When I was young, I only imagined having a large wedding. I always thought I had to invite my entire family and my partner’s family (which are both large because well, we have local Hawaiian families). But, I’m here to tell you to throw that notion out the door and give small weddings a second thought; here are just a few reasons why.
1. Flexibility With a smaller crowd, you’ll be able to change things up, have the freedom to change venues, transport people, maybe even have a small destination wedding if you want. The less people you have to move around, the easier it’ll be.
2. Time With a smaller wedding, things don’t feel as rushed, you’ll be able to take your time. You won’t be rushing to get through tons of family photos, say, “hi” to everyone at your wedding, etc. I really appreciated a less jam packed schedule that allowed us to slowly get through the important moments, spend quality time catching up with all of our guests, and more.
Kenzie Kate Photography
3. Quality over Quantity One of the top reasons I rethought a large wedding was cost. If we had to pay for food for a lot of people, say 150+ vs 50, the quality of what we could afford would go down significantly. And as people who love food and really wanted to make sure we ate well at our wedding, this was a strong selling point. But not only that, the more guests you have the more expensive your wedding will be. You won’t be able to afford as many nice things if you need to make sure you have enough for 200+ guests. We were able to afford more quality goods, food, decorations, etc. because we cut down our guest list.
4. Forget Obligation Obligation is OVERRATED; repeat after me, “I am not obligated to invite anyone to MY wedding”. I wholeheartedly believe this and so should you! You should have who YOU (and your partner, of course) want at your wedding, and no one else. Your mother does NOT need to invite your second cousin or that person you met once when you were 12. If these people are not important to you, you shouldn’t have to invite them. This can get tricky if your parents are paying for the wedding. But honestly, it’s your wedding. If you feel strongly about wanting a small wedding and control over the guest list, sit down with them and have a serious discussion. Let them know what you want and that you would really appreciate their love and support on this. We were fortunate that my parents and in-laws were supportive and backed us up when the rest of our family asked them why.
5. Intimate Weddings are Sweet For my partner and me, it wasn’t completely about money. At the end of the day it was because we wanted an intimate wedding. Intimate weddings allow you to really soak in this important moment of your life. It takes the pageantry, unnecessary obligation, and overrated traditions out of the wedding and really strips your day down to what is important; you, your partner and the love you’re celebrating.
And those are just a few reasons why you should consider a small, intimate wedding. It can be a really tough choice to make, but if you’re seriously considering it, like I did, you probably already know in your heart it’s the best decision for you. I wish you the best and send you all the positive vibes and love on your journey to your wedding day!
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