How to Style an Intimate Wedding That Will Still Wow Your Guests!

Lauren Megerdichian
November 19, 2020
Categories: Photo Shoot, The Blog, Wedding Decor, Wedding Details, Wedding Fashion, Wedding Style

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, folks… an intimate, micro wedding can be just as breathtaking as grand, lavish affairs! Don’t believe us? Then allow today’s gorgeous shoot from Cavin Elizabeth Photography to prove us right. Cavin kindly walks you through each element of a micro wedding, highlighting the many design opportunities that can be accomplished with a smaller guest count. Ready to see all the inspiration? Along with Studio Fleurish’s jaw-dropping arrangements? Then head on over to the full gallery of details!

From Cavin Elizabeth Photography… Due to the pandemic, many brides are moving toward micro weddings and abandoning the idea of hosting a 150/200+ person affair. With the world of weddings in an unknown state, I think planning smaller guest count weddings will be much safer in terms of health but also in the higher chance of the wedding being legally allowed to take place. For this editorial, we wanted to showcase the beauty of fall and how you can style an intimate wedding that will still wow your guests. Smaller tables of single households might become a trend for future weddings and with small guest counts, it’s much easier to fully deck out each table without breaking your budget. Nadine of Studio Fleurish designed two separate tablescapes.

The first consisted of fall-toned pastels and the second a more moody palette. Brides could opt to design their wedding tablescapes with just one of these palettes or mix up the design and spread both looks across all of their tables. Next, a lounge is perfect for intimate weddings. After dinner, guests can mosey to the comfy sofas to enjoy cocktails and conversation. You can’t go wrong with a neutral lounge and a couple pops of fall color in your textiles! Speaking of cocktails, Snake Oil Cocktail created two delicious fall libations infused with culinary perfection: London Calling and Ginger Peach. Loren of Four Things Paper designed a watercolor cocktail menu featuring two precious pups. We love when couples include their pets, hobbies, or history into their wedding signage, so of course we couldn’t resist doing so for this editorial.

Moving onto bridal looks, I always believe that the season doesn’t have to dictate your dress. If you want long sleeves in summer or a strapless, fitted gown in winter, go for it! I pulled over a dozen bridal looks from my bridal boutique, The White Flower, to show just how beautiful any silhouette or sleeve style can look against a fall palette. At the end of the day, brides should choose the dress that best suits their personality and comfort rather than focusing too much on “matching” the gown to the season or venue. As an avid fashion lover, I totally have to suggest that if you’re torn between two gowns and perhaps have more room in your budget due to downsizing your guest count, by all means get two dresses! If you do, plan extra time in your timeline for portraits in both looks! In case you’re still on the fence about hosting an intimate, micro wedding, know that there are so many benefits of doing so compared to hosting a larger event. Likely the most meaningful is that you’ll have much more time to spend with each guest. Weddings go by SO fast and if you have 200+ people, odds are you might not be able to talk to every person and you might feel stressed trying to make your way to as many people as possible. Second, your budget will have much more of a positive visible impact on your design and decor, especially with your flowers. Spreading your floral budget across 4-5 tables will give you much larger arrangements than using that same budget across 15+ tables. Lastly, in the time of the pandemic, you’re making a much more health-responsible choice by having far fewer people at your event since we have no idea when the virus will be eradicated. Less guests means less risk and will likely put your crowd more at ease!