Ultimate Guide to Planning an Intimate Wedding

 What is an Intimate Wedding

When planning a wedding many brides-to-be dream of a huge ceremony, hundreds of guests, a vast ballroom, usually bigger is better. But this is no longer the rule. More and more couples are opting to go against this trend and go for delightful, intimate weddings, inviting only their closest friends and family.

The main takeaway from the Intimate wedding trend idea is that it’s all about the celebration. The focus shifts away from the couple and towards enjoying their togetherness.

It relieves the stress and fatigue that comes with traditional wedding planning. Guests should not be a burden, but people you love and cherish. These small weddings have a special atmosphere that makes for magical moments. An intimate wedding is more than just the number of people, but the way we reflect the couple’s personalities and their engagement with their guests. 

It’s about creating unforgettable memories. 

What are the benefits of an Intimate Wedding

 Spending Quality Time With Friends and Family

One of the challenges couples face when choosing a large wedding is that they can’t seem to fit in all their guests at once. If you’ve invited up to 200 people, it’s almost a battle to feel like you’ve spent enough time with them and get everyone around you. With a smaller wedding, this is much less of a challenge.

Your wedding should be celebrated with the people who matter most to you. Everyone hates a terrible guest list! Make it easy on yourself and invite only those you really want there. By surrounding yourself with loved ones who know you well, you will be able to relax and enjoy your special day. Forget inviting distant relatives who don’t even know you exist, an intimate wedding is a perfect solution!

An intimate wedding offers you a celebration with close friends and family where you don’t have to worry about appearance. The good company goes a long way and there are always people who make it special anyway. So spare yourself the social responsibility and take the time and welcome your guests in an intimate atmosphere where they too can enjoy themselves in small groups.

 A Smaller Venue can Help Lower Stress Levels

There are so many moving parts to a wedding that the bigger the wedding, the more things there are to worry about potentially.

From creating your table plan to ordering flowers to organize wedding events to getting dressed on stage, bigger isn’t always better.

Along with the practicalities mentioned above, there is also the personal touch you expect from your venue wedding team. When you choose a small venue with one wedding per day, you have the full attention of the team during the planning phase and on your big day.

We’ve found that couples form stronger relationships with their venues when they consistently consult with the same wedding coordinator.

It should not be underestimated how important this relationship is in helping couples stay relaxed and calm in the planning and running of their wedding.

Cost Benefits of an Intimate Wedding

This is what you’ve been waiting for! You’ll save a bank account in the end by actually reducing your guest list. This is one of the main reasons why couples choose an intimate wedding to stay within their budget. 

When you’re working with a tight budget, you may feel limited at first, but many couples find this helpful. Limited options make it easier to come to your final decisions without having to explore every possibility and face wedding fatigue anywhere near the big day.

From a practical standpoint, the difference in food and beverage costs between 200 guests and 50 guests can be significant. 

Make it Special With an Intimate Wedding

By having an already intimate wedding you’ve broken the mold of wedding traditions so your guests are more likely to remember the experience. Consider adding a pre and post-party to make more fond memories with your loved ones.

You’ll spend more time enjoying your engagement because you won’t be consumed by all the wedding planning and the stress of planning a grand wedding. 

Your photographer as a couple can really focus on capturing special moments of the two of you instead of gathering guests for large group photos. Cherish the moment and embrace the intimacy between friends and family when the camera clicks away.

Teach Without Worrying About Big Numbers

One of the best parts of planning a wedding for couples is the opportunity for them to show off their friends and family and let their personalities shine through.

Whether they go for a wedding filled with DIY projects, a wedding themed around their favorite books, movies or places, or a wedding that reflects the significance of the guests they share the day with. Adding touches that bring their vision to life.

If you want to create a personalized experience for your guests, you’ll have a lot more time to create all the moving parts you need.

From bespoke centerpieces and personalized wedding favors to site-specific decor, a small wedding setup can make your big day a much less stressful project.

Why You Might Want an Intimate Wedding

An intimate marriage has many benefits! You can keep it really small and still basically elope somewhere adventurous and bring along a few close friends, or you can go a little bigger and have the feel of a traditional wedding without the cost or the crowd. 

Your options for locations are wide open because you don’t need space for a ton of guests, which also saves you money that you can put toward more important things.

How do you Invite Someone to an Intimate Wedding?

