How To Plan An Intimate Wedding: Step By Step Guide
Over the years, intimate weddings have been growing more and more. Lately, they are all the rage and frankly, I am SO here for it. However, with things constantly coming and going, it’s hard to know exactly what you are wanting for your special day. If you’re newly engaged and are thinking that an intimate wedding might be up your alley, congratulations! Planning any wedding, no matter the size, can be stressful but just because you are wanting an intimate wedding doesn’t mean that the planning is any less… just different. Below is a complete step-by-step guide on how to plan an intimate wedding. Ease some stress and have the most magical day of your life, but make sure you plan it well!
What Is An Intimate Wedding?
First things first, if you are thinking you want an intimate wedding but don’t fully understand what it is, listen up. An intimate wedding is a wedding with about 30-50 guests. Typically the guest count is larger than your typical elopement and gives you the opportunity to invite more of your friends and family to join in on your wedding celebration. In an intimate wedding, you also will find typically that you will get married on-site and have an officiant to legally marry you.
Read more about the difference between intimate weddings and elopements here.
Benefits Of Having An Intimate Wedding
If you’re a couple leaning towards having an intimate wedding then you are in luck. Having an intimate wedding means that you get to reap the many benefits such as:
- You’re wanting to have a small guest list and still include friends and family
- You’re not wanting to spend a ton of money on your wedding
- Wanting a much more relaxed environment
- Increased privacy and exclusivity
- You’re wanting to have things a bit more intentional and intimate while still having all of the glam of a traditional wedding
Step-By-Step Guide To Plan An Intimate Wedding:
Pick A Date
Obviously one of the first things that you’re going to need to do in planning an intimate wedding is to make sure that you pick a wedding date. Rather than larger and more traditional weddings, you could get away with a lot shorter notice, however, I would caution you from doing this. You want to be able to inform your guests with enough time to be able to take time off work and plan accordingly. Especially if they need to travel or you’re wanting a destination intimate wedding.
Set A Budget
Your wedding budget is going to be one of the most important things that you do when it comes time to plan your intimate wedding. Your budget will help determine where all of your expenses will go and help you prioritize your wedding expenses. You ideally want to think about what type of experience are you wanting? What type of experience do you want your guests to have? These are going to be important questions that you ask yourselves to ensure that you are staying within your budget.
Decide How Many Guests Will Be Attending
Next, you’re going to want to determine how many guests you are wanting to attend the big day! This is going to help you in determining the rest of your wedding budget, your wedding venue, and essentially having an intimate wedding. Keep in mind that intimate weddings typically have a guest count of about 30-50 guests, so try to keep it around there!
Choose A Location/Venue
For your intimate wedding, you are going to then need to choose a location/venue! Your venue helps set the stage for the remaining theme of your wedding day, so this my friends is a big deal. The good thing about having an intimate wedding is that you have a wider array of options for your intimate wedding. Many wedding venues have guest capacities, which your intimate wedding doesn’t have to worry about. Hence, giving you and your partner the opportunity to have more options to have the dream intimate wedding that you’ve always wanted.
Hire A Wedding Planner Who Specializes In Intimate Weddings
I don’t know about you, but I have seen firsthand how impactful wedding planners can be on wedding days. Just because you are planning on having an intimate wedding does not mean that you do not need a wedding planner. A wedding planner is there to help alleviate stress, allocate your wedding budget, plan out your wedding day, and make things run smoothly. They also act as points of contact for the rest of your wedding vendors which can ensure that everyone is on the same page on the day of your wedding. By hiring a wedding planner you are alleviating so much mental stress and allowing the experts to handle it!
There are plenty of amazing and talented wedding planners who specialize in planning intimate weddings. Below are just a few of my recommendations!
Curated Mess
Red Canyon Events
Dewitt Planning
Create A Checklist Of Everything You Need/Need To Do
I don’t know about you, but I am a checklist fiend. I need to write things down in order to make sure that I’m not missing anything. And just because you’re having an intimate wedding, doesn’t mean that you have no planning or lists to make. In fact, it’s because you are having an intimate wedding that you should make sure you create a checklist and write down everything you need and need to do. Not only will this keep you organized and make sure that you don’t miss anything, but it will also help keep you sane during such a crazy and stressful time.
Be Intentional & Personal
Choosing to have an intimate wedding also allows you and your partner to be a lot more intentional with your entire day. Everything from your wedding decor, the guest experience, catering, etc can play a role in how intentional you choose to be for your intimate wedding. You also are given the opportunity to be a bit more personal with your wedding guests, since there will be fewer attending. Things such as writing notes to each guest or giving personalized goody bags make things a lot more intimate and special.
Use this as an opportunity to have fun with planning your wedding, getting creative, and doing things the way that you want it! It will be memorable for not only you but your guests as well.
Stay True To You & Skip What Isn’t
One of the most important aspects of any wedding day but especially for your intimate wedding is making sure that you stay true to yourself and what YOU want. So often, we get caught up in outside opinions and perspectives. We want to please others and do what will make others happy all while neglecting our own needs and wants. NOT THIS TIME! When it comes game-time to planning your intimate wedding you want to make sure that you are doing what you want on your special day. Celebrate it how you want, decorate it how you want, and have the intimate wedding that you’ve always wanted. Sticking with everyone else’s wants and needs will only cause you to regret not doing things how you wanted to in the first place. Make sure that you sit down with your partner and discuss the non-negotiables and remember to stand by your decision! It will be worth it in the end, trust me.
Utah Wedding Venues For An Intimate Wedding
Aside from planning your intimate wedding, you are going to need to make sure that you are choosing the right wedding venue for your intimate wedding. Below, I have compiled a list of Utah wedding venues for an intimate wedding.
Red Earth Venue (check out the blog here)
How To Plan An Intimate Wedding: Step By Step Guide
Planning your intimate wedding does not have to be difficult. In fact, wedding planning in general is a part of the whole wedding experience. Going through the motions of planning an intimate wedding is half the battle and one that is well worth it in the end. Hopefully with this step-by-step guide on how to plan an intimate wedding you are able to tackle this task head-on. Face your fears and know that when it comes to planning an intimate wedding enjoy the process.
