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Lockdown has launched a whole new trend for couples hosting their weddings
As small weddings are likely to be the norm for the foreseeable future, many couples who have postponed their wedding due to coronavirus have to start making some decisions. You might decide to postpone the entire wedding until you can celebrate as you hoped. However, you might still decide that a small wedding on or close to your original date sounds right for you… Discover whether an elopement wedding might be right for you!
Lockdown has launched a whole new trend for couples hosting tiny versions of their planned wedding day and saving the big party for a later date. It’s completely up to you whether you choose to make this your legal ceremony or not. There are several types of small weddings that have risen in popularity, such as micro-weddings.
The usual wedding rule book has been thrown out of the window. It’s time to make your own traditions! An intimate wedding doesn’t need to be done in a particular way. You could have an elopement with just the two of you and your witnesses, a sequel wedding with the legal ceremony now and big celebrations later or keep it small and enjoy the intimate day with your 13 guests.
Remember, this is your day and you can do it your way. You can be as traditional or untraditional as you like.
A 15 person wedding in England includes the couple, their witnesses, their guests and photographer. This means you can have up to 12 of your nearest and dearest in attendance. Think of ways you can make them feel even more special. You can do lots of things to ensure this happens, from giving them each a special gift to thank them for attending to hiring luxurious seating to increase their comfort on the day.
This is the time to upgrade your experience. A smaller wedding can generate less expenses at first, so now is the time to really spoil yourselves. With the reduced numbers, this day is even more about you and your partner; so make sure that you feel like you had the best experience possible by enhancing and customising it even further.
Traditionally, an elopement wedding was a spur-of-the-moment event involving some secrecy. It was often conducted without the knowledge of the couple’s family and friends, particularly their parents. However, that definition has changed in the last few years. Elopements have evolved due to couples wanting to be able to personalise their wedding. Now, an elopement wedding is simply a wedding ceremony, celebrated with just yourselves or a small gathering in a minimal, more casual fashion. As an exclusive use venue, we encourage you to personalise the day to your requirements and make your wedding unique to you.
The most daunting part of any wedding is usually the price tag. Elopement weddings are an affordable alternative if you are on a budget — or if your original wedding has been cancelled due to Covid-19 and you just want to get married!
You value intimacy and romance
A big wedding just isn’t for everyone. Some aspects of the traditional wedding ceremony, such as being given away, the white dress or even being the centre of attention for an entire day, just don’t work for some couples. Elopements can be an intimate, romantic adventure for you as a couple.
All weddings here at Manor Hill House are bespoke and tailored to your needs. With less people in attendance, you don’t have to make concessions to please everyone. This day is about your commitment to each other, so, why not take the financial and social pressures off the table? That way you can focus on what’s most important — each other.
You can’t elope quite as spontaneously as you might think. You must ‘give notice’ to marry at Worcestershire Registration Services at least 29 days before your wedding with us. A true elopement involves a legally binding ceremony, but if it is too complicated or you hit paperwork challenges, switch to a celebrant-led ceremony and sort out the legalities later.
Just because you’re having an intimate wedding doesn’t mean you’re completely on your own. Even the most popular professionals are happy to take on bookings for small weddings this year. The ceremony itself can last only a handful of minutes, but those few minutes can be the most important of your life! That’s why many feel that a photographer is key to capture the essence of the ceremony. The memories and photos will be all you have left of the wedding day, especially if you’re eloping. For any family or friends who are upset they couldn’t be part of the day, having photos to share with them might help them still feel part of it.
Your wedding attire is one place where having no social pressures of a traditional wedding is great! Because you’re not having a traditional wedding, you don’t need to go for the customary formal suits or a white dress. Of course, if you want the princess ball gown, go for it! Elopements are all about being personal to you.
Continuing on the topic of spoiling yourself, why not upgrade your wedding attire? Now, that doesn’t have to mean buying a brand new wedding dress or suit! However, it could mean treating yourself to a lovely piece of jewellery to wear on your big day or going for a more luxurious fabric for your tie or pocket square or even upgrading to those designer heels you’ve been thinking about for months. Or how about wearing your wedding dress twice! Or even having two different outfits for each celebration?
With less mouths to feed and less glasses to fill at the wedding breakfast, you can consider upgrading your menu and drinks packages. Substitute the Prosecco for champagne, increase the bar tab for your guests or even increase the number of courses you’ll eat! This is the perfect opportunity to go all out and make everyone feel extra special.
You will have the opportunity to sit down with our chef and design your menu for you and your guests, this will allow you to create a menu that suits your budget and tastes! Every menu is bespoke and all dietary requirements are catered for.
Those who will attend in person are your nearest and dearest. Why not include some personal touches, such as a big display of family photos. Think about, your grandparents wedding pictures or even a selection of photos of you and your partner along with those attending from over the years.
Personalisation doesn’t just need to be about photographs and family memories. You could also turn to things such as personalised cocktails, individual cakes or even a menu tailored to the personal favourites of each person attending.
Thank goodness for technology and its ability to keep us connected in these crazy times! A live stream is a great way to ensure those who can’t be at your wedding still feel like they are a part of it. You could live stream the ceremony on Facebook or have a big Zoom meeting during the wedding speeches, allowing those who want to say a few words to have their moment on your special day.
With less people attending, you may wish to involve your guests more in your ceremony and reception plans. Why not ask each guest to make a speech or come up with a game to play while you are all at your tables? The involvement can be anything from readings at the ceremony to creating the reception playlist of background music. Whatever the request or role, each guest will feel wonderful for being able to have such an important involvement in making your wedding day special. Don’t feel disheartened or panic about how your wedding photos will look. Speak to your photographer about the creative ways you can have amazing wedding pictures. We’ve seen photos styled to look like full on editorial photoshoots and really clever uses of perspective and depth. You will be surprised by how your photographer can work with the circumstances safely!
With your wedding video, it’s also worth considering hiring a professional videographer to record your wedding video and/or do your live stream. They can bring something extra to your day, whether that be help to involve your guests who aren’t attending to a beautiful memory within a wedding video to treasure in years to come.
Many of us aren’t leaving the country right now and for some that may unfortunately mean postponed honeymoons. Why not book a lovely mini moon or staycation honeymoon to celebrate with your new husband or wife after your intimate wedding? Whether you go straight after the wedding or leave it a couple of weeks before your little getaway, it will be a well earned treat that you can enjoy together and something extra to look forward to.
You got married during a pandemic, it’s an incredible moment of happiness in a dark time; so don’t forget to wear that 2020 badge with pride! For example, you could have fun with your pictures and ensure that a few reflect the times. Remember, weddings are the only social event that can take place at the moment with more than 6 people in England, you should be proud that you were able to offer that experience to your closest friends and family!
Photographer credits: The Brand Studio // Julie King // Phil Harrison