This may be the hardest part of planning your intimate wedding, but it’s also the most important! Start by talking to each other about your expectations. How much will family members take from it (although, you don’t have to invite every family member, just the ones you want to invite)? Work with your significant other to make sure you’re inviting everyone important to you both.

Also make sure you agree on your “plus one” rules, because allowing plus ones can easily double your guest list. Some couples don’t allow plus ones into their intimate wedding, while others allow guests to bring a plus one if it’s a significant other, such as a fiancé or spouse.

Talk with Your Partner

Sit down with your partner and really think about your guest list. Talk about how each of you feels about potential attendees – are you both close to them, are they both supportive, does inviting one person cause tension with the other?

Set Boundaries & Expectations

Set boundaries in advance and don’t feel like inviting someone over if you don’t want to. During the planning process, you can easily find yourself running away. Afterward, there are many ways to celebrate with family and friends. But, don’t let one person be the reason you decide to scrap the entire list. Know your breaking points for certain decisions and stick to those boundaries.

Be Honest

If someone asks if they’re coming and you know they’re not making the list. Be honest with the people in your life and don’t feel the need to offer an apology or an invitation based on their response. It’s your day, you don’t have to give anyone a seat at the table.

Stick to your Limit

Maybe your guest list is limited by your location, or maybe you’re keeping it even with your partner and inviting the same number of people. Whatever you use as a limit, stick to it! Feel free to use this as an excuse too – if your ceremony location has a 20-person limit you can’t add more people.

Deciding Wedding Theme

It’s up to you to decide whether you want a traditional theme, delightful and white theme, garden theme, vintage, fairytale, rustic, contemporary, classic, destination, etc. Once you’ve decided this, it’s easy for you to predict the Budget.

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 Design Funny Hashtags

Like all other patented things in intimate weddings, the wedding hashtag is a trend you can’t afford to miss. Couples are getting creative at their best and keeping very cool and unique hashtags. We love how couples come up with such innovative ideas, based on their love story or the combination of their names. This is the age of social media and weddings are definitely adapting to it.

Plan to Seat Slightly Away from the Mandap

You can place a mandap in the middle and leave other chairs outside so that there is enough space between people.

A wedding day is a special day that requires every bit of planning and organization. From food and seating arrangements to wedding hall decorations, every aspect needs special attention. 

However, there is one part of the wedding that deserves a little more thought and attention because it is literally the place where the bride and groom come together forever. And that place is called Mandapam. 

As the mandapam is the place where the vows are exchanged and the wedding pews are tied, it is only fair that the photographers decorate it to capture the moment that will be preserved forever.

Choose Local Flowers for Decor

For an intimate wedding ceremony, the floral decoration is minimal, suitable with a rustic theme. You can get kilos of a particular flower and leave another city’s vendor who hires a local florist. Using local and seasonal flowers is totally workable by the time you get married. Growing flowers naturally uses very little energy, water, and chemicals, ‘forcing’ them to grow out of season.

Choose Reusable Decor Elements

Sustainability and reuse are key to a cost-effective marriage. Focus on incorporating natural elements into your wedding decor. You can use pocket plants as table centerpieces and wedding favors for guests. One can also opt for reusable signage options instead of printed signage such as handwritten chalkboards, which can be rubbed out and re-customized.

 Restyling old yet golden clothes

For your functions like mehndi, sangeet, and haldi, you can always restyle an old dress with lots of jewelry and the right kind of make-up and hair! If your mother of the bride’s lehenga or saree is still on hand, you can always wear it to your wedding, like what Megha did in her lockdown wedding!

 Design Your Outfit

Design your own outfit and match your face masks like real bride Bhavdeep Kaur did in her intimate wedding. Onc designed, you can always collect materials and get stitches from local tailors.

 Buy Your Clothes From Your Favorite Designer

Many bridal designers have resumed operations. To help every bride achieve her wedding dream, the designers have decided to make their pieces operational and available for sale even as they host a lockdown wedding. You can always contact their sales team and take the inquiry further.

​Keep Your Outfit Simple Yet Memorable​

How about ditching the usual designer lehengas and opting for an outfit from your mom’s wardrobe instead? An heirloom banarasi or silk saree looks like a perfect pick. Since you are getting married at home, you want to be as comfortable as possible to enjoy your wedding celebrations to the fullest.

Choose a Minimal Look

From minimalistic jewelry to makeup, make sure you don’t look OTT in your intimate wedding affair.

