Over the years weddings have gone through an insane evolution to allow couples to freely create the wedding day that they truly want. Couples can now create the wedding day of their dreams, big or small, with more creative freedom than ever before, & I am ALL for it! Today we’ll be taking a look at one of these trends that has grown in popularity over the years. If you couldn’t guess it from the title, I’m of course talking about micro weddings. Let’s take a look at exactly what a micro wedding is, & 10 tips I have for planning your own micro wedding in Indianapolis!
What is a Micro Wedding?
Before we take a dive into my 10 tips for planning a micro wedding of your own in Indianapolis, it would first help to know what a micro wedding actually is. You might be guessing that it’s a smaller wedding, & you’d be right! The name is a bit of a giveaway, but there’s more to it than that. Specifically, a micro wedding is a celebration with anywhere between 10 & 50 guests. Any fewer & it becomes an elopement with guests, while any more puts us into the intimate wedding territory. So what’s the appeal of a micro wedding exactly?
Micro weddings strike a fine balance between the creative freedom, flexibility, individuality, & overall lower amount of stress of elopements while also allowing couples to celebrate one of the biggest milestones in their lives with their closest friends & family. It really can be the best of both worlds, which is why nowadays so many couples are opting to go with this fantastic option.
10 Tips for Planning a Micro Wedding in Indianapolis
So, how exactly does one go about planning one of these celebrations? Here are 10 tips to make your micro wedding in Indianapolis the best it can be!
1. Decide on the Feel of Your Day
First & foremost, you want to decide on what you want your wedding day to actually feel like. There’s a wide array of factors you’ll want to take into consideration when making this decision. Do you want a weekday or weekend wedding? What season do you plan to have your wedding in? What do you want your venue to look & feel like? Are you having your ceremony & reception at separate locations?
The reason this is the first step you want to take when planning out your micro wedding in Indianapolis is because it affects SO many other aspects of your planning process. As you start diving into the task of planning out your wedding day, talk with your partner openly about what each of you want & envision the day to look like.
2. Include Details Personal to You
Something I recommend that EVERY couple make a priority of for their wedding day is to include some personal details into your day. Maybe you want to include your pet into your newlywed portraits, or maybe you plan on wearing your grandmother’s wedding dress for the big day. Whatever it is, big or small, these details are a fantastic way to make your micro wedding in Indianapolis just that much more special to the two of you.
3. Iron Out Your Guest List
This is the deciding factor of what makes a micro wedding what it is. The limited space of the guest list is often the biggest stressor for couples planning their micro wedding here in Indianapolis. It’s important to remember that you’ve decided on doing a micro wedding for YOU. Your wedding day isn’t for your friends & family. They of course can be there to enjoy it, & they’ve clearly been a big part of your lives to this point, but ultimately this day is about you & your love for one another. With that in mind, work through your invite list with your partner so that only the people you want to be present for your wedding are there.
I also always like to remind couples that if they’re feeling guilty about not inviting certain friends or family members they can always have a larger celebration or reception at a later date!
4. Find the Perfect Venue for Your Micro Wedding
One of THE most impactful decisions you’ll make when planning your micro wedding is of course choosing the venue or venues you’ll be celebrating your day at. There’s a lot to consider here, & the important thing to remember is that there’s no right answer here. Every couple is different, so the ‘right’ venue for your celebration is probably different than any other couple! There’s a few questions to ask yourselves when deciding on your venue:
- Do you want your ceremony & reception at the same location?
- What is the style of the venue you’re looking for? (classic, historic, eclectic, rustic, etc.)
- Can the venue fit your celebration (for micro weddings this is usually only an issue with some smaller restaurants)
There are so many different venues throughout Indianapolis that can be the perfect space for your micro wedding. The Indiana Statehouse for instance is a fantastically beautiful & historic space for your ceremony. Something like The Liter House on the other hand is a great option as a lowkey reception venue. The options are practically endless here in Indy, which is one of the many reasons why I love micro weddings here!
