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How to plan a wedding for 15 people

23/10/20

How to Plan an Intimate Wedding

Published by Rob Colton

Intimate Wedding Ideas and Why Big Isn’t Always Better

Here at The Rose and Crown Hotel Colchester, we’ve been helping couples create the ideal intimate wedding for years.

We have some fantastic low key wedding ideas to share with you and hopefully by the end of this, you’ll be looking forward to creating a beautiful and intimate wedding of your own.


Why Have a Small Wedding?

Intimate Weddings
There are many reasons why an intimate wedding is actually a good idea. It’s true that you’re probably wondering how to have a small wedding and make it memorable, but not only is there less planning and overall work involved, it also allows you more time to actually enjoy the day.

Intimate weddings have become quite fashionable over the years, with many couples shunning the ‘traditional’ huge wedding bash and deciding to go smaller.

This isn’t just a cashflow issue, it’s simply that some couples want to spend more time with their guests and focus on the day, rather than becoming distracted with far too many details and stress.

Let’s look at a few small wedding ideas and explain why a small wedding can be the best route forward.

1. You Can Work With a Smaller Budget

Fewer guests means a much lower budget is required, so an intimate wedding saves you cash from the get-go. It could actually mean that you can choose to really go to town on the various elements of your day, therefore making it super-memorable. Regardless, a smaller wedding means you’ll always spend less money than you would on a huge wedding.

2. You Escape Wedding Stress (To a Degree)

Okay, you might have some stress because weddings in essence are stressful, but an intimate wedding is always going to be far less stressful than a huge bash! There is much less that could go wrong, and by planning things out carefully you can actually get to enjoy every second of the day, rather than panicking about what comes next.

3. You Get to Throw Out The Rule Book

In order for a large wedding to run like clockwork, it often has to be traditional. However, you can think of some really quirky small wedding ideas when you have a more intimate gathering, because there is more time and money to play with.

You can really get into the details and make things perfect, simply because with fewer people, you have far less to think about.

4. You Can go to Town on The Catering

Everyone loves food! If you’re a foodie and you want your wedding to be a sumptuous feast, that’s going to be pretty difficult with a huge crowd. However, when you have an intimate wedding, you can enjoy a delicious gourmet meal as part of your day. You also get to enjoy more cake too!

5. You Can Really Make it About The Vows

Let’s be honest, many weddings turn into such a huge deal that we forget what they’re really all about – the vows you’re making to one another. With an intimate wedding you can really focus on that element and get the most out of your day. It’s likely to be super-memorable for all the right reasons as a result.

6. You Get to Really Spend Time With Your Guests

With a large wedding, it’s very hard to get around and speak to everyone. With an intimate wedding, you really get to spend quality time with your chosen few.

7. More Choice of Wedding Venues

A small wedding venue is much easier to find compared to somewhere for a huge shindig. We’re a little bias, but we believe The Rose and Crown Hotel Colchester is the perfect spot for a romantic, intimate wedding to remember.

Intimate Wedding Ideas

Small Wedding Ideas
So, we know why a small wedding is a good idea, now let’s really get you excited with our list of intimate wedding ideas that you might like to use.

1. Plan Your Guest List Carefully, But Not Everyone Has to Miss Out

Why not set up a camera and then live stream the most important parts of your day to your other friends and family at home. Virtual weddings are becoming a big deal and with Zoom and other video calling software, everyone can be a part of it!

2. Go With What You Really Want

Weddings can become about everyone else when the party is a big one, but when you’re thinking about intimate wedding ideas, you can choose the ones you like best and not what everyone wants for you. You can be a little selfish and make your wedding day more about you, just as it should be!

3. Consider a Themed Wedding

One of the quirkiest intimate wedding ideas is to go with a theme. Fewer people means more chance of it actually working, and that means you can really make the day something to remember for the very best reasons.

4. Opt For a Gourmet Meal

If you’re going to go to town with catering, choose a seriously gourmet meal and give everyone a slap up dinner they won’t forget! The money saved on a smaller wedding gives you the scope to do this and you can choose whatever you want. You’ll also get more of it, which isn’t the case when you have a huge party.

5. Personalise The Small Details

There are many intimate wedding ideas you can go with, but personalising is the best one. You can make personalised napkins for your guests, and you can create wedding favours that are tailored to the people attending, not just opting for something generic.

6. Shun The Traditional

We mentioned themes earlier, but you can go against the traditional ceremony layout and have something completely different with a small wedding.

You can have a circle rather than the regular rows, or you can go outside and have people standing if you really want to! Whatever you want to go with, it will be so much easier to make it work with an intimate wedding.

Discover Rose and Crown Weddings

Rose and Crown Weddings
How do you feel about having an intimate wedding now? Hopefully you’re excited and starting to visualise your own big day in your mind. You can easily make wedding reception ideas for small weddings work; they don’t have to be huge affairs to make them memorable.

For more info about weddings at The Rose and Crown Hotel, to book a show-around or if you just need a little advice from a friendly ear, why not contact our experienced wedding team on 01206 866677 or get in touch with our online enquiry form.

Weddings Enquire

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