Advice from Prosperity Mansion & Farm an outdoor, Maryland wedding venue located in Frederick County Maryland and bordering Carroll County.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the wedding industry saw a rise in the popularity of intimate weddings and micro-weddings, because they allowed the wedding to fit within the capacity restriction of venues. They also both allow couples to save some money on “certain aspects of their wedding”. While some people see the concepts of intimate weddings and micro-weddings as the same, there are significant differences that set them apart from each other.
The main thing that an intimate wedding and a micro wedding have in common is that they have small guest lists. If you are considering having either an intimate or micro-wedding, you need to be selective about who you invite, the number of hours for your event, if you just want a quickie or a real celebration and more.
An intimate wedding is more similar to an elopement. At Prosperity Mansion & Farm, our intimate weddings are a two-hour package that allows the couple and up to 20 guests to have a ceremony and a photo session on the property. There is no cocktail hour, reception, dinner, dancing or celebration.
An intimate wedding is more impromptu and doesn’t require much planning. They are mainly held by couples who don’t want much more than an lovely ceremony and beautiful pictures to celebrate the occasion. Most couples who have an intimate wedding aren’t concerned about the finer details and just want to be married, so they aren’t scheduled that far in advance.
Because the number of people at an intimate wedding is so small, they rarely have a traditional bridal party. Some couples who have an intimate wedding will have a maid of honor and best man, but a large bridal party is counter-productive to the nature of an intimate wedding.
Conversely, a micro-wedding is a traditional wedding with a significantly smaller guest list. The number of guests in a micro-wedding varies, but most people consider a guest list of 50-60 or less people to be a micro-wedding.
Because a micro-wedding is a traditional wedding, they still have all of the elements a larger wedding will have—a ceremony, a cocktail hour, a full reception with dinner and dancing, music, flowers, décor, and more. They are well-planned and often booked months in advance.
A common misconception about micro-weddings is that you can save money on all aspects of them, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Vendors that charge per hour, such as your venue, DJ, photographer and more, will cost the same whether you have 20 guests or 200 guests.
This doesn’t mean everything is the same price, though. With a micro-wedding, you can save money on some vendors and elements, such as catering and liquor. Caterers are vendors that charge by the number of people at the wedding, so you would pay less money to feed less people than a larger wedding will. The same goes for the amount of alcohol you purchase for your cocktail hour and reception.
You can also cut costs for a micro-wedding in other ways. Silk flowers are just as beautiful as real flowers are at a fraction of the cost, and you get to keep them as a happy memory of your wedding! You can also take a DIY approach by making your own centerpieces and decorations and hand-writing your invitations and Save-The-Date cards instead of spending the money to have them professionally printed and mailed.
One of the best ways to save money on a micro-wedding is to have non-traditional desserts instead of a wedding cake. Cupcakes, pies, or even cookies are wonderful (and cheaper) alternatives to a full tiered cake that your guests will enjoy just as much.
Just because you have less people at a micro-wedding, that doesn’t mean you need to have less fun! You and your guests can still enjoy all of the fun activities we have here at Prosperity Mansion & Farm, including our corn hole boards, yard Jenga and lawn chess sets. You and your guests can also dance the night away during the reception and have the time of your life during the entire wedding.
Intimate weddings and micro-weddings are two COVID-19 friendly options that we offer here at Prosperity Mansion & Farm. If you’re looking for a way to have the best pandemic wedding, follow your hearts to our door!
Prosperity Mansion & Farm proudly serves:
Frederick Maryland
Carroll County Maryland
Westminster Maryland
Baltimore Maryland
Montgomery County Maryland
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Gettysburg Pennsylvania
Hanover Pennsylvania
Littlestown Pennsylvania
Loudoun County Virginia and more
Contact us at: 443-350-8100
prosperity_mansion@yahoo.com
www.prosperitymansion.com