Everything a Bride Needs to Know About a Micro Wedding

Time to start planning your wedding, but the term micro wedding keeps popping up at every turn! Just what is a micro wedding, and is it for you, especially during the pandemic era? Well, stay calm and continue planning 🙂. I am going to share with you everything you need to know about micro weddings. Then you can make the decision of whether or not it is for you.

What Exactly is a Micro Wedding?

A micro wedding is a tiny or a small wedding with 50 or fewer guests! Wow! I just blew your mind 🤫. I bet you were expecting some grand explanation? Nope, a micro wedding is just a tiny wedding. However, during this pandemic, the micro wedding has become more popular as couples choose, or I should say, forced to have smaller weddings. Think of a micro wedding as a downsize wedding! You can still have all the aspects of a big wedding with just your closest love ones.

Micro Wedding Before COVID-19

Micro or tiny weddings trend has been around for a long time, though not as popular as big weddings. You had probably heard of or been to a micro wedding before but didn’t recognize it as such. This is because micro weddings are sometimes referred to as nano weddings, minimony, elopement, backyard wedding, or more lately, COVID wedding or pandemic wedding.

Long before this pandemic, couples were choosing to have a small wedding for various reasons. One of those reasons is cost. According to WeddingWire, the average cost of a wedding in Miami is $30,800. For a fraction of this cost, engaged couples can have an intimate wedding at a beautiful location with all traditional wedding features.

So, you can see why some brides may want to have a micro wedding instead of a big wedding with lots of guests. The money saved from having a micro wedding could be used for a down payment on a house, purchase a new car, or go all out on your honeymoon. For some couples, though, having a wedding with 50 or fewer guests is liking have a wedding on Mars – not going to happen regardless of the savings.

COVID-19 & Micro Weddings

Yes, we have seen a sharp increase in tiny weddings! As a result of COVID-19, many brides whose weddings were already scheduled to happen during this pandemic is forced to postpone, cancel, or have a micro wedding. Engaged couples who thought of having a big wedding are now opting for a small intimate experience with a grand celebration to follow.

A COVID-19 micro wedding is a micro wedding with a COVID risk-based approach to reduce everyone’s risk of contracting the COVID virus. When having a COVID-19 micro wedding, consider the following:

1. You must check the maximum attendants for an event gathering in the area you plan to have your wedding. The size of the crowd can differ from county to county and city to city. You don’t want to have a micro wedding for 50 guests and then have it shut down by the authorities because only 25 guests are authorized. In general, if your micro wedding is at an established venue, they will have a handle on this and keep you informed about the requirements.
2. Plan on implementing COVID-19 prevention actions such as social distancing, hand washing, mouth and nose covering, cleaning and disinfecting, etc.
3. Consider performing temperature checks on all guests before they enter your wedding spaces. If someone’s temperature is above average, they should not be allowed to attend your wedding.
4. If you have older love ones such as grandparents, you may want to consider leaving them off the quests list. The same goes for anyone with compromised health such as cancer, diabetes, heart surgery, etc.
5. Brief guests about precautions before the wedding starts – during the event, remind guests of these precautions and ensure they are followed.
6. Choose outdoor venues over indoor spaces – if indoors, ensure the area is well-ventilated.
7. Minimize crowding by staggering arrivals and departures, numbering entries, designating seats/places, and marking the floor to ensure physical distancing between people of at least one meter.
8. Provide all necessary supplies – hand hygiene stations, hand sanitizer or soap and water, tissues, closed-lid bins, distance markers, masks.

The Essentials

I have photographed well over 200 weddings across the country, and what I have learned is that no two weddings are the same. Still, whether you have a 400 guests wedding or a micro wedding, there are some things that you just have to have. Here are four things that I think you should not skip for your micro wedding:

Professional Photographer – my recommendations here might be just a teeny tiny bit bias but just bear with me for a moment. Why would you hire a professional photographer for a big wedding? The answer – to beautifully capture all the sweetest moments on your wedding day, and to preserve those precious moments so that you will have them for the rest of your life.

You get one shot at your wedding day experience. A professional wedding photographer will allow you to relive your wedding day experience over and over for generations to come. Therefore, why would you skip having a professional wedding photographer at your micro wedding? Are you telling me that because your wedding is so small, it is not worth remembering?

Trust me on this one! Hire a professional wedding photographer (I know one too 😎 ) for your small wedding. You will not regret it.

Wedding Dress – having a micro wedding is no excuse to dismiss wearing a beautiful dress that you absolutely love. Like I said before, your wedding is a once in a lifetime experience. Why would you not want to wear a beautiful dress that makes you feel fabulous? Furthermore, if you are going to hire a professional photographer, give them something beautiful to photograph. Even if you were eloping with just the two of you, the officiant and a witness, I would still recommend wearing a stunning dress that you absolutely love.

Bouquet – is an extension of your dress. I don’t know about other photographers. For me, there is something special about a bride with a bouquet. The bouquet completes your dress, and regardless of whether you are having a big wedding or a small one, get a bouquet. Personally, I prefer big bouquets that make a statement. However, the size and arrangement should complement your dress and your wedding theme or style.

Gorgeous Venue – not just any plain old venue, a magnificent venue that speaks to you is a must. Don’t cheap out on this because you are having a small wedding. The venue will be the backdrop in most of your photos, and a cluttered and unkept venue will make your photos look bad. 

What’s the use of getting all dressed up and hiring a professional photographer to take photos of you in an ugly place. I don’t mean to be so blunt here, but I have seen it happen too many times. If your tiny wedding is in a backyard, make sure that it is photogenic. If it is not, some things can be done to make it look gorgeous. Talk to a planner about styling and decorating your back yard.

Finally, I think I have covered just about everything a bride needs to know about micro weddings. If you have questions about micro weddings not covered in this post, go ahead and ask me. Really I don’t mind – I want you to have the wedding of your dreams regardless of how big or small it will be.

Have questions? Let’s connect here.

If you like this post, you may also be interested in these other posts:

Wedding Vocabulary | An A to Z of Wedding Word Association 

Why I Became a Wedding Photographer!

5 Reasons to Hire a Professional Wedding Photographer

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