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45+ Creative Small Wedding Ideas: Venue, Decor, Gifts, And More
Planning a budget-friendly wedding with an intimate guest list? These 40+ creative small wedding ideas for venues, decor, gifts, etc. have got you covered!
In today’s fast-paced lives, most youngsters shy away from the idea of having grand nuptials with hundreds of guests in attendance. People are becoming increasingly particular about their wedding ceremony ideas going just as planned, without any compromises made to please a large number of guests. Hence, small wedding ideas are sprouting in the minds of many couples these days who are planning to get married soon.
This not only helps people take off their financial load but also makes the wedding ceremony feel more intimate and meaningful, with only close friends, family, and relatives in attendance. This also allows for the wedding party to become more liberal than formal and orthodox. By inviting fewer people, a couple can ensure that they take better care of the people who have been invited without having to spread themselves too thin. After all, it is the “couple’s” big day, and their happiness matters the most.
So if you are planning to have a small wedding, the following article minutely lays out how you can plan one, including ideas for the venue, decor, food, outfits, wedding party favors, and a lot more. But before we jump right in, let’s understand the difference between a small wedding and a micro wedding first.
Small Wedding Vs Micro Wedding
It is common for people to use the terms “small wedding” and “micro wedding” interchangeably, and quite understandably so. The major difference between the two is the size of the celebration. However, that itself can affect your wedding ceremony ideas and budget significantly.
To understand this in popular culture, we can say that Phoebe and Mike’s wedding on Friends (comprising close friends, family, and relatives) was a small wedding whereas Jake and Amy’s wedding on Brooklyn 99 (comprising just the main characters from their precinct) was a micro wedding.
Let’s understand this better and which category your wedding would fall into by referring to the following:
Small Wedding:
1. Typically has between 30 to 100 guests. This makes it more intimate than larger celebrations that usually invite hundreds of people.
2. The rituals, dinner, dance, elaborate reception, and other traditional elements of a wedding are still intact in a small wedding
3. Small weddings are considerably more expensive than micro weddings, but significantly inexpensive compared to traditional weddings.
Micro Wedding:
1. Typically has fewer than 30 guests and is a very intimate celebration. People opting for such weddings only invite their closest friends and closest family members.
2. The schedule is more streamlined and less formal in many areas. The reception is shorter, there are fewer food spreads and minimal decorations.
3. Micro weddings are the most budget-friendly option and generally take place in low-key venues.
Wedding Ceremony Ideas for an Intimate Guest List
1. Pick a Cozy Venue
Venues are among the biggest expenses for a wedding. Hence, to reduce costs and have a small wedding ceremony, it is a great idea to opt for a budget-friendly venue. This is different from booking a banquet as you can have the wedding in a large backyard, at a public park, on a beach, or in many other different places (more on that below).
2. Keep the Decor Simple
Go for minimalistic wedding decor ideas to trim the fat from your wedding budget. Instead of reaching out to professional decorators, you can take up the responsibility of decorating the venue with the help of your friends and family. You can pick out affordable, but eclectic artifacts from local handicrafts fairs, stores, or even from Amazon or eBay.
For the stage backdrop, right behind where your wedding will be officiated, you can place a metal frame and decorate it with flowers, ferns, ribbons, translucent curtains, fairy lights, etc.
3. Collaborate with Local Vendors And Artisans
For caterers, decorators (if opting for it), photographers, videographers, DJ and sound technicians, stylists, hair and makeup artists, furniture rentals, etc., do some groundwork and collaborate with local vendors. These vendors would provide you with the wedding essentials at a way cheaper cost than seasoned wedding planners and high-end vendors.
4. Cut Back on Music Costs
Instead of hiring someone to perform live music at the wedding, you can keep an open stage with a karaoke machine and encourage your talented friends and family members to participate. Or, you can simply invest in a vinyl record player and play your favorite instrumentals that you’ve been curating for months to fill the atmosphere with celebratory vibes.
5. Find Affordable Catering
Now, compromising on the quality and taste of food is the last thing we’d expect or ask you to do, even if it is a budget-friendly, intimate wedding ceremony. However, there are other ways to cut down costs in catering as well as the wedding cake.
Considering there are fewer people at the wedding, you can plan champagne and appetizer plates with limited servings for each guest. If you have less than 30 guests, you can cut costs on an elaborate buffet and hire two waiters to serve À la carte.
