Planning A Backyard Wedding Or Micro
Now is a great time to have a backyard wedding and celebrate with a romantic evening under the stars. Create memories that last a lifetime by hosting an event with elegant décor and a custom menu while surrounded by those nearest and dearest to you.
Backyard weddings have always existed as an alternative to the more lavish affairs, but right now theres a growing demand for these intimate, micro weddings.
Expert Tips On Planning A Micro Wedding
Planning a micro wedding during Covid-19? Here are the expert tips you need to know to host a safe and memorable celebration.
A micro wedding, with a guest count of up to 50 people, is a popular choice for couples these days. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the concept was starting to gain traction. Why, you ask? There are a few reasons for this emerging wedding trend including the desire for a more intimate and personalized wedding experience, the need for a more budget-friendly option, and, the interest in a simpler, less time-consuming planning processmore guests means more time and money.
With the pandemic putting a limit on both guest counts and travel, a micro wedding has become the only choice for many couples deciding to tie the knot in 2020 and 2021. Even if it’s not what you’d imagined for your big day, a micro wedding can be fabulousthink quality over quantity. We reached out to a variety of wedding vendors across Canada to get their top tips for planning a small soiree.
How To Make A Micro Wedding Special
Here are a few ideas to personalize your wedding day and maybe do a few things that would be difficult with a larger number of guests:
- A group photo with a smaller amount of guests, it will be easy to have your photographer take a few group shots of everyone in attendance. This is typically not possible on a wedding day with lots of people.
- Food favorites Since you will be feeding such a small group of people, you can get a lot more creative with the menu. Come up with something that fits you and your partner .
- Custom music playlist Reach out to your guests and find out their favorite songs. Add them to your music playlist or ask your band if they can play some of them.
- Food trucks We have seen food trucks at large weddings and they can cause a bit of chaos. They sound like a good idea, but when you have 120-150 people lining up for an ice cream truck, it can really empty the dance floor and take up a lot of time. With a micro wedding, adding an awesome food truck to the schedule is not only possible, but its also easy and stress-free.
- Toasts Having a micro wedding means that the people in attendance will all be close family and the best of friends. More people can stand up and give a fun story about the couple or offer some nice words.
- Favors With fewer guests, you can get a little more creative with your favors. People love food favors. Consider finding some local food/drink favorites and hand those out to guests
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What Is A Microwedding
You can think of a microwedding as a miniature, scaled-down version of any regular-sized wedding. The main difference is the guest count: microweddings generally have 30 or fewer guests , while the average guest count for other weddings is 131 people, according to a WeddingWire study. Everything else is pretty much the sameyou still have a complete vendor team, get dressed up for the occasion, and incorporate basic wedding traditions, such as speeches and a sit-down meal.
Its important to note that microweddings and elopements are two very different things, even though theyre generally lumped together, especially since both have increased in popularity during the pandemic. An elopement is much more impromptuthere are usually only a couple of guests in attendance , and there isnt as much emphasis on decor or wedding formalities.
Create A Personal Experience For Your Guests
While youre thinking about adding those meaningful touches, do so for your guests, too. Write handwritten notes to every guest to place at their seat, says Meyer. Or consider hand-painting each invitation instead of having them printed. Its much easier to add those really special touches for 12 people than it is for 200! And since youve gone through the trouble of narrowing your guest list down so far, youre guaranteed to have a super-close connection to every guest, making those little touches all the more meaningful.
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Switch Up Cocktail Hour
One of the most popular times for mingling is during cocktail hour. For micro weddings, that tradition may be switched up a bit, but that certainly doesnt mean its a practice of the past. People arent necessarily changing the style of the party theyre having, says Jeffrey Selden, managing partner of . Theyre being more thoughtful of the style of service and adapting to a new way of service.
According to Selden, continuing to pass hors d’oeuvres is still an option, especially for those who want a reception thats a bit more casual, rather than a seated dinner. For that style of service, weve been doing mini appetizers that are individually plated and passed on large trays. Theyre items that are easy to eat, with no knives required, he says.
Items that are intentionally crafted to be left at room temperature have become very popular, as well as items that are one bite and can be served on a single dish or skewer. Consider things that are self-contained, says Hester Parks, owner of Park Avenue Events. Items such as an antipasto skewer, chicken skewers, and sesame chicken in wonton cups are all great options.
If you do prefer to have an appetizer buffet station, spread out multiple stations around your venue with the same offerings. With this setup, Parks suggests assigning four or five guests to have their own station. Each station should then have a dedicated server behind plexiglass, she says.
Micro Wedding At Home In Santa Fe New Mexico
This couple purchased a home in Santa Fe but still lived in New York, where they both work. When the pandemic hit, a month after they became engaged, these two moved into their Santa Fe home to get away from the big crowds.
While there, they decided an elopement would be the best option for them. They explored their gorgeous property, and watched the sunset from a hill by their driveway!
If youre looking for a micro wedding idea, then consider having an at-home elopement. This couple had their wedding at their adobe-style home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
When their photographer asked what they would have done if there wasnt a pandemic, these two shrugged and said they probably would have eloped anyway!
A lot of couples arent big traditional wedding people. Some couples love the idea of celebrating with their family and friends, but not with the additional bells and whistles.
Vendors:
Photography | Wild Coast Photography
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Micro Wedding Ideas For Spring
25. Tie bunches of dried lavender to ceremony chairs with sides facing the aisle way for fragrant ceremony decor.
26. Consider an Easter egg hunt for children and adults as part of your reception activities if you plan to host an afternoon reception.
