As the parent of a grown child, who is also engaged to be married, our family was recently faced with cancelling a wedding planned for 100 people. Due to COVID-19, no one was able to travel, and large gatherings were prohibited. After cancelling, we all had to step back & reevaluate how to best accomplish rescheduling their event while still following guidelines and regulations.
To our surprise, a wonderful AH HA moment happened! From the initial disappointment, sprang forth a new and better plan. This post will outline how a negative became a positive, and the couple can get hitched without feeling cheated!
Current Trends
The latest trend with younger people seems to involve downsizing, minimizing, and simplifying. Whether it’s the popular tiny house concept, or camper life, or living a more nomadic lifestyle, the mindset is changing. Less stuff means less responsibility, less headache, less money, and the focus is more on “living”. When planning a wedding, this thought process can work well for many couples.
Changing your outlook may be a bit challenging at first, but the more you analyze, the more it makes sense. Our family found it best to start with a list of 5 top wants for the perfect wedding. My daughter’s list was as follows …
- Have friends & family attend
- Get married in a beautiful location
- Have a personally meaningful ceremony
- Get great photos
- Have a memorable reception to spend time with loved ones
When my daughter saw this list, she realized that she didn’t need 100 people at the wedding to accomplish the perfect ceremony! Her worries about the guest list, the flowers, reception hall, food, money, and COVID vanished! Here are some of the top benefits to sizing down to a Micro Wedding!
The Benefits of Micro Weddings or “Minimony”
- The cost is drastically lower:
Surveys show that the age old tradition of parents paying for a wedding is not happening as much any more. Many couples are faced with footing at least half of the bill, while also trying to get their married life started. Due to the cost of a large wedding, many couples try to cut the budget by doing more of the work and planning themselves. This means hiring a wedding planner is a luxury, and not necessity, which of course, means all the work must be done by the bride and groom or friends and family. As we all know, weddings are stressful in the first place, and when you compound the task of paying for it all, and putting it together, it can cause a literal meltdown. The goal of a wedding SHOULD be to have the best time of your life, and share it with your close loved ones and cherished friends. By cutting invitations to 20 ish people, this can be accomplished. - No One Feels Left Out
Do you really need 100 people to have a beautiful and meaningful wedding? What about the age old problem of reigning in the guest list? Worrying about NOT inviting people and hurting their feelings? Cutting your guest list down solves both problems, and everyone will understand if you’re only inviting close friends and family. On the other hand, they may not understand if you’ve invited 100 people, but they were not on the list. - Less Stress
It’s a no brainer that the fewer people you accommodate for an event, the less stress you’ll have. Committing your life to the perfect partner is a BIG DEAL and many brides and grooms experience stress merely due to that reality. The number of people who will be attending the event directly correlates to the stress level for the bride and groom. From the size of the space, to the number of tables & chairs, to manage caterers, wedding planners and decorations, etc. It makes my head spin just thinking of all that goes into a wedding! - Quality Time
The more people a bride and groom invite to their wedding, the less time they get to spend with each person. It could make some guests feel left out or looked over. So one solution is to schedule a private dinner in the future with them? - Fewer Things Can go Wrong
Everyone has heard stories about massive wedding fails and faux pas. They happen. But the fewer moving parts there are to executing a wedding, the lower the possibility is of something going wrong.
With all this being said, please look at the possibility of having a Micro Wedding!! The McConnell House is a perfect set up for this option! We also have a list of photographers, caterers and planners to make your tiny event perfect!