3 Reasons Couples are Choosing Small Weddings

Planning a wedding can be expensive, stressful and time-consuming, am I right? If you’re like most normal couples currently planning one, the question of just forgoing all the work and eloping has probably popped up. However, eloping often means leaving a lot of loved ones out of your special day. What if there was a way to combine a traditional wedding with an elopement?

That’s where micro weddings come in!

Even though these have been around for many years, the trend of couples choosing a smaller wedding, also known as a micro wedding, has been increasing significantly. A micro wedding is officially defined as one having 50 guests or fewer while still keeping traditional elements, just on a smaller scale. 

The reasons to choose to plan a micro wedding are numerous, but an important one that’s often overlooked is that they are much more sustainable than traditional weddings. We’re sure that after you read through this list of positives, you’ll be switching to a micro wedding by the last sentence.

Easier on the Earth

With more discussion around climate change every year and seeing the visual impacts of it happening, many couples are opting to plan a micro wedding because of its decreased impact on our environment. 

Less people invited means less travel emissions for guests to get there. It also means fewer mouths to feed, so there is reduced food waste, and less paper waste with fewer invites. 

According to Terrapass, the average wedding in the United States produces around 62 tonnes of CO2, or the equivalent of cutting down 46 mature trees. This is seriously significant, and if you’re hoping for an outdoor wedding, I’m sure a treeless one wouldn’t feel as nice as one with trees. 

This is where choosing a micro wedding instead of a traditional one can really help reduce our impact on our planet overall. 

• Choosing seed paper products for your invites or favors, where guests plant them after and grow wildflowers in memory of your special day stands out and leaves no waste.
• Choosing ethically sourced rings or vintage ones can reduce mining and social impacts.
• If you have municipal composting or a compost pick-up service, composting food at the end of the night instead of throwing it in the landfill has significant benefits. Sending food to the landfill produces methane, which is approximately 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, so composting drastically reduces emissions.
• Finally, being thoughtful about décor by choosing reusable or sustainable items, since you’re only using them for one night, makes the most sense. Avoiding cheap plastic and balloons is always a good call. 

Less expensive

As mentioned earlier, more guests means more spending. Larger venues, more food, more drinks, and more invites and favors all require a higher budget. 

A micro wedding really allows you the opportunity to choose what you want while spending less. It also means you can afford more sustainable options without having to add that on top of everything. Happier budget and a happier planet = happier couples.

Less stressful and more intimate

A huge reason why people choose to elope in the first place is to avoid some stress. Perhaps you don’t want to fight about all the details or have people you don’t even really know invited. Micro weddings are the perfect excuse to limit size, reduce stress and keep it your special day. When in doubt, use ‘micro weddings’ as an excuse. For example, “Why wasn’t your second cousin Rachel and her family invited?” “Because we chose to have a micro wedding!” Or “why aren’t you having a large band play at the reception?” “Because we chose to have a mico wedding!” See how easy and better that feels already?

Another great thing is that fewer people means you get to actually spend time with all your guests at your wedding. Large weddings make it so hard for couples to say hi to everyone who comes for their day, but the intimacy of micro weddings leaves lots of time for loved ones. 

Now that you’re convinced about choosing micro weddings, take a look at these 5 Tips for Planning a Micro Wedding.