Many people are rethinking what a wedding is all about and deciding on a small wedding. If you turn your circumstances around and focus on the benefits of a small wedding, it can be very liberating and lots of fun! Think about the best party you ever attended. What made that party so special? For most people it’s going to be the way it felt, not how much money was spent or anything about the venue. Maybe it was a party in your parent’s backyard with string lights overhead with a BBQ and beer. Nothing fancy but the people who were there were all people you feel 100% comfortable being near, laughing with, and sharing food and fun. You go home from such an event feeling happy deep in your soul.
So what is it that makes us feel we need a big venue and a guest list of folks we maybe don’t even know that well, let alone feel comfortable with? What if we could have a wedding that feels like those wonderful backyard gatherings we all love so much? What if we could have a wedding that was more like a church social but you get to wear a wonderful dress and at the end of the day — you get to start a new life with the person you love so dearly? Your nearest and dearest friends and family are still going to shed a tear for you and send you off with their best wishes for your life, no matter where or how you decide to wed. Many people would love an opportunity to help out with the food, making a cake, pies, cookies, decorations, or cleanup. So consider the benefits of a small wedding. It may be an unexpected joy.
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Benefits of a Small Wedding
There are many good reasons to consider a small wedding. Many people secretly wish they could marry without all the stress and expense of a big wedding, but when the fashion is for more, it’s easy to feel like we are missing out if we don’t follow the trends. Maybe it’s time to be trend-setters and go for what truly feels right in our hearts. There are actually many benefits of a small wedding. Here are a few:
- Lower cost. This one is obvious. Planning a wedding with fewer guests means less cost for catering, venue, invitations, and decorations. Maybe this isn’t an issue for you. Perhaps you have the budget for a large wedding and going small hadn’t occurred to you. But consider that you may save enough for a down payment on a home or to start your own business or do whatever else you have planned for your life after getting married. These days, we all have gotten the message that life is unpredictable. It may be wise to look ahead, beyond the wedding, to what life may look like after the big day.
- Less stress. Planning a wedding is stressful. The months of planning sandwiched in with a full-time job, school, and other obligations can take a toll on a person’s health. Then on the day of the wedding, it can be another source of stress to be the star of a once in a lifetime event with hundreds of people all depending on you to make it flow with ease. How many of us are experienced with this kind of event? A small wedding means that you can plan something more akin to what we might think of as a holiday dinner with family and friends.
- It’s more personal. You can actually spend time with the people you love and who love you back. These people, will truly be your nearest and dearest, so you will be more at ease and your guests will also have the opportunity to get to know each other, if they don’t already. At a larger event, it’s just impossible for everyone to greet or visit like it would be at a smaller event.
- Little things mean a lot. The tiny details that would not be possible at a large event can be realized on a smaller scale. Either because of expense or time, it would not be possible to offer 200 handmade mementos but for a small number of people, it would.
- You may be more present at a small wedding. Many couples find that the wedding they so carefully planned over the past year, was not what they expected after it was all over. Some people are also innately introverted or more comfortable with their best friends. A large group of people can mean that we just zone out and coast through the day on autopilot. Within a smaller group, most of us feel more emotionally safe and present. We can really feel our true emotions as we marry the person we love.
Photo Credits:
Middle, Katrien Sterckx via Unsplash.com
Bottom, Helene Immel via Unsplash.com
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