Micro Weddings: The Complete Guide For Couples And Wedding Planners

Ready to learn the ins and outs of micro weddings? We’ll help you discover if a micro wedding fits you and your fiancé’s style. Prepare for some amazing micro wedding ideas that are too good to resist. 

What Is A Micro Wedding?

As the name suggests, micro weddings are all about celebrating your wedding day on a smaller scale. They typically involve no more than 50 guests. While traditional weddings average around 150 guests, micro weddings allow your big day to truly be focused on your nearest and dearest for a more intimate celebration.

The average traditional wedding costs around $33,000. Depending upon how you budget for your micro wedding, they can cost anywhere between $2,000 to $10,000. Minimizing your guest list can drastically cut down your wedding cost as you can book a smaller venue and have less plates to pay for when it comes to catering. 

Is A Micro Wedding Right for Me?

Aside from the financial pros to having a micro wedding, there are numerous other advantages to scaling down your guest list. 

Micro weddings allow you to celebrate one of the biggest moments of you and your partner’s lives with your closest friends and family who support your relationship. Your wedding day can be more intimate and special when shared with a select few. 

While you may be thinking that micro weddings are all about scaling back, they can actually be about expanding your wedding day dreams. With the money you save from your guest list, you can allocate more funds into different aspects of your celebration. 

For example, you can rent out a fancy yet intimate venue, have a more extravagant bachelor or bachelorette party, bring in live entertainment to your reception, and even get creative with your dessert table.

Micro weddings may not be for everyone, but if you’re looking for an intimate celebration with those closest to you, we’ve got the perfect micro wedding ideas that every couple should consider.

Micro Wedding Venue Ideas

When having a more intimate gathering, your possible venue options expand. There are many venues that can’t handle the 150-person guest list of an average wedding. Having a micro wedding allows you to select from almost any venue.

Micro weddings are perfect for the beach wedding you’ve been longing for. The smaller size makes your beach destination more manageable. It’s much easier to find space in the sand for a few dozen guests than a few hundred. 

Beaches are one of the top micro wedding venues out there. Tie the knot along the shore you’ve grown up visiting or plan your big day at a beach you’ve always wanted to see. 

Oftentimes, having a beach as your venue is relatively cheap. Public beaches may require a permit between $30 to $300 while private beaches or beach resorts can be rented out for a few thousand dollars. 

Let your wildest fairytale wedding dreams run wild. Head into the mountains and tie the knot at a park with a scenic view. Or get married on a city rooftop as the sun sets.

You can even rent out your favorite restaurant for a wedding that will fulfill your appetite. Many high scale restaurants have wedding or micro wedding packages that include renting out a section or the entire location as well as offering various catering options.

Bridal Party Ideas

A nice aspect about micro weddings is that it keeps your bridal party small as well. Just your closest friends and family members will be up there with you on your big day. No drama, just love. 

With having a smaller bridal party you’ll have more of an opportunity to go all out on your bachelor and bachelorette parties should you so choose.

Treat your friends and family to that trip you’ve been dreaming of in celebration of your big day. Get matching shirts, order bachelor and bachelorette merch, or customize party favors with your unique bachelorette hashtag on them. You can be as creative as you want when it comes to planning the pre-wedding celebration with your close-knit wedding party.

If nightlife is calling your name, take some time to party in Las Vegas or experience New York City. Now’s your chance to explore a city you’ve been yearning to visit. Take a break from your micro wedding planning and enjoy this trip with your closest friends. 

If you’re more so looking for an adventure, nothing says your bachelor or bachelorette party has to be conventional. Take your wedding party to Yellowstone or Yosemite and spend some time absorbing the beauty of nature out on the trails.

No matter how you choose to celebrate, having a micro wedding may expand your options, allowing you room to splurge on trips with your bridal party.

Micro Wedding Reception Ideas

If one of the reasons you’re considering going micro is for intimacy, we have plenty of micro wedding ideas to help that intimate feeling carry over into the reception as well.

