3 Reasons to Have a Colorado Microwedding (an intimate wedding with 50 guests or less)
Call it a microwedding or an intimate wedding, but we believe that these types of weddings are a great option for lots of couples planning to get married in Colorado.
Have you considered eloping, but you can’t imagine celebrating your special day without a handful of specific people? Are you and your partner pretty laid back and maybe a bit nervous about being the center of attention for so long? Are you footing the bill for your wedding and/or maybe saving money for a down payment on a home? A smaller, more intimate wedding may be the best option for you.
First of all, what is considered a microwedding or an intimate wedding?
We are big proponents of doing what YOU want to do on your wedding day, so there are not really any “rules” for a microwedding, but typically they involve 50 guests or less. Many couples who choose to have intimate weddings like this opt out of a traditional wedding party. See our blog post about why that’s a great idea (5 Reasons Not To Have a Wedding Party). Many times couples will incorporate elements of larger weddings into their intimate wedding like a ceremony, dinner, and dancing. But overall it is a much more intimate and easygoing vibe.
From a wedding photo and video team, here are our 3 reasons we think this type of wedding is a great choice!
1. An intimate wedding allows you much more flexibility on your wedding day.
Smaller guest count = simpler to coordinate = simpler day. Sure, there are still things to figure out like what you want to eat and where you’re going to do this thing.
BUT your options of locations are vastly expanded. Many couples that opt for an intimate wedding visualize themselves having a mountain wedding maybe a little more off the beaten path and/or out in nature. With a smaller guest count, like 20 people, you could choose a national park, national forest or an open space. Or sometimes you can find a VRBO that allows events. Or maybe you can find a small venue like this one on Shrine Pass in Vail, Colorado where everyone can stay and enjoy the mountains for the weekend.
Your wedding day schedule can be so much more flexible with a small guest count as well. There is a big difference between coordinating 300 people and coordinating 30 people. If you want to spend some extra time hanging out before the wedding or taking photos after the ceremony or if there is some weather, it’s not a huge deal to have an elastic timeline.
So if you’re looking for something pretty simple and laid back, a small guest count could be a great place to start.
2. You can focus your budget on the things that are most important to you.
The simple truth is that guest count can be the #1 contributor to the cost of a wedding. With a small guest count, you can focus your budget on things that are really important to you and maybe splurge on some things that might seem like a luxury. For example, instead of just having a one day celebration, it may be possible to rent your dream location for several days so that everyone can really enjoy the weekend together. Or maybe photo and video are really important to you, so you can now book both to make sure your celebration is captured the way you’ve envisioned. Or maybe you want to buy two wedding dresses (one for the ceremony and one for the party) … we say, do it! It could also be that you just want to have a really epic honeymoon and some of your wedding budget is going to that.
Whatever your “shoot for the moon” wedding dreams are, a microwedding may be a really great way for you to accomplish them.
3. You can actually spend time with all of your people.
I’ve heard a lot of couples say that they’ve been to weddings where they never even got to talk to the couple getting married, much less felt like they really got to spend time with them. Having an intimate wedding really puts the emphasis on getting to actually celebrate with your guests. When there is a lot of culling and intentionality that goes into a guest list, you are 100% confident that the people who will be there are there to celebrate you and your wedding. And those are the people you’ve always pictured celebrating your big day with. They are the reason you are not eloping with just the two of you.
So here’s your permission to put that guest list on the chopping block and cut away the outer circle(s).
But are microweddings still fun? Hell yes!
Every single couple we’ve photographed an intimate wedding for, has said that they DO NOT REGRET it, and they had an absolute blast! If you’re the dancin’ type, a microwedding can still have an epic dance floor.
Colorado Wedding Videography & Photography Team
Forest Picture Company is a Colorado wedding photography and videography team who travels across Colorado and specializes in intimate weddings and microweddings! We love capturing couples who have a passion for each other and the great outdoors! Get in touch with us here to learn more about working with us for wedding videography and photography in Colorado!