Small Intimate Wedding V Big Traditional Wedding. Which one should you go for?
I have photographed so many of both these types of weddings and there is no doubt that whichever one you go for it will be the best day of your life! So, to help you decide which to go for, let us weigh them up!
Firstly, when I say ‘Big Traditional Wedding’ I don’t mean the kind you see on that cringey TV show (My Big Fat ***** Wedding), I mean Traditional Weddings with a few hundred guests. Now that's cleared up, let’s get cracking!
Small Intimate Weddings
It’s in the name, these are very authentic, intimate wedding days celebrated with your closest family & friends. Due to the fact your numbers are smaller you will undoubtedly have lots of meaningful connections and conversations with literally everyone throughout your day, which is so awesome!
Smaller weddings allow you to choose really cool, alternative locations that often don’t cater for traditional weddings, these can be marquee/tepee tents all the way to your favourite quirky restaurant or boutique hotel. This can make for a very personal day as you can often decorate these spaces to your own taste and really put your own stamp on the day.
The budget! None of us have an endless supply of money (if you do then pass some my way) so a smaller wedding can sometimes mean you spend less over all. Things like extra meals for guests, multiple bridesmaid dresses and flowers are not required and instead you can either save that cash for something else or put it all into your photographer for the day! (I joke! Kind of). Seriously though, the money not spent on 100’s of guests could be utilised on something else that you deem more important.
Time-frame is another biggie! You could comfortably organise and save for a smaller intimate wedding in less than 12 months. However, to guarantee you can book your favourite vendors, allow yourself as much time as you can. If you begin to narrow down your favourite vendors and start sending emails, then you will be well underway to creating your perfect day.
Big Traditional Weddings
How many of you have dreamed of your fairy-tale wedding, marrying your prince or princess and celebrating this day with all your family and friends ? Loads of you! It is no doubt, a huge goal for so many from such a young age! The big wedding is an awesome way to bring your full families and friends together to celebrate your marriage with a huge party.
Big weddings allow you to include all the cousins and friends that you grew up with in your day. The older we get the less time we spend with everyone outside our immediate families so this can be so special and is the number one reason why couples have big weddings.
The budget! Whilst bigger weddings are certainly more expensive as you kind of need more of everything, you do also receive a lot more gifts, aka money! Now before you begin treating a wedding like a business transaction because it certainly is not, I can tell you from experience that your guests will most likely ‘almost’ pay their way. What I mean is this, providing you don’t go completely overboard with added extras, your guests often gift to the value that covers there meal or more so you aren’t out 1000’s and 1000’s.
Timeframe is a key factor when organising your big wedding. More people, more things to do and more upfront costs to pay therefore it is very sensible to allow yourself plenty of time to plan for your dream day. I suggest 12-18months so that you don’t have to stop feeding yourself throughout the year to be able to pay for the wedding.
So which one is better, The Small Intimate Wedding Day or the Big Traditional Wedding Day?
BOTH ARE PERFECT! Only you can decide which one is right for you. My number one piece of advice for any couple wishing to get married, choose what is right for you and only you. The most important aspect of your day is the love you have for your partner and the bond you are creating by marrying! The wedding day itself is the setting and the backdrop to the day, your LOVE is all that actually matters because without it there would be no day at all.
