A while back we wrote about the wedding trend called a micro wedding and how it was starting to take shape on the west coast. Well, the corona virus kicked it hard in early to mid 2020 and couples are taking a hard look at their finances.

Here’s what a recent wedding planner, Virginia Edelson had to say on Brides.com.

"We see micro weddings hitting the scene in a big way for 2020," says Virginia Edelson, a wedding planner based in Aspen, Colorado. "Micro weddings are larger than a traditional elopement but do not include every single person you’ve known since birth! We love how intimate a micro wedding can be. Due to the size, a lot of unique destinations and venues become options to celebrate the experience with your nearest and dearest."

In fact, over the last three months, Carole and I have done more of these micro weddings than we did in the last five years combined!

Micro Wedding uptick

But something we are seeing with a lot of 2021 couples is they too are following this trend.

A micro wedding definition: Less than 50 people, half a day for everything, it’s over in 4-5 hours tops and still has all the elements of a traditional wedding.

Why couples are flocking to micro weddings?

Two reasons, first COVID-19 has been a catalyst of sorts for the trend, but mainly it saves the couple a lot of money, roughly 40% of the entire wedding fact.

I’m seeing couples spending $9,000-$11,000 for their entire day rather than the $29,000 to $35,000 they would have normally. By cutting the time down and the gust list, it literally cuts everything down, from the cost of the wedding DJ to us, your wedding photography and video team.

What about others I wanted to Invite?

Well, we have an answer for that and it’s live streaming the wedding day. Many companies like ours are offerings live streaming of the ceremony and others are going farther by offering live stream of the reception too.

There are some benefits to having a live stream of your big day, especially when it comes to older family that have a hard time moving about.

Most live streams are also recorded locally on the camera as well as the end point, like YouTube for example.

Pro Tip: Ask your videographer to stream this to YouTube instead of Facebook. You don’t need an account for YouTube to watch video and older folks will not be tech savvy on social media.

2021 couples are seeking micro weddings too

Coupes after the country corona virus lockdown are going to be much like couples from 2002 and 2009, the year prior were bad ones, the 9/11 terrorist's attack and then the housing market crash slowed the economy.

I remember those years well in the wedding industry, they were bad for us wedding vendors because couples were looking to save as much as they could, not spend.

wedding clients history

we had a dip in clients after 9/11 and the housing bubble

2021 couples are going to be similar with cutting back on wedding finances, but they still want the full experience.

Instead of eloping, they are seeking a shorter, smaller wedding day, just condensed into half a day and thus why micro weddings will continue to dominate the next year.

Couples concerned about the upcoming wedding

2020 and 2021 couples, Facebook survey, May 2020

The other thing to consider is that many guests are not going to want to venture out because of the virus and it could last another 3 months or 24, no one is sure.

What does a micro wedding looks like?

It’s literally your entire day, just shoved into a morning or afternoon.

You still have a venue, a ceremony and a wedding reception, all the vendors like a planner, wedding photographer, DJ, florist, catering and videographer, it’s just short.

Instead of an 8 to 10 hour wedding day, you have a 4-5 hour wedding day.

And regrading the guests, its usually 50 or less with an average of about 32.

Now with vendors, it’s a bit challenging because most do not offer a micro wedding deal or package and that’s a problem for couples.

Wedding Type Average Length

Best Way to Hire a Vendor for a Micro Wedding?

The best way to book the vendor you want is to communicate with them about having a micro wedding. Since many vendors don’t offer them, you have some challenges with finding the right one. They include finding vendors that offer them, negotiating with vendors that don’t or settle for a lower tiered vendor.

Finding Vendors that offer Micro Wedding services

It can be somewhat difficult to find vendors that offer micro weddings and that’s because most don’t make a big margin on the costs and most focus on the business model of charging the most they can from each couple.

Luckily, those that offer them will typically have some sort of package or deal already laid out for you and there is nothing to really negotiate.

For example, we offer a micro wedding package that includes both Carole and I for 4 hours coverage and video live streaming of the wedding.

Negotiate with Vendors that don’t offer micro-weddings

One of the best secrets that we often talk about is that no matter who you’re dealing with, you are in control and with that you also have the power to negotiate.

Yes, many vendors will not want to negotiate or they may say they don’t do that, but the truth is, they will if it comes down to picking them vs. another similar vendor.

In fact, when you car comparing two vendors that offer almost the same services, you can use the power of negotiation to get a price lowered on average 5-10%.

For small vendors that’s not a lot of money, think the officiant or makeup artist, but for those that cost more, like venues, catering and photographers, it could save you q few hundred bucks if not thousands.

That can add up too!

Normal wedding costs vs micro-wedding

Another tactic to use is instead of asking for a discount, ask for an additional service as an add-on at no cost. Finally, if it’s a small mom and pop and you have something they could benefit from, you may be able to barter some of the cost.

For example, if you’re great at blogging and writing, you may be able able to barter a portion of your services.

Settle for a lower tiered wedding vendor

The final solution is to settle for a lower priced vendor with little experience. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing, but it’s certainly a roll f the dice choosing someone with little experience in weddings.

A lower tiered wedding vendor is one that is lower priced due to their lack of experience in the wedding industry. They may or may not have experience in their field, catering, florist or photographer for example, just not in weddings.

Draw backs to a micro wedding?

The main drawback is that your guest list will be trimmed down quite a bit and the wedding day itself will be over in half a day.

For some couples, a micro-wedding is not for them, those couples want an over-the-top wedding day with tons of guests. For others, a micro wedding is the perfect sweet spot for them and it will save them a lot of money.