5. Decide on Your Must Have Wedding Vendors
In addition to finding the right wedding venue for your micro wedding in Indianapolis, you’ll also want to put together a team of wedding vendors to bring your vision to life. This is one of the areas where micro weddings differ the most from larger sized celebrations. Much like with elopements, micro weddings give you a great amount of freedom in the vendors you choose to have for your wedding day. For example, if you plan on your reception being a simple & more low key dinner at a restaurant in downtown Indy you may not want to even bother booking a DJ for your day. This is just one of the many vendor options that you may or may not want to book depending on the vision you have for your day. The most common vendors for micro weddings include:
- Venue(s)
- Photographer
- Hair & Makeup Artist
- Florist
- Catering/Desserts (if not provided by your venue)
- Officiant
Some additional vendors you may want for your wedding include:
- Videographer
- DJ or Live Music
- Wedding Planner or Coordinator
- Décor Rentals
- Transportation
6. Book Your Wedding Vendors Early
Now that you have a list of the vendors you’ll need in order to provide the wedding experience you’re after, it’s time to start booking them! I ALWAYS recommend couples to start the process of booking their vendors as early as realistically possible, & this goes for any size wedding. Especially if your wedding is during the more popular seasons of summer & fall, you’ll want to reach out to your dream vendors ASAP to ensure that you’re able to book them for the big day. For example, as a wedding & elopement photographer my schedule starts booking out around a year in advance, if not earlier for those more popular dates.
7. Include Your Loved Ones into Your Day
Fewer vendors for your wedding day means you’re putting more on your plate though right? Not exactly! One of the best things about the smaller scale of micro weddings is that you’re able to delegate & rely more on your loved ones for assistance. Here’s one example:
A bride of mine & her husband chose not to have formal wedding parties for their big day. The bride also was lucky enough to have an aunt who was a hair stylist. Rather than book a hair & makeup artist who’d only be doing her styling, the bride had her aunt & best friend handle both her hair & makeup. This not only let the couple use some of their wedding budget elsewhere, but also created some incredibly meaningful moments & memories between the bride & these people she cares about deeply.
Now I realize not everyone has an aunt who’s a hair stylist, but you see the point! Including your loved ones throughout the day is a fantastic way to both make your wedding more personal & also can give you the opportunity to use your wedding budget towards other areas of your day.
8. Plan the Timeline of Your Wedding
One big stressor in planning any wedding day comes down to finalizing the timeline of the day itself. There’s a lot of pressure to get things right, & with larger weddings there’s even more pressure to make sure everything fits into the day. Micro weddings thankfully are a fair bit less structured, giving couples an added degree of freedom to really make the day what they want it to be. Whether that’s skipping the traditional church ceremony all together, or the lower guest count meaning that there are less group photos to organize in general, the timeline for your micro wedding in Indianapolis can look like anything you want! I do strongly recommend working with your photographer and/or your planner to help create your timeline to ensure that everything will run smoothly.
9. Book an Engagement Session with Your Wedding Photographer
This tip not only applies to couples planning a micro wedding in Indianapolis, but any couple planning an elopement or larger wedding as well. Having an engagement session with your wedding photographer prior to the big day is almost a must in my opinion. There are a LOT of nerves that come with a wedding day, & the last thing you want is to be feeling any added anxiety due to being in front of a complete stranger who’s taking photos of you.
Now, your photographer should be doing their best to help you to relax & actually enjoy your day to the fullest no matter what, but already having those first photo jitters out of the way can make a world of difference. Get to know your photographer before your wedding in a lower stakes setting like your engagement session so that when they arrive for your wedding they’re a source of excitement & joy rather than anxiety & self consciousness.
10. Be Present in Your Day
Last & definitely not least, try to be present for your micro wedding in Indianapolis! This may seem like a no brainer, but trust me when I tell you that it is simply TOO easy to get swept up in all the excitement of your wedding day. The day, whether you want it to or not, is going to FLY by. With that in mind, there is an amount of conscious effort you have to put into being present for all of the best moments of your wedding day. Try & set time aside with your partner, whether it’s a first look or the two of you take some time together after sunset portraits, to ground yourselves in the moment. Reflect on what’s happened so far, what lies ahead that you’re excited for, & how magical an experience this is to have your favorite people all here to celebrate your love.
Those are 10 tips to keep in mind as you plan your very own intimate wedding in Indianapolis! Be sure to check out some of my other blogs if you’re looking for more wedding planning tips & inspiration, & if you’re ready to book me to document your day send me an inquiry through my contact page.
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