Micro Wedding – the intimate alternative to a big wedding celebration

A lavish buffet, 200 guests, and a castle as the venue: does a wedding always have to look like this? The answer is clear: no, because your dream wedding can also be a so-called micro wedding. This is an intimate wedding celebration where 30 guests or fewer are invited.

Is a micro wedding an alternative to a traditional wedding? Micro weddings are an excellent alternative to the traditional large wedding. They score points with an intimate atmosphere and focus more on quality than quantity. Since a maximum of 30 guests are invited, smaller venues and a lower budget are possible.

Micro weddings are among the most important wedding trends of recent years. While this was initially mainly due to COVID, many couples and wedding planners now recognize the advantages of small weddings.

Less planning and organizational effort as well as cost savings are just some of the benefits of micro weddings. However, for many, the main focus is the intimate experience that comes from spending the most important day of your life only with your closest friends and family. In this article, you’ll learn more about the micro wedding trend and how to plan one yourself.

A micro wedding is a wedding in a small circle. You may have also heard the terms small wedding, mini wedding, or tiny wedding. Typically, a maximum of 30 guests are invited. Even smaller is the elopement: this refers to a wedding ceremony with just the two of you.

But a micro wedding is much more than just a small wedding. Micro weddings are often particularly exclusive and follow a very specific style – sometimes they are even more extraordinary than “normal” weddings. The location is often the main focus: a small wedding is the perfect opportunity for a destination wedding abroad. Most importantly, with a small number of guests, a very special intimate atmosphere is created. The couple can enjoy the most important day with their loved ones and take time for each individual guest.

Before starting to plan the big day, couples face the question of how large the wedding should be. There are several reasons for a micro wedding:

• More intimacy: Fewer guests mean you can talk more with each of them. At a micro wedding, you can spend quality time with every single person, instead of just saying “hello” and “thanks for coming” to each of the 200 guests.
• Lower costs: For many, this is the most important criterion for a wedding with few guests. You need less budget for food, guest gifts, or the venue, and you don’t have to go into debt for your wedding.
• Less stress: With fewer guests, wedding planning is often easier. Preparations can be simpler, and fewer people also mean a lower risk of unforeseen situations.
• Individuality and exclusivity: Since you have more financial leeway with a micro wedding, you have to make fewer compromises. Quality over quantity!

By the way, the trend was already moving toward smaller weddings in 2018: according to the Association of Independent Wedding Planners, the average number of guests back then was 40 to 70 people.

A wedding couple told us in an interview why they chose a micro wedding:

We just didn’t want to make our wedding so stressful and, above all, didn’t want to spend an insane amount of money. For us, it was more important to spend quality time with our closest family and best friends – and the mini wedding was perfect for that.

Where did you get married?

We held both the ceremony and the celebration in our garden. For the decorations, we rented a pavilion and even set up a small wooden platform with a flower arch for the open-air ceremony. It was a really lovely garden party with all our loved ones.

Do you regret not having more guests at your wedding?

Absolutely not! We had all the important people close to our hearts with us and could fully focus on the emotional moments with them. And now there’s even enough money left for a really long honeymoon!

Of course, it’s a matter of personal tastehow big you want your wedding to be. A micro wedding offers several advantages over a huge celebration.

Unique atmosphere

Micro weddings often impress with a wonderful vibe. This is partly because it’s easier to create the desired atmosphere in a smaller venue. Plus, with small weddings, there’s usually more budget left for decorations, which has a big impact on the ambiance.

More flexibility with the budget

With a micro wedding, the couple has more flexibility in how they want to spend their budget. Fewer guests and a smaller venue contribute to this, among other things. Of course, anything goes: if the bride wants to wear an expensive wedding dress despite having fewer guests, that’s absolutely fine! And in the end, there’s still more money left for the honeymoon and the future.

Greater flexibility

With a micro wedding, you’re more flexiblewhen it comes to choosing the location, for example, and you have various options for decorating it. For a large conference room for 200 guests, you first need 200 chair covers, numerous flower arrangements, and more. Choosing a date is also easier, since fewer people need to be available.

Personal enjoyment

Especially when it comes to food, you have more options with a micro wedding. For example, an exclusive menu is easier to arrange with a smaller number of people – with a large guest list, it often ends up being a buffet. Small weddings also allow for unusual options, such as personal charcuterie boards.

