The Year of the Intimate Wedding
With gathering restrictions in place around the world, it’s time to think about pivoting to smaller weddings. Many engaged couples have guest lists upwards of two hundred people. Options at the moment for large weddings are pretty much this: postpone or cancel.
If you don’t want to change your wedding date, or want to plan your wedding during this black swan event that is the Covid-19 global pandemic, I suggest that couples choose to have an intimate wedding.
In over twenty years of wedding planning, I have to admit, some of the smallest wedding have been my favorite. Why? It’s because an intimate wedding gets to the heart of why you are having a wedding in the first place, joining two lives together. An intimate wedding tends to shine a spotlight on that concept beautifully.
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s no one that loves a big splashy celebration of love more than me, but as I outline in my online wedding planning workshop, it’s important to keep your focus as you plan a wedding, and that focus should be on each other as a couple.
There are so many ways to make your intimate wedding as special and as unique as a large wedding. Here are just a few ideas:
- Pick an intimate setting, an aspen grove, a botanic park, a stand of trees, a cozy porch, drifting along in a rowboat or canoe or in front of a roaring fire indoors or outside.
- In some states, like Colorado, you can marry yourself to your partner, no officiant needed, so it can be especially intimate with just the two of you.
- Consider holding the ceremony and reception outside (with a back up space inside) to help with social distancing rules.
- Write and read your vows out loud to each other.
- Take your time. An intimate wedding allows you to flow through the ceremony and reception at your own pace, without the formality of a larger event.
- Include photos of loved ones in your ceremony decor.
- Plan for a monitor so that you can invite virtual guests.
- Coordinate your attire, match the brides shoes with the grooms socks, wear extra fun shoes!
- Plan for the special touches that will make your wedding unique to you.
- Include furry friends.
- Order an incredible bouquet, find the perfect dress, hire a musician to serenade you, perhaps an acoustic guitar, or a string duet of a violin and cello.
Finally, having an intimate wedding now and then planning a larger reception or celebration later can give you the flexibility to have your (wedding) cake and eat it too!
If you need help navigating your wedding plans please feel free to reach out anytime!
jill@themaineventcolorado.com
303-570-6570
