You Asked; I'm Answering! How to Save on Your Wedding Budget: Micro Weddings & Elopements

Welcome to Part 2 of my series: You Asked; I'm Answering! How to Save on Your Wedding Budget: Micro Weddings & Elopements. You can find Part 1 here for a general overview of ways to save and now it's time to start digging into the nitty gritty! We're starting with micro weddings and elopements because this is an area that is going to give you the most freedom, flexibility, and budgetary ease.

Let's start with elopements! The historical context of eloping was simply marrying in secret without parental permission. These days, it's much more flexible and often governed by each state's requirements on how many witnesses you need to legally wed! I'd argue that anything under 5 wedding guests (excluding any vendors) counts as eloping and it certainly doesn't have to be in secret!

Photo I took at my best friend's courthouse wedding. Her bouquet is Sola Wood Flowers and they made their own rings

When you elope, the world becomes your oyster for wedding venues and what you can do to create your wedding day. You could go to the courthouse to wed and then have a meal at a restaurant or host a small party at home, etc, or host no celebration at all. Or lots of people choose to elope in nature, from mountains to waterfalls to beaches (and a tiny group rarely requires a reservation or permit - but make sure to look up the rules of the spot you want) with just themselves, a photographer (but that's optional), an officiant, and any required witnesses (again, look up the laws in the state you're marrying) with perhaps a picnic to follow. I know some elopement photographers who specialize in these kinds of elopements and some even help with the planning. This can be a huge savings if you want that private, beautiful moment that can't be achieved with even a midsize wedding. If you want photography, I'd find someone who specializes in elopements so you're not wasting your budget, but between that, your attire, rings if wanted, a professional officiant (if not asking a friend), any picnic or dining costs, any floral you want (maybe bouquets or boutonnieres), and your marriage license, your costs should be minimal.

Or some decide to take their budget and elope internationally! Then you can turn your wedding into your honeymoon. Make sure to look up the marriage laws in the county you're marrying in (ask me sometime about my friend who had to be married twice because his wedding outside the US ended up not being legally enforceable)!

Micro weddings can be almost as flexible as elopements! The definitions around what constitutes a micro weddings are wildly different depending on who you ask, so for the purposes of this post, we'll say it's 30 or so guests or less.

Photo by T Lukas Photography

If you still want the bells and whistles of a traditional wedding, but with the small guest count, there are more and more venues (and even vendors) that are offering micro wedding packages at a distinct savings from their more traditional packages. Some caterers won't cater micro weddings (so just do your research) so if that's the case where you are or you don't have the budget for a catering company, I'd either look for venues that also provide catering/rentals or bring in restaurant catering (but see my post on catering labor before you book anything). I've coordinated weddings just like this and it can be so nice to have a small, core group of friends and family to celebrate with.

Or you can go non-traditional and save even more with some flexibility. Many public areas like beaches and parks do not require permitting if you don't set up chairs and don't amplify sound (usually a small speaker is fine; also no chairs and no AV is a cost savings!), so look into the laws of a spot you like and consider just coming out with your group, gathering in a circle, and having your wedding ceremony with no ceremony decor or hoopla.

After which, you could have a picnic onsite or go to a restaurant and host a large party or private dining (depending on your group size and the restaurant) or host a gathering at home or a rental home and keep it casual so you don't need rentals (but make sure you look up the rules on parties at your house rental). The costs here as the same as with an elopement but with any additional food or decor you want, any wedding party costs, etc. If it were me, I'd hire a photographer, DIY a small amount of decor, and skip all the other vendors to keep my costs tight. Pro tip: you do not need to tell a restaurant it's not a wedding! Reservations and private dining are the same regardless. If you want them to cut a cake for you, they charge a fee whether it's for a wedding or not.

Or, for a small fee, you can reserve a park picnic area and use that for both the ceremony and reception, but be aware that cities with great parks like in Portland, where I work, do a lottery or similar system for hosting weddings at parks because they're in high demand. But I had a client choose a park in a city outside of Portland for her wedding just this year and it was a very easy process. If you're serving alcohol, there is typically an additional fee, FYI, and look into local liquor laws.

Photo I took at my cousin's wedding on Venice Beach

I've attended several micro weddings as a guest and loved all of them! I was a guest at two different beach weddings where we gathered in a close circle on the beach and then went back to a beach house to party. At one we had amazing local Mexican food delivered and, at the other, gourmet pizza. Only one of those couples chose to hire a photographer and, personally, I think having those photos was a great decision. And I was privileged to attend a micro wedding at a Portland park last year where we gathered around a tree the couple loved (they also hired a photographer) and afterward we walked to a nearby restaurant patio they'd reserved, enjoyed absolutely delicious food and bevs, and enjoyed the good company! I had an absolute blast at all three of those weddings and would recommend doing that to anyone considering it!

So would you elope or have a micro wedding?

Happy wedding planning,

Andy <3