Remember that you Deserve the Wedding of Your Dreams

Everyone deserves the wedding of their dreams! You deserve the wedding of your dreams rather than “deserving” guests to attend – it sounds harsh, but it’s true. If it’s between your happiness or the happiness of your guests, we’ll advocate for you every time.

Perform a Unity Ritual

Handfasting, mixing sand, planting a tree, laying hands, or any other unity ceremony is a fun way to get loved ones involved in your wedding. Family members can help you perform the ritual by tying cords across your arms or participating by speaking words of encouragement in the union. Even if your guests don’t participate in person, a unity ceremony is a really fun way to have a meaningful celebration that they can witness.

Plan your Wedding Budget

When it comes to your wedding budget, how much do you need to spend in total and where will these funds come from (savings, family, etc.). Once you understand your finances, you will be able to work within its limitations.

Couple this with your guest list and you should know the cost per head.

 Rent the Right Place

One of the most important aspects of a small wedding is making sure the wedding venue complements the size of your party. Too big and some people might feel invisible – too small and you might feel like you’re cutting costs.

The key to this is researching venues online and in person ahead of time to make sure they work for your party size.

Your Own Garden or Terrace

If you are having an intimate wedding with 50 guests or less, your garden, terrace is one of the most ideal places to hold functions. Such a venue not only provides fresh air to all the guests but also enough space so that no one feels cramped. Another plus side of such venues is that the day wedding photographs look amazing!

Check Out Non-Traditional Venues

You need a venue that is sized appropriately for the number of guests. While you can go for a small room in a large venue, choosing a venue that complements the size of your guest list is the best way to create an intimate feel. Check out our list of the best small wedding venues and you’ll see what we mean.

Think outside the box too, as you’ll be more creative and less constrained by numbers under 60. Non-traditional venues mean you don’t even have to choose what you think of as a typical ‘wedding venue’ location.

Make a Big Stage Feel Intimate

 If you’ve fallen in love with a 200-person venue, fear not – there are plenty of ways to make the space feel comfortable.

Suspend statement pieces from the ceiling, such as floral installations or paper lanterns; It has a similar effect of making a room feel smaller, while adding drama, texture and color to your space.

The warm glow of candlelight and lanterns is more romantic and intimate than bright lighting.

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Think of Fun Transportation to Reach the Venue

With a small guest list, you have the funds to make the guest experience even better. Start by arranging a cool way to transport your guests to the venue or between the ceremony and reception.

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Enjoy the Great Outdoors

Whether it’s your backyard, forests, a secret garden or a camping ground by the sea, you’re out of place amidst the beauty of nature. Create an arch with string lights, branches and flowers around the trees, use lawn chairs as seating, set up outdoor games to play and have a truly relaxed, fun, nature-inspired wedding.

Small Function Spaces

You can always go the traditional route of booking a small function space like a hall or a banquet on your own. In such cases, it is essential to note that your state’s guidelines for weddings allow you to book a commercial banquet hall.

Short Guest List

The first step to hosting a low-key wedding is to invite close people who can help make sure you feel really comfortable and relaxed on your wedding day. You and your partner should sit down together and develop parameters for narrowing down the wedding guest list and choose those who will be truly happy for your new life and new beginnings.

An intimate wedding can only be intimate when you have a small guest list and therefore you shouldn’t be afraid of choosing people who really mean something to you.

An Alternative Wedding Venue

The many options that open up when you choose an intimate wedding are truly priceless. It is truly amazing to see the relaxation that comes with this decision for your wedding.

There is an endless list of unique places that open up before you as options to host your wedding. Truly invaluable. When hosting a smaller wedding, choose a venue that makes sense to you as a couple, which may not be possible with a larger guest list.

Endless Food and Drink Ideas

Vibrant and colorful food and beverage ideas for small weddings make it a truly memorable affair for all the guests attending your big union. From creating signature cocktails for refreshing drinks to creating a champagne tower for your small guest list

Creating the Perfect Atmosphere

You can invest in good lighting and decor, which can be key elements in creating the perfect atmosphere at an intimate wedding. Optimum lighting plays a vital role in setting the celebratory mood during the evening celebrations and similarly, the wedding decorations shine brightly during the wedding day celebrations. Creative wedding decoration ideas for your intimate wedding day require research and if well planned each idea can double up as stunning decor.

The best benefit of having a small wedding is that you can splurge on anything and everything that you’ve always secretly marked on your wedding checklist. Having an intimate wedding doesn’t mean it can’t be extravagant or luxurious.