Welcome to 2023! Are you asking yourself why you should have a micro wedding? If you agree with any of the following, hear us out on the top three reasons to have a micro wedding in 2023. According to Vogue, wedding hashtags are OUT and according to Honeybee Weddings, micro weddings IN. #DropTheBigWeddingsAndHashtagsLikeTheyreHot

DO YOU…

• Look at the guest list and realize you don’t see half the people and don’t intend to in the next five years.
• Look at the catering budget for a hundred and wish you could allocate that money somewhere more meaningful for you.
• Want your wedding to be an adventure not just a day.

We challenge you to picture what YOU want and have those conversations. This day is only about two people – you and your boo, don’t let anyone get that twisted.

Let’s get into the what and how of a micro wedding.

WHAT is a micro wedding?

Our sister site, Wild Montana Weddings captures it best- a micro wedding is defined as an intimate wedding with typically no more than 40-50 guests. Micro weddings are described as a smaller version of the large traditional weddings we have come to know. Planning a micro wedding is a great way to ditch the large guest list without missing out on wedding traditions.

Going micro might also be a way to save some money when it comes to planning your wedding. In the same instance, micro weddings can cost the same if not more than traditional weddings. Having a micro wedding can open up luxurious options that would be out of the budget with a standard wedding. Make your wedding an experience for you and your guests! Let your imagination run wild and make it your dream day.

Choosing an intimate wedding option like a micro wedding, helps your day to feel more personable for you and your guests. Your guests can connect with you as a newlywed couple in a more personal way. Large weddings make it hard to connect with your guests due to the sheer size of your guest list! Micro weddings are sounding like a better option more and more!!!

Let us jump into HOW to plan a micro wedding!!!

Trim (or hack!) your guest list.

The biggest reason why you should have a micro wedding is to reduce your guest list. The Establishment in Colorado is home to many micro weddings. They break down some of the benefits of cutting your guest list:

More intimate. Micro weddings tend to be more personal and intimate than standard weddings. The people in attendance at your micro wedding ceremony will be the people you cherish.

Easier wedding planning process. A major advantage of throwing a micro wedding is that it’s substantially easier to plan for a smaller guest list. There will be fewer invitations to send and less seating arrangements to figure out, as well as reduced stress when it comes to allocating expenses. This means that you will be able to commit valuable resources – both time and money – to the little details that will matter most on your wedding day.

Budgeting for YOUR wants

The second reason why you should have a micro wedding is to control the budget. When you can slash the catering, invitations, hundreds of favors, you can focus on what YOU want. 

Meaningful Favors. Case and point, our lovely winter couple Katie and Trevor. They celebrated their micro wedding at Rainbow Ranch and for their amazing guests, Katie and Trevor wanted to do something a little extra special. Please welcome….the cutest little custom Montana mugs you have EVER seen! Lulu Pottery crafted the sweetest Montana style favors and we are all heart eyes for them!

rad venues.

Brides encourages you to let your imagination run wild.  “With fewer guests comes less work, fewer opinions and people to please, less budget required, and more options in terms of spaces to celebrate,” says Jove Meyer, owner and creative director of Jove Meyer Events. “You open up the world of unique spaces that are inaccessible to larger weddings. You can rent out cafés, restaurants, bars, parks, galleries, or really anywhere you’d never consider for a big wedding. They’re already designed beautifully—meaning you can save on décor—and might have their own tables and chairs, so you don’t have to rent them.” We are BIG fans of small wedding venues. 

FOOD TRUCK. When we say slash the catering, we mean slash the quantity and indulge in the quality. Ask Hannah & Casey about their Arches National Park wedding. After their ceremony, the group indulged in pizza from the Moab Food Truck Park. We ate pizza, laughed, and celebrated. Hannah & Casey enjoyed their first dance under the twinkle lights of a food truck park, playing their song from a speaker. They cut cake on a bistro table. There was no ballroom with 300 guests. Instead, it’s their closest family and friends, the two of them, and that’s all they really need (and want!) You heard it here first – it was a pizza perfect. 

