How To Plan The Best Small Wedding
The wedding planning process was changed significantly in 2020. This is no different in 2023 due to the ongoing financial crisis.
I’m here to share some good news, and give you the tips that I’ve learned over the past few months.
Who am I? I’m Andrew and I’m a wedding photographer in the South West Wales area.
I’ve been listening closely to friends and family who have been planning their weddings over past 12 months. Along the way, I’ve learned a number of things.
1. SMALLER IS BETTER
I’ve watched wedding guest counts (and price tags!) get really out of hand when planning. In my experience, this is usually due to family pressure. At some point, a lot of couples have started to feel like it’s not even their wedding any longer.
THIS YEAR IS YOUR EXCUSE TO HAVE THE WEDDING YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO.
You can now have full control over the guest list. You get to invite the most important people in your life to be there, and best of all, you will actually have time to be with them. This leads me on to point number 2 below.
2. YOU GET TO SPEND TIME WITH EVERYONE THERE
Traditionally, it’s actually rare for couples to actually talk to everyone that attends their wedding. Which is not nice for the couple nor their guests.
With a smaller wedding, you will be able to spend quality time with everyone you’ve invited.
3. COST
Couples opting for smaller weddings this year are saving so much money. Prices really have gotten out of control, and now if you want you can spend the money you save in other places like upgrading that honeymoon!
4. BETTER WEDDING PHOTOS
As a wedding photographer, this is the most exciting part of smaller weddings for me.
With small weddings everything becomes much simpler overall. Which means, less stress for you on the day. No problems to troubleshoot, you get to enjoy the day. This lack of stress on the wedding day, really comes through in the photos.
We will have all the time we need for photos, and we’re in control of the time of day we take them. At a traditional wedding, the photo session just kind of fits wherever it fits - which can mean non-ideal lighting conditions where the photos may not look their best. With smaller weddings, we can schedule at the best time of day for photos.
To add to that, you can now use the budget you saved to spend a little more on the details you’d really like to have.
SO HOW DO YOU PLAN THE BEST SMALL WEDDING?
My suggestions:
Spend some of the money you’re saving on bringing in great vendors. Budgets usually get stretched really thin because of the number of guests at the wedding. This is your excuse to involve all of the vendors you would want to have for your dream wedding. Not to mention that dream location.
TO GET THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHS:
Schedule your ceremony when it’s good for photos. 2 hours before sunset will give us the best light for photos.
Hire a photographer (me!) for 2-3 hours. That will cover a little of the getting ready, the ceremony, family photos and photos of the two of you. (There are also packages if you’d like me to come to the reception)
My photography style is primarily candid, so it’ll be a far more relaxing experience than you might think right now.
We are all feeling the pinch right now and going smaller is certainly better, not only to save a big chunk of change but to also get that dream wedding and spend it with the people you love the most.
If you’re interested in working together, please send me a note in the contact form below, and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
As a special offer to go with the theme of this blog post. The first 5 to contact and book with me will get 75% off Package 1. That’s 4 hours photography for £75 (Usually £300)! Just quote “BLOG75” on your contact email.
Thanks for reading and if you have any other questions, feel free to reach out!
Check out my Wedding Packages here: Wedding Packages
