There are a lot of paths couples can take when it comes getting married. This year, we are clearly facing a health crisis that has highly affected how couples have been able to celebrate getting hitched. Below, you will find the top five ways couples are choosing to tie the knot this year.
1. Micro Wedding
A micro-wedding is a hybrid of an elopement and traditional wedding. They were basically unheard of until this year. Typically, the guest count is 50 people or less, however, we have personally seen guest counts in the 20-30 range. In addition, micro weddings are literally just that. Couples have their ceremony, first dance, oftentimes toasts, and cake cutting, and they tend to have more design details than elopements. We have found micro-weddings to be popular with a lot of couples who were supposed to marry in 2020 and couldn’t wait any longer to celebrate the day they’ve been looking forward to for months, and some wanted to stay on track with their personal timelines. Another popular incorporation has been a live stream from a personal laptop using ZOOM or another video calling service so that they can include others in on the celebration.
- Elopement and traditional wedding hybrid this is literally a miniature wedding
- Guests: 50 or less (on average we’ve seen 20-30 or less during the pandemic)
- For: Couples who can’t wait to marry and can’t have a larger wedding, want to stay on track with their timelines, don’t want a big wedding at all but don’t want to elope.
- Video streaming has been incorporated into 2020-2021 celebrations
- Couples may or may not still have a larger wedding at a later date
2. Elopement
An elopement is an intimate ceremony that is usually just the couple, officiant, photographer, videographer, and maybe even a witness or two. Elopements, once spontaneous, have since become more planned with travel to breathtaking destinations growing in popularity. With a majority of couples choosing to elope locally recently, we have found that a majority of elopement ceremonies have been in living rooms, backyards, restaurants, and parks.
- An intimate ceremony with couple, officiant, and select vendors (photographer, videographer, hair and makeup, florist)
- Guests: 0 to 5 not including vendors, couple, and officiant
- For: Couples who want an intimate wedding ceremony and celebration, prefer to avoid the stress of wedding planning, or prefer to make their wedding into a personal travel adventure
- Elopements have become less spontaneous, more plans, and often include travel to breathtaking destinations
- Local elopement ceremonies have found popularity in living rooms, backyards, restaurants, and parks
4. Minimony
Minimonies are commitment ceremonies with 1-10 guests that take place during COVID-19 for couples who postponed their wedding but still want to honor their wedding date, perhaps legally marry, with the expectation of having a full celebration at a later date. They typically take place at home and many couples have had friends and family present via Zoom. What makes a minimony different from a micro wedding and elopement? Well, the term was coined by The Knot. After dissecting it a bit more we have discovered that a minimony is inbetween an elopement and micro wedding. They are simply just at-home ceremonies, nothing more, nothing less. We suspect it will develop into an alternative term for a micro wedding in the future.
- Minimonies are ceremonies
- Guests: 1 to 10
- For: Couples who want to honor their wedding date, want to legally marry and may have a larger wedding at a later date
- Minimal decor
- Often done at home with more guests than the average elopement
3. Traditional Wedding
Although we have only photographed and filmed one traditional wedding this year (2020), they are still happening! Venues have found ways to create safer experiences for couples still wanting to move forward with celebrations that are on the larger side. Each state and venue have their own guidelines, so the typical traditional wedding of 50-100+ guests could end up with a cut guest list while the rest of the wedding day remains as planned.
- Traditional weddings are typically full days for the couple, take place at larger venues meant for weddings
- Guests: 50 to 100 and up
- For: Couples who want a big celebration and a larger wedding with more guests and oftentimes more vendors
5. Civil Ceremony
Civil Ceremonies are conducted by government officials to solemnize a marriage license. They are brief, typically non-religious, and often performed by the county clerk or justice of the peace. We’ve found that couples that don’t want to stress but still want to wed have opted for a civil ceremony with loose plans to marry in the future.
- Civil Ceremonies are brief ceremonies conducted by government officials to solemnize a marriage license
- Typically non-religious
- Often performed by the county clerk or justice of the pease
- Guests: Depends on location rules
- For: Couples who just want to tie the knot and may or may not have plans to have a wedding and/or celebration in the future
Our Professional Opinion
Although we love all of these, we have really. been loving micro weddings! We have found that couples have really let their creativity shin and let loose when it comes to micro weddings. They’re a great opportunity to express your playfulness, take risks, and do things you may not be open to doing if you are planning on having a larger wedding later on down the road. Think dress rehearsal. The day you only do once, you can have the opportunity to do a small test run. Whattt!? You can see what some of our couples have done, here!
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