The Adventure

The third reason why you should have a micro wedding is to be able to have an epic adventure! Micro weddings are meant to be an experience for you and your guests. Don’t be afraid to plan some super fun things to do before, after, or even during your micro wedding! Below are five of our favorite ways real couples made their micro wedding an adventure of a lifetime and some more ideas for how YOU can make your micro wedding so special.

1. take a hike

A sunrise hike is a good omen to start your marriage, Lindsey and Vance can vouch for that! With their Holland Lake Falls micro wedding, ten guests with headlamps trekked all the way up to Holland Lake like Bilbo and the dwarves off for their grand adventure. THESE ARE THE MEMORIES YOU CAN BE MAKING! What an epic experience to do with your closest crew.

2. Rent the cutest Airbnb to celebrate at

Jazzy & Ben’s Glacier National Park micro wedding included their four closest friends. After the ceremony, they arrived back at their AirBnB, the Modern Moose, where their friends set out a glorious feast for the wedding reception! All types of delicious snacks and desserts await, but before they dive in, their friends give the most meaningful and teary-eyed toasts. Moments like these, with words pouring straight from the heart, make a micro wedding so special.

3. Go camping (or Glamping)

Chelsea and Josh love a good night camping and star gaze! This duo envisioned a camping trip in the mountains and asked their friend to get ordained for the occasion! Growing up in an outdoors family, Josh’s parents have a camper and they set out for a two week outdoor camping and micro wedding.

4. Get married on a ranch

Such as, 320 Guest Ranch. For Addie and Charlie, family is the most meaningful part of this micro wedding day. At the ranch they spent time around horses, zipping along in a golf court, and plenty of open space for dancing. They wanted to spend as much quality time with their loved ones as possible, and experience wedding day memories they’ll never forget. Check and check.

5. Take a polar plunge

Lainey and Kyle made sure their day was ice cool. At the end of the night, the couple took a polar plunge into St Mary Lake. BRRRR, we love a brave couple! This isn’t the typical wedding day, it’s true. For them, their wedding day was all about the experience. 

10 ideas for you and your micro wedding guests!

1. Have a picnic
2. Take a boat cruise
3. Have s’mores by a campfire
4. Offroad
5. Horseback riding
6. Canoe or kayak
7. Jump into a lake in your wedding attire
8. Snowboard or ski
9. Soak in hot springs                    
10. Take a beer bike tour

So you agree, you think you’re really ready for a micro wedding? BUT, the looming question is still over you like a dark cloud. How do you have a micro wedding without offending people?

Well, lucky for you, we have an entire blog dedicated to how to tell your family and friends they will not be AT your wedding, but they CAN be part of it!

how to tell your family

1. Tell them face to face, especially if it’s someone you think expects to come. Coworkers that you see every day but you don’t know if you would ever see again if you changed jobs, would be the people for this. You don’t need to have a face to face with Cousin Eddie that you haven’t seen since the squirt gun incident of 2016. 
2. Share your reasons why. When people understand your perspective and see/feel your excitement, it’s a lot easier for them to come to terms with your decision and gain their support.
3. Understand their perspective. Inevitably, there will be people that are shocked or upset by your decision. Try your best to be understanding and sensitive to their feelings and emotions.
4. Get them involved. There is still a lot of work that goes into planning a micro wedding! Between booking travel arrangements and lodging, to attire and honeymoon plans, there’s a lot of areas where you could enlist their help and expertise.
5. Remember the day is about you. You’re doing this for a reason, you know what you want! Don’t let anyone steer you off the path because of potentially hurt feelings. THIS DAY IS ABOUT YOU. As long as you’ve tried your best to be honest and open about your intentions, you can’t control what other people think or feel. If you’re happy, those that matter will be happy for you too.
6. Document everything. Send thank you notes with photos of the big day. Share videos! Talk about it! Just because they weren’t there, doesn’t mean they don’t want to hear all about it.

If you’re ready for your own micro wedding, we are the wedding photographers to capture your ultimate adventure! Drop us a line, share your vision, and let’s pop off!