You can ask your guests to RSVP their food preferences and dietary restrictions to finalize a menu that works for everyone, without paying for any excesses. By accounting these factors and prioritizing the favorite foods of your guests, you can trim the fat from your wedding budget.
6. Have a Short, Simple Ceremony
In some cultures, wedding ceremonies are quite long and elaborate, thereby demanding a lot of time and resources — not to mention, the added cost for the venue. This can increase the overall budget you may have for the wedding.
Hence, it is best to have a simple but memorable ceremony, wherein you can say your vows, have your close friends and relatives make a toast, have a hearty dance with everyone on the floor, and so on.
7. Plan a Wedding During the Weekday
Sometimes, more than the amenities that your event planner or venue organizer offers, the day of the week or the time of the month influences the budget for your wedding. To prevent this, see if you can plan the wedding on a weekday to get a better deal.
This would also help you cut down on the guest list as distant relatives, coworkers, and acquaintances may not be able to find time from their schedule to make it to the wedding. However, ensure that the day you fix your wedding does not affect the schedule of your close friends and relatives.
8. Curate Sweet And Thoughtful Favors for Guests
When the guest list is short and intimate, you likely know every person attending the wedding quite well. Hence, curating personalized handwritten notes is a great idea for wedding favors, as a sweet way of thanking them for their attendance. Of course, the notes are not the only wedding favors, but a complimentary gesture to go with the gifts (read about the gift ideas below).
9. Write Your Own Vows
For many people, it is very normal to say traditional vows at their wedding for religious reasons, especially if their wedding ceremony is a big, formal event. However, when having a small intimate wedding, it is a good idea to write your own vows for your future spouse.
You can get as creative as you like when doing this. For example, if you’re great with words, you can make your vows rhyme like a poem. If you’re a little musical, it’ll be lovely if you can sing your vows while strumming your guitar. You can even coin some sweet anecdotes with your partner in the vows or write the vows using catchphrases your partner uses a lot.
This would make your vows wholesome and your family and close friends in attendance will match the vibe.
10. Rent Your Tux/Wedding Gown
The wedding outfit is another big expense that the bride and groom must look into. It is understandable that everyone wants to look their best on their big day, and rightly so. However, before spending a fortune on the outfit alone, one should pause a moment and consider whether they’ll ever wear it again. In most cases, the answer would be no.
Hence, instead of buying a wedding dress or tuxedo, you can jot down the style and color you’re looking for, and then rent an outfit that matches the criteria. Now, this cannot be an end-moment decision as many rentals have limited inventory. So, start looking into different rentals in your locality, compare their styles and prices, and make a booking at least 6 months prior to the wedding.
If you’re opting for renting, ensure you get the outfit dry-cleaned much prior to the wedding day. You can rent your jewelry, too.
11. Digital Invitations:
If you don’t wish to cut back on more important parts of your wedding such as catering, outfits, photographers, etc., invitation cards are definitely a place where you can reduce costs significantly. In today’s digital age, hard paper copies are becoming redundant for many.
Hence, you can skip that and email them a virtual invite for your wedding. Since this is virtual, you can enhance the invitation by adding GIFs or a video of you and your partner, too. To ensure that your guests don’t miss it, you can follow up with a personal call — considering the guest list in a small wedding would be pretty short, this wouldn’t be much of a hassle either.
Read More: 200 Best Wedding Party Entrance Songs to Kickstart the Party in Style
12. Virtual Wedding Live:
Just because some of your guests won’t be able to make it doesn’t mean that they don’t get to see how your wedding goes at all!
Streaming weddings on YouTube videos really took off during the pandemic. It remains relevant even today as people are increasingly opting for small wedding ceremonies. This is a great way to make it up to your coworkers, distant relatives, fond acquaintances, or people who are unable to come to your wedding due to unavoidable circumstances.
13. Plan a Destination Wedding:
By reducing your guest list and cutting back on other expenses, you may have some room left in your wedding budget. In such cases, a destination wedding may be a good idea for you. However, in doing so, organizing the travel and stay for the 30-100 guests that you may want to invite might make your budget soar more than having a larger wedding.
