro-wedding there are more things to consider than when you are planning an elopement, but far less than a traditional wedding. First step is creating a vision for your day, deciding on a realistic budget, creating a list of “Must Haves” from top to bottom and working through the list until you manifest your perfect micro-wedding. The sky is the limit. Just because you are having a super small Micro-Wedding doesn’t mean you cannot book a venue!!! There are many awesome venue spaces in NYC that post-COVID that are quite flexible!
Now time for my most important tip of ALL TIME unless you do production for a living, hire a professional to help you. Please!
Your wedding should be fun and stress-free and your only job that day should be to enjoy!
Many micro-weddings do not follow the traditional formula of “you are cordially invited to the _______ venue at 5pm on Saturday June _____…” where your guests will be met by maitre d’s and canapés and champagne and escorted to their ceremony seat.
ALSO: Just because you are micro-wedding-ing, does not mean it has to be a pared-down affair. Maybe you DO want that flower arch on the waterfront, overlooking the New York City skyline. Or a fleet of SUVs for your guests so that they are not texting you 5 minutes before the ceremony asking where it is.
One of the big reasons that I love micro-weddings is because it gives you so much freedom. I mean, you can’t get married on the Brooklyn Bridge with 200 guests, but you can with 10!
Is it important to know what to expect with a micro-wedding. Even if there are only 5 guests, there needs to be airtight logistics: you are hosting an event and all your guests need to be aware of the plan.
Micro-wedding Planning Tips
Here are some of my top Micro-wedding planning tips. This process will be different for each person’s needs and budget.
1. Know when people arrive.
People are always late. On my wedding day my husband’s Grandma was 20 minutes late. She would have been upset if we started without her and it would have been awkward to see her walking in halfway through our tiny ceremony. Luckily, being a wedding guru, I took the initiative and had constant communication between myself and someone at the ceremony site so that I could make my entrance at the perfect time.
2. Tell people to arrive earlier than you plan.
Solution from the EiF playbook: if your ceremony is at 530, tell your guests that it’s at 5. People need time to arrive and get situated. With our micro-wedding planning service, we always have contact with your officiant – and therefore, your guests – at the ceremony site.
3. Have someone in charge.
Law of physics states that the larger the group, the greater the inertia. OK, ceremony is over. Now what? Where are we going? How do we get there? After your ceremony is a time for joy, hugs and best wishes. It’s a sweet energy. But once that’s over, everyone will start to look for a leader to give direction.
4. Work with a planning professional!
Micro-weddings need diligent and comprehensive planning. Working with a professional to pre-visualize the day is vital for a smooth and fun event for everyone. At Eloping is Fun, we create a run of show for you and encourage you to print this out for your guests. I even have a list of supercool Etsy artists who can transform the event schedule into a super cute card and keepsake that will include everything necessary: times, directions, modes of transport and contact info.
5. Budget wisely.
Of course you’ll want to keep the party going with your nearest and dearest that made your very curated A-List. There’s an old wedding adage – whatever your budget is, add 20%. Its not a hard and fast rule, but as you move along the planning process, there will be extra things that you may choose to invest in. I tell people to budget an average of $250 per person for a micro-wedding in NYC for food, drink, transport and extras.
Of course you could decide on a catered Central Park picnic, which we can arrange for around $100 per person with all supplies and cleanup, but pick a budget at the start of the process and then share it with your wedding professional so they can work with you to decide on a final budget.
I hope this post enlightened you to the process of planning a micro-wedding and I hope it opened up the horizons of what is possible.
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Meet Jenny
I am Jenny & I started Eloping is Fun with an incredible team of women planning and documenting elopements for people who want equal parts style & fun!
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