27. Serve individual berry pies in mini mason jars.
Hire A Wedding Tent Specialist
“When it comes to renting a wedding tent, you are creating a venue from the ground up,” adds Kaitlyn. “The most important advice I have for couples planning a micro wedding, or any wedding for that matter, is to hire an expert team. Work with a company that specializes in tents. With so many logistical factors, dont leave your wedding to chance with someone who lacks experience.” She also reminds couples to consider portable toilets, flooring and creative lighting options for their wedding tent.
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Consider Food Delivery For Virtual Guests
If youre opting for a micro wedding because you had to reimagine your big day, chances are, there are a few people that were taken off the guest list. Make their experience just as special as they join in the celebration virtually. Selden suggests the option of a home party box. Its such a great way to make everyone feel included, he says. Check with your caterer on the possibility of putting together boxes to deliver to your guests at home that might include a bottled signature cocktail, a mini bottle of Champagne, snacks, or a selection of mini desserts.
Curate Your Dream Theme Or Aesthetic
Don’t stress over picking and sticking to an exact theme. Instead, consider what will best represent you and your partner. “Lean into who you are as a couple, your style, personality, and love story,” Meyer says. “Your wedding should look like you, smell like you, and taste like you. It should be a collection of your favorite people, foods, colors, drinks, and music.”
To figure out what your wedding should look like, Frischkorn suggests that couples look through their closets and furniture at home. Do you and your partner have a favorite cozy blanket that you love to snuggle up in? Or maybe a jewel toned velvet couch that most defines your shared style? “Use your personal aesthetic combined with the feel of the venue as you start designing the wedding to make it feel most fitting and authentic,” Frischkorn says. “This is often much more successful than selecting a ‘theme’ because you like the idea of it.” If you aren’t settled into your dream home or that dream closet isn’t quite there yet, don’t worry. Use this imagination exercise to create that dream vision for your wedding aesthetic.
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Micro Wedding Vs Elopement
We know that, at some point in the wedding planning process, most couples joke about just eloping instead. We get it! A wedding can be stressful and expensive.
Instead of cutting out the whole celebration, a micro wedding is a perfect compromise.
Eloping is intimate, but its also private and often secretive. Its usually the exchanging of vows with just one or two witnesses present. Its often spontaneous and scaled back. It can happen at your local courthouse, the top of a volcano, or on a boat at sea.
A micro wedding, on the other hand, is a celebration with a smaller guest count. It is a planned small wedding event that combines some of the benefits of eloping with a joyful reception.
Both options can be budget-friendly and beautiful examples of celebrating love. Its up to you whether youd prefer some of the traditions of a full wedding or a spontaneous, scaled-down elopement package.
Throw An Intimate Experience
Lizzie Randazzo / Lizzie + Marco Photography
In total, make your wedding special and lean into the guest experience instead of fretting about it. “Embrace your intimate wedding as your reality,” says Couick. “It’s not a ‘second best’ to the big wedding you can’t have.” Instead, receive everything from the catering options to the entertainment as a gift each guest is delightfully waiting to unwrap.
Finally, a word of caution if you’re pivoting your wedding to be a microwedding during COVID-19: “Be kind and realistic in what you are asking your guests, vendors and closest friends and family to do,” Couick notes. “Requiring your entire wedding party to quarantine for two weeks after having to travel for your wedding may feel reasonable to you on your wedding day. However, would you really sacrifice a month for anyone to do that?” Be open to options suggested by your chosen vendors because they will create a vision with you, one that you will certainly embrace, even if it’s not the original plan you had in mind. The basics for how to throw a microwedding are truly simple as long as you put your loved ones at the forefront of the day.
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Cons Of A Micro Wedding
- Can be expensive The details can get away from you and your budget if you opt for luxurious items.
- Limited guests Cutting down your guest list may bring some heartache. If you cannot fathom leaving out your cousins, best friends from school, or work husbands and wives from your big day, a micro wedding may not be possible.
- Bucks tradition Honestly, this could be a con or pro, depending on your view. A micro wedding is an unconventional choice. If youre a traditional gal with dreams of a big wedding, this isnt the celebration for you.
Who Pays For The Brides Wedding Dress
Traditionally, the bride and her family are responsible for paying for all wedding planning expenses, the brides attire, all floral arrangements, transportation on the wedding day, photo and video fees, travel and lodgings for the officiant if he comes from out of town, lodging for the bridesmaids (if you have offered
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The Rules For Backyard Weddings In Ontario
The Government of Ontario has outlined some rules that need to be followed if youre planning on having an outdoor wedding, including:
1. The persons conducting the wedding must ensure that no more than 50 people are in attendance.
2. All persons attending the gathering must remain at least two metres apart from each other and from persons conducting the wedding, unless they are members of the same household.
3. The persons conducting the wedding must ensure that it is conducted in compliance with the advice, recommendations and instructions from public health officials.
4. The persons conducting the wedding must ensure that any washrooms that have been made available to persons attending the gathering are cleaned and disinfected as frequently as is necessary to maintain a sanitary environment.
*Please note that these rules are constantly changing and may have been updated from the time this post was published.
Hosting a backyard wedding has a number of benefits compared its larger scale counterpart.
The Full Backyard Wedding Experience
Having a micro wedding doesnt mean youre having a boring wedding. Backyard weddings let you have a smaller, more intimate celebration without sacrificing any of the beauty or entertainment.
When you plan a backyard wedding, you can still include everything that makes a wedding special, such as:
- Wedding Invitations
- Décor and Tableware Rentals
No matter what your vision, if youre planning a backyard wedding or micro wedding, were here to make sure its executed flawlessly with a custom menu that fits your needs.
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