5 Awesome Reasons to Plan an Intimate Wedding

As a planner and a bride-to-be myself, I would be THRILLED if I could just cancel COVID and the havoc it’s wreaked on weddings everywhere. It seems unlikely that I’ll ever achieve that particular goal…So instead, I’m using my mental energy to think about any takeaways from wedding planning in the time of COVID.

Since the start of the pandemic, it became nearly impossible to safely host large gatherings and events. This was devastating to the many couples who had worked so hard and were counting down the days until their wedding. Amidst all the stress and uncertainty, a lot of couples reconsidered or delayed their “big wedding” in favor of smaller, intimate events. Some couples who got engaged during the pandemic just straight-up decided to plan for a small wedding, something they may not have considered pre-COVID.

In terms of all of the consequences of the pandemic, a shift towards smaller weddings is truly not a bad one. There are SO many pros to hosting a smaller wedding. Even before the pandemic, elopement-style weddings were growing in popularity. It’s becoming more and more common for couples to ditch a lot of the components of a traditional big wedding, and I’m here for it!

I may be a bit biased because I absolutely love intimate weddings and elopements, but bias aside, here’s 5 reasons I think small weddings are awesome.

The case for an intimate wedding

1. The ability to connect and spend more quality time with each other

With a smaller guest count, there will be less folks vying for your attention throughout the wedding. It will be easier to focus on each other and find pockets of time for yourselves when you aren’t feeling pressured to personally greet 150 guests before the evening’s over.

2. Removing a lot of the pressure and stress that comes with hosting a hundred guests

No, reducing your guest count isn’t going to magically get rid of all wedding-related stress, but it certainly helps to remove some of the pressure you might be feeling. Knowing that you’ll only be surrounded by your very nearest and dearest on your wedding day is such a comfort. You want them to have a great time of course, but you also know that they are there because they love you and support you.

3. Cultivating a sense of connection and intimacy throughout the day

By only hosting a small group of your VIP’s, you’ll be able to personally interact and have real conversations with all of your guests. (Not just making the required hello’s and goodbye’s.) Your guests will also be able to connect with each other, which can be so special when bringing different family members and friends together for the first time.

4. The freedom to host a less traditional wedding

Only hosting a small number of guests means you have more freedom to do whatever the heck you want on your wedding day. You can ditch the traditional wedding venue that you’d need to accommodate a high guest count and do something completely different. Maybe it’s an intimate ceremony on a beach, or a weekend away in a cozy mountain cabin. The options are endless.

5. Redirecting wedding funds towards the components that are most important to you

When you don’t have to feed and make arrangements for 150 humans, you’ll be able to use your wedding budget for the parts of your day that matter most to you. Maybe it’s an over-the-top floral design or providing weekend accommodations for your guests. Whatever it is, it will be more of a possibility with a reduced guest count.