Creative freedom and themes

With your small wedding, anything goes. You usually feel less pressure from outside regarding conventions and other people’s expectations. Everything is allowed: with or without a theme, unusual or traditional.

A micro wedding is suitable for anyonewho doesn’t feel compelled to follow the norm of a conventional large wedding. For families with many siblings on both sides, it can be difficult to keep the guest list under 30 people. But even in this case, the couple should, of course, decide for themselves what their own wedding should look like.

When it comes to designing a micro wedding there are countless options. What suits you depends on your ideas and, ultimately, on availability – after all, not everyone has a beautiful garden available for a wedding. Here you’ll find some inspiration and ideas for your micro wedding.

Boho wedding in the garden

A boho wedding in the garden is a dream for anyone who likes things relaxed. By celebrating in your own garden or at friends’ or family’s, you save yourself the stress of searching for a venue. Here are some ideas:

• Beautiful sun umbrellas, lanterns, and string lights create a romantic atmosphere.
• Wildflower decorations are a perfect fit for a boho-style garden wedding.
• As an unusual food idea or snack, picnic baskets are great – they’ll surprise your guests and create the ideal garden party vibe.

Rustic in a restaurant

For a rustic micro wedding, you can rent a side room in a restaurant or a small barn.

• Wood combined with white and green decorations creates a rustic feel.
• In finer restaurants, an upscale menu is an option – but of course, it’s not a must. Ask what’s possible and what the venue recommends.
• Mountain huts offer a particularly rustic atmosphere – and at the same time, the wedding party enjoys an incomparable view of the mountains.

Vintage wedding in retro style

If you love the vintage style, you can design your mini wedding around this theme.

• Rent a classic car to arrive at the registry office or the venue.
• Dress code: To create that special retro feeling, ask your guests to come in vintage style – including blow-dried hair, petticoats, and bright red lipstick.
• The perfect wedding gadget: an audio guestbook in the form of a rotary phone is a fitting and fun addition to a retro wedding.

Checklist for planning your micro wedding

As with any other wedding, thorough wedding planning is essential for your micro wedding. To help you keep track, here is a checklist.

General

• Set the date: Choose the date in your favorite season – ideally so that all guests can attend.
• Define must-haves: Set priorities for the things you definitely want (e.g., a specific wedding dress, location).
• Keep an overview: Create a written notebook or an Excel spreadsheet where you can keep track of everything (open and completed tasks as well as costs).

Budget planning

• Set the budget: Set the maximum budget together and divide it into categories. Our wedding cost checklist will help you with this.
• Plan a buffer: Set aside some money right from the start as a buffer for unexpected expenses.

Guest list

• Create the guest list: Consider together with your partner: Who are the most important people in your lives?
• Send invitations: Send out the invitations and ask for a prompt response.

Location

• Visit locations: Choose three dream locations and visit them. Pay special attention to the size in relation to the number of guests.
• Request your dream location: Send an inquiry to your favorite and finalize the booking.

Decoration

• Choose decorations to match the location: Match the decorations to the theme, location, and budget.
• DIY or buy: Decide what fits your budget better or what you feel like doing. Often a mix makes sense – some things can be crafted, others bought or rented.

Food and drinks

• Clarify food options: Compare your options for catering. Menu, catering, food truck, or something else?
• Don’t forget drinks: Especially for a private celebration, don’t forget about drinks. Will there be a bar, are there bartenders, or can guests serve themselves?

Wedding photography

• Professional photos are a must: Even at a micro wedding, professional photos are essential. Book a wedding photographer for the whole day or at least for a photo session.
• Book a photo booth: Photo booths provide great entertainment and at the same time create unique keepsakes from the celebration. At Fotichaschte, you’ll also find packages for small events with few guests.

Micro weddings are trending for good reason. They put the focus on what’s most important, namely the time spent together with your loved ones. Advantages such as easier wedding planning and lower financial expenses also speak in favor of a small wedding.

Many also love the greater flexibility that a micro wedding offers. You can design the wedding completely individually and don’t have to follow the often strict expectations of a traditional wedding.

Maybe a micro wedding is right for you too? Let yourself be inspired by the different options and design your dream day just the way you want it!