Four tips for planning an intimate wedding
Having an intimate wedding is a growing trend, as more and more couples move away from sending obligatory invites to great aunties and colleagues, and instead opt to celebrate with their nearest and dearest.
Oulton Hall Hotel, Nr Leeds
Many are now using their budget to create an intimate and personalised event rather than spreading costs thinly to host hundreds. But even with a relatively small number of guests, organising a wedding can feel like a full time job. For most it will be their only experience of organising such an important event so it's understandable to feel stressed.
To help, our team of specialised Event Planners have put together top tips for those planning their perfect, small wedding.
- Work out what's important
It's important to identify your reasons for choosing to have a small wedding, before doing anything else, to understand what's most important. This will help you to plan and prioritise where you should spend the time and effort and where to go the extra mile.
For example, maybe you chose an intimate wedding so that you can to spend more time socialising with guests, or perhaps it was an opportunity to do more with your budget to really 'wow' or add a more personal touch.
A good place to start is thinking back to other people's weddings. It will help you to realise which aspects of the day you enjoyed the most as a guest, and that you feel would work well for you and your partner. Your wedding will soon start to take some shape
- Personalise your day
At a smaller wedding it's likely that your guests will know you very well and this means that you can get personal!
There are endless opportunities and ways to personalise different elements of the day, from invites to drinks. Pinterest is a great place to start for inspiration but it's always worth speaking with your venue's wedding coordinator to find out what they would recommend.
- Keep track of everything
Though smaller in size, an intimate wedding doesn't necessarily mean there's less to keep track of and in many respects if couples are personalising elements, there's often more.
So we would still recommend keeping records and plans of everything to keep on top of your budget, supplier details, meetings and dietary requirements.
However, if you're looking for a stress-free approach consider choosing a venue that has everything included in its package; its own list of local recommended suppliers and one contact to help coordinate everything. Across all of our hotels, we offer brides and grooms their own wedding event planners which makes organising much easier and means there are fewer companies and suppliers to keep up to date, which can save a lot of time.
- Last but not least, make the most of the time together
Remember that your wedding is all about you and the person you're going to marry! You're making a commitment to each other and you're headed for a lifetime of happiness.
An intimate wedding also means you get to spend the day with your closest circle of family and friends, who will all be in the same place at the same time. The day itself can go so quickly so it's important to remember to switch off beforehand and take the time to soak it all up together.
For more information about weddings at Almarose Hotels & Resorts, go to https://www.qhotels.co.uk/weddings/ and view our collection of 20 four-star hotels
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