How to Plan the Small Wedding of Your Dreams

This year, more couples are exploring small wedding ideas and hosting intimate ceremonies. If you haven’t thought about how to plan a small wedding, there are a few things you’ll want to consider that you wouldn’t need to for a large traditional ceremony, and as you do, you’ll find that there’s still plenty of creative options for a small intimate wedding. From a private affair at the family home to a romantic small beach wedding, no two celebrations are the same.

Discuss the Guest List with Your Partner

For many couples, cutting down the guest list for a small intimate wedding is the biggest challenge. To avoid hurting feelings or creating family drama, establish a clear guest list with your partner to avoid inviting some family members on one side but not on the other side. By deciding that only immediate family or close friends are invited, you’ll be able to check off the first, and often hardest, step for how to plan a small wedding.

Decide Where to Splurge and Ways to Save

While the average cost of a small wedding is lower than a traditional one, many couples still spend thousands of dollars on their big day. Having fewer guests typically gives couples more room in their budget to splurge. Rather than having a simple meal for 100 guests, you can have a more gourmet dining experience for 20 for the same cost. Additionally, wedding venues for small weddings cost less without losing any of the beauty and romance of larger, popular wedding destinations, and all inclusive small wedding packages give you everything you need for a fraction of the cost. As you calculate the average cost of a small wedding, decide what elements you want to save on and where you want to splurge a little.

Explore Destination Wedding Options

A small beach wedding is an incredibly romantic and intimate option, and when you’re inviting fewer people, a destination wedding becomes a vacation with your closest family and friends. Some of the best small beach wedding destinations are in Mexico, and if the idea of planning a wedding in a foreign country sounds stressful, the all inclusive wedding packages at resorts make it easy. They include everything from the ceremony set up to the music for the reception, and most include the on-site services of a wedding planner whose experience and expertise will take the stress of wedding planning off your shoulders. Even with all this, the average cost of a small wedding on the beaches of Mexico is comparable to what it would be in the US.

Reconsider the Wedding Party

In wedding venues for small weddings, it’ll feel strange to pack in lots of bridesmaids and groomsmen, so one of the best small wedding ideas is to have just one attendant each or none at all. Having a maid of honor and best men provides the couple with emotional support as they get ready for the wedding, and if you’re planning on just inviting family, this can give you the option to include two close friends. However, there’s no reason why you have to have wedding attendants, and for a small intimate wedding, you don’t need to have any.

Consider a Social Media Ban

Because one of the most stressful parts of how to plan a small wedding is letting people know that they won’t be invited, you can minimize their feelings of missing out by creating a social media ban. By asking your few guests not to post photos on social media, you don’t have to worry about creating feelings of jealousy. You can then later choose which photos you feel comfortable posting.

In wedding venues for small weddings, you’ll truly feel surrounded by love, and with the most important people in your life watching, you’ll take your first steps of married life. This idea is even more tempting when you see how far your budget will go with all inclusive small wedding packages, but at the end of the day, the best small wedding idea is to make the day exactly what you and your partner want.