10 Creative Small Wedding Venue Ideas
When there are fewer people involved in the wedding, it can be easy to get a bit adventurous with the wedding location. This can sometimes be more exhilarating than booking a grand venue — even when budget is not an issue — as you get to prioritize your choices over those of others. The following are some interesting yet simple wedding venue ideas that you can explore.
1. Bed And Breakfast Wedding
BNBs are usually more cost-effective than hotels and have a warm, homely vibe to them. Besides, if you find an Airbnb or lodge near a scenic lake, hill area, beach, or countryside, you’re in luck!
Organizing a bed and breakfast wedding would be similar to offering your guests a stay in your own suburban mansion, wherein you can take better care of them without leaving it to the responsibility of the hotel staff.
2. Botanical Garden Wedding
Nothing adds a better aesthetic touch to a wedding venue than the natural beauty of flora. Hence, having a small wedding inside a botanical garden is an excellent idea. By doing so, you can significantly reduce your costs on decor too — especially on floral installations — while tapping into the marvels of the warm, scenic location.
3. Public Park Wedding
To have a small outdoor wedding in an open space, a public park would be an excellent venue idea. You can pick a park with a large pergola where you can say your vows. Also, look for national parks that also have fountains, lighting, neat floral arrangements, clean washrooms, and parking facilities.
4. Farm House/Heritage Home Wedding
If you’re fortunate enough to have an ancestral home in the suburbs or the countryside, you can perfectly convert it into your wedding venue. The vintage vibes of the place would add to the charm of your wedding, whereas the warm, comfortable feel you may want for your guests would be taken care of. Besides, you can go absolutely minimal with the decor in such a scenic, historic venue — a few fairy lights and floral arrangements would do the magic!
5. Beach Wedding
If indoors are too stuffy for you then you can pick a beach venue with the sea as the backdrop. This is very popular among all outdoor wedding venues. Avoid popular beaches for this as they are mostly crowded. Research about clean beaches in your locality that are fairly untouched by the masses.
For decorations, you need to set up an aisle and an entryway for guests with floral detailing. There’ll be little fuss about picking a color palette as well, as whites and soft browns would go best for this natural setting.
6. Restaurant Rooftop Wedding
If you have less than 50 guests at your wedding, then a restaurant rooftop would work just fine as a venue. This location would be a sweet amalgamation of intimate yet open, wherein the vibe is warm and comfortable without getting too stuffy.
7. Barn Wedding
To get those sweet, countryside vibes, there’s no better small wedding venue idea than to have it near a barn. The stacks of hay would add a warm, sun-kissed aesthetic to your wedding and you can go crazy with string lights and lanterns to make the place feel like it's straight out of a fantasy novel.
8. Backyard Wedding
If you’ve got a small wedding guest list and a lush tree on your patio, then having your nuptials there would be the perfect idea for you. Having the wedding at home would bid adieu to those nervous jitters and you would be better equipped to take care of your guests.
Set up a U-shaped table for dinner as well as two rows of chairs with an aisle in between. For decor, natural elements and lighting work perfectly to make your intimate ceremony a massive hit.
9. Go for a Local Church Or Shrine
Sometimes, there’s no better wedding venue than the church (or a shrine, mosque, temple, or other place of worship). This is an excellent venue idea for a simple wedding ceremony without fuss about extravagances.
10 Small Wedding Decor Ideas
The following are some exquisite small wedding decor ideas that spruce up its aesthetic without burning a hole in your pocket.
1. Photo Booths:
When it is a small wedding ceremony, it is a great idea to add personalized elements to its decor, such as a custom photo booth. You can get them customized in a theme and color palette that aligns with the rest of the wedding decorations, inscribed with phrases such as “Just Married” or personalized texts with the names of the bride and groom on them.
Read More: 55 Unique Bridal Shower Ideas to Celebrate Her Big Day
2. U-shaped Table Arrangement:
If your wedding has around 30-60 guests, then it may be a good idea to arrange the dinner tables in a long U-shaped structure to save space and get the guests seated in an intimate setting.
3. Disco Balls:
Since the venue is likely to be smaller than a traditional wedding, you can jazz up the setting with decor items like disco balls suspended from the ceiling (or attached to a string in an outdoor setting).
4. Vintage Picks:
For weddings held at barns, heritage estates, or even the backyard of your house, vintage decor items would add a classic accent to the setting. You can use items such as vintage candelabras, muted floral arrangements, props like faux carriages, antiquated frames, old-fashioned mirrors, etc.
