3 Small Wedding Ideas to Keep Things Intimate
Looking to have a small, intimate wedding? These ideas will get you off to a great start!
The size of a wedding isn’t what makes it a special day. Sometimes the most beautiful and unforgettable weddings are witnessed by just a few people. If you’re looking to keep your wedding smaller, you’re bound to reap a number of benefits.
If you’re on a tighter budget, an intimate wedding can be a great way to save money and make amazing memories. If you are going a more non-traditional route, intimate weddings are a great alternative to the traditional wedding setup. Don’t be afraid to embrace your love for adventure and defying expectations as a couple! There’s nothing more special than doing marriage the way you and your spouse have always dreamed.
If you’re not sure where to start with planning a small wedding, take a look at these five ideas. You’re bound to get inspired.
1. Love Hiking? Have a Hiking Elopement!
If you and your partner love the outdoors and are looking to have a truly adventurous wedding, consider opting for a hiking elopement. These unique elopements are often just the couple and a photographer – sometimes the photographer even officiates the wedding!
Going on a hiking elopement is a great idea if you want to have a truly personal and intimate experience getting married. The awe and wonder of being on the top of a beautiful mountain peak makes for an unforgettable marriage ceremony.
If you are looking to have a bigger wedding party, you can have a group hiking elopement, where friends and family join you for the expedition. This lets you and your partner share the experience with your loved ones.
When planning a hiking elopement, there are so many destinations to choose from. Professional wedding photographers who offer hiking elopements often pick mountains for the couples they shoot for. However, if you and your partner have special memories from a certain hike, this is a fantastic destination of choice for your elopement!
Your wedding photographer can help you iron out the details of the hiking elopement – they’ll come prepared with everything you need. Many wedding photographers carry hiking elopement kits with them that allow the couple to easily change from hiking clothes into wedding attire, even in the woods!
If you choose a hiking elopement for your intimate wedding, you’re in for the adventure of a lifetime. Taking a hike with your partner is a fantastic way to celebrate spending forever together.
2. Get Hitched in the Backyard
Nothing beats hanging out with your best friends and family at home – so why not have a backyard wedding? This is an entirely different kind of adventure, one that truly defies tradition. It also cuts the cost of a venue, giving you a chance to invest in a great at-home party with your closest people. With a backyard wedding, the things that matter most are at the center – friends, family, home, and making great memories.
If you don’t have the biggest backyard in the world, have no fear. You can always ask friends or family with a larger space to host. This still is much, much cheaper than opting for a venue – if you have generous friends, it might even be free!
With a backyard wedding, you can still hire caterers, or you can have a potluck where each guest brings a dish to share. This will make for a memorable dinner without a doubt. When guests provide the food, there’s a sense of comradery that comes from enjoying the meal together. A potluck meal is a team effort, which serves as a reminder of how big a role the community plays in each couple’s story.
When you are planning a backyard wedding, remember that keeping things intimate will be the easy part. Now, it’s up to you to throw a great party in a small space. Without a venue, things can be a little tricky when it comes to organization, but that’s just part of the adventure.
You can decorate the backyard with string lights, set up picnic tables and folding chairs, and even build an altar. Ultimately, what matters most is that you and your partner have a great time in a comfortable and stress-free setting. Because, of course, weddings should be fun, not stressful!
3. Have an Intimate Destination Wedding
Maybe hiking isn’t you and your partner’s speed. Maybe going on vacation with your closest friends and family and getting married at a dream destination sounds more appealing. If so, have an intimate destination wedding!
If traveling in style is more your thing, you and your best friends and family members can drive or fly to a beach, national park, or other favorite location for a small and intimate wedding. Normally, destination weddings are large and costly undertakings, but with only a few guests, even traveling to get married can be done on a budget.
When trying to keep things small (and affordable), traveling somewhere by car is a great idea. If budget isn’t an issue, traveling by plane, even out of the country, is an incredible adventure.
Preparing for an intimate wedding still involves a great deal of planning and organizing. However, with fewer guests, making arrangements is much easier. This leaves you with more mental energy and budget to plan a trip for your wedding. Whether you travel by plane, car, boat or train, an intimate destination wedding is bound to be an unforgettable start to marriage.
Final Thoughts
Whatever option you go with, intimate weddings are a unique and special alternative to the classic wedding setup. They focus more on the couple, the guests and the celebration than on formalities and traditions. If this sounds appealing to you and your partner, don’t be afraid to go for it!
At Paint Your Life, we believe love is beautiful, powerful, and worth celebrating. We want to share in your celebration with you! If you are having an intimate wedding, you will likely save a pretty penny and have a good part of your budget left over to give your partner a wedding gift! If so, consider giving the gift of one of your wedding photos turned into art!
Whether you hire a professional wedding photographer or just take a cute selfie as a couple, the talented artists at Paint Your Life are ready and willing to immortalize your special moment. Giving the gift of special, personal art is a fantastic way to show love to your partner and celebrate sharing life together.
If you still aren’t sure where to start with planning your intimate wedding, don’t worry! There is lots to be excited about when preparing for marriage, and sometimes the details can be a little overwhelming. What is most important is enjoying time with your partner and sharing the joy of being in love. The details come in second place.
Ultimately, this is what makes small, intimate weddings so special – they focus on love. Love is what marriage is all about, and when we gather to celebrate marriage, sometimes things get a little out of hand. With venue costs, hiring a DJ, inviting lots and lots of people, and more, things can get stressful easily.
Instead of falling into the stress, just enjoy the ride. If you decide to have a small wedding, the pressure is off, and you can spend more time with loved ones on your special day. So have fun planning and enjoy keeping things small!
Sources:
https://youradventurewedding.com/2019/02/16/hiking-elopements-a-badass-way-to-get-married/
https://travel.usnews.com/features/10-unexpected-wallet-friendly-destination-wedding-ideas
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