Minimize Your Decor

Make your reception feel just as special and personal as your ceremony through the decor. You don’t have to decorate extravagantly to impress your guests. Many times, it’s the smaller, more personal details that truly make the difference.

Include handmade or natural decorations such as wooden signs, flower displays, and candles. Get creative with your guest book by having a dedicated section where those closest to you can write down and share their thoughts, love, and advice. If you’re having a beach wedding, you can have each guest sign a seashell and place it within a larger display.

Your reception is also the perfect location to display your wedding hashtag. Wedding hashtags are a fun way to show off you and your partner’s lifelong slogan while also being a practical way to organize your memories on social media.

Display your wedding hashtag at the reception on a welcome sign for all your guests to see. With a more intimate group attending this reception, your guests are sure to love your clever tag and get excited to use it throughout the night. 

Opt For Family Style

Above all else, micro weddings are designed to make you feel close with your guests. Emphasize this feeling of unity by seating everyone at one long table as one big family. Having a long table is a unique yet fitting addition to your intimate micro wedding theme.

When it comes to serving the meal, turn dinner into a family style affair as well. Instead of offering three standard dishes, invite your families to enjoy a buffet of different delicious options. Let your micro wedding be about the unity of two families by allowing your guests to mingle in the buffet line and return to one united table. 

Entertain Your Guests

Having a smaller, more personal wedding reception may allow for more options when it comes to entertainment. 

Receptions always revolve around music. Traditions such as the couple’s first dance, the bride’s dance with her father, and the groom’s dance with his mother are important aspects to every reception. Not to mention, silly line dances with friends and family never fail to get the party started.

While music is a must at a reception, with micro weddings you won’t have to worry about renting out a large dance floor or finding a sound system that can fill a giant room. With the money you save on scaling down the dance floor, you may want to consider investing in a live band to add an extra layer of personality to your micro wedding.

Aside from music, additional entertainment options to consider would be a photo booth for your closest guests to enjoy. Have the booth print out two sets of photos so that you and your significant other have a copy of all the memories created that night. For some added personalization, you can even make your own photo booth props to match the theme on your wedding invitations.

Photo booths are also a perfect opportunity to show off your wedding hashtag. You can put your hashtag on various signs or props for you and your guests to pose with when taking pictures. If you don’t yet have a wedding hashtag in mind, the professional writers at Wedding Hashers can help create the best wedding hashtag for you and your partner. 

Consider Unique Reception Venues

The beauty of a micro wedding is that it allows you to have your reception in unique settings that could only be possible with a smaller guest list.

Start considering non-conventional micro wedding venues such as a local cafe, an intimate theatre or concert venue, a botanical garden, or even a museum. With a smaller group size, you may be able to host your reception in a one-of-a-kind location. Contact local venues in your area to see if they can accommodate your small group of guests.

Get Creative With Dessert

With less guests, you won’t be needing a seven-tiered wedding cake. In fact, if cake isn’t your style you don’t need to have a wedding cake at all. This is your special day. Opt for whatever unique dessert you wish to serve.

Some micro wedding ideas for dessert include serving cupcakes instead. In creating a reception vibe that feels personal and intimate, cupcakes make for the perfect individualized treats. 

You could even include a toppings bar or sundae bar where guests can decorate their cupcakes, treats, and ice cream any way they choose. This unique option wouldn’t be possible at a larger wedding, but at a micro wedding with less guests around to create congestion in a dessert line, a topping bar or a dessert table can be a fun alternative.

Go Micro!

We hope these awesome micro wedding ideas have inspired your wedding planning. If you’re now considering going micro, don’t forget to look into various micro wedding packages and micro wedding venues that can truly make your big day feel unique and intimate.

Micro weddings are a great way to cut back on traditional expenses while allowing yourself to splurge in other areas that are important to you and your partner. Think outside the box when planning a micro wedding as smaller guest lists allow for more personal venue options for your ceremony and reception.

The size of your big day does not diminish the scale or celebration of your love. In fact, micro weddings can feel quite grand when you’re surrounded by the love and support of your nearest and dearest. The celebration thus becomes a more personal and intimate affair for a memory that will without a doubt last a lifetime.