5. Floral Arches:
This is a timeless decor idea that blends in with every theme and adds warmth and beauty to entryways.
6. Candles And Centerpieces:
In addition to scented (or regular) candles, you can amp up the dinner table with flower arrangements, brassware, monogrammed serviettes, potpourri, and china.
7. Lanterns:
Whether you hang them or place them as centerpieces for the dinner table, lanterns are incredible additions to wedding decor. You can choose from different designs such as engraved copper lanterns, brass lanterns, aspens, beacons, talbots, etc.
8. String Lights:
You probably cannot visualize a wedding ceremony without string lights, can you? String lights add the perfect vibe for a small intimate wedding and spruce up the atmosphere.
9. Fairy Lights in Jars:
When in doubt, stuff some cute fairy lights in mason jars to effortlessly light up the wedding decor.
10. Marquees:
This is quite optional, but you can highlight your wedding decor by installing letter marquees with the names of the bride and groom. The most preferable place for this would be on the stage/pergola.
11. Foliage:
Most modern-day wedding decor is pretty much just faux foliage wrapped around metal frames. There’s something so exquisite about it that no matter how many times one sees it, the aesthetic never gets old! Here, the only area where you need to put some thought is in deciding what kind of flower and fern details, do you wish to have at your wedding, so it matches the rest of the theme well.
12. Drapes:
Unless you’re planning a small wedding for winter, thick, bushy drapes are a bad idea. Instead, opt for translucent cloth drapes in colors that match the theme of the wedding.
10 Small Wedding Gift Ideas
Giving out wedding favors to guests is a sweet gesture that brings people closer, especially for small and private wedding parties. Wedding gift ideas are also helpful if you have been invited as a guest to a wedding. The following wedding gift ideas are perfect for small, intimate weddings to make people happy. Scroll away.
1. Custom-engraved Items:
Be it coasters, keychains, signature knives, or vintage-style woodwork, custom-engraved pieces make for classy and heartwarming wedding gifts. You can inscribe the names of your guests or the bride and groom if you’re a guest at the wedding.
2. Glassware:
In case you have invited many guests whose specific interests are not known to you, glassware can make for a thoughtful and useful small wedding gift.
3. Mini Bottles of Booze:
Mini bottles of fine wine or craft beer can be a delightful, heartwarming gift for a wedding. However, this may not be an appropriate gift for everyone, and wouldn’t be a good idea unless you have excellent taste in booze.
4. Gourmet Box:
This one’s a hit among everyone! A gourmet box of fine-quality chocolates, cupcakes, cheese, nuts, cookies, granola, brownies, etc. is absolutely delightful and perfect to put a smile on someone’s face.
5. Personalized Photo Frames:
When you have an intimate guest list, chances are that you know a great deal about your guests and have their photos and memoranda. In such cases, giving personalized photo frames as wedding favors is an excellent idea, and is perfect to make better relations with your guests.
6. Monogrammed Towels:
Something classy yet utilitarian — monogrammed towels are in these days and make for excellent wedding gifts.
7. Fridge Magnets:
You can personalize fridge magnets with a message from the bride and groom to the guests. Ensure that if you’re doing this, you inscribe the names of each guest in attendance and even address their family if possible.
8. Scented Candles:
An excellent gift choice that has gotten momentum lately, scented candles soothe one's senses and make for an indulgent wedding gift.
9. Ornaments And Trinkets:
These could comprise home decor items such as wall hangings, outdoor lights, table centerpieces, etc., and make for incredible wedding party favors.
10. Handmade Soaps And Bath Salts:
When no other idea works, this one is sure to work. You can curate some locally crafted handmade soaps and bath salts to delight the senses of your guests. Ensure that the products you are choosing are hypoallergenic before gifting them.
The above-mentioned small wedding ideas are perfect if you’re keeping your guest list somewhere between 30-100 people, comprising only those whom you are close to. By having a small wedding, you can not only cut back on excess expenses and wasteful extravaganza, but also build a memory that’s more meaningful, intimate, and sweet. Small weddings prevent you from getting exhausted in the process of creating a Disney movie but instead enable you to be truly happy and present in the moment on your big day. We hope you like our ideas. Thanks for reading!
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