While your guest list might be small, you can still celebrate BIG! From investing in one of the best Pittsburgh wedding photographers to still cutting a wedding cake, we’ve rounded up seven ways to make your small wedding special. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event no matter how many people are there to witness it. If you’re looking for tips on how to make your close-friends-and-family-only affair feel more like a traditional wedding, here is our best advice!
Find the perfect venue.
While traditional hotel ballrooms and large event spaces might work for parties of a few hundred people, your small celebration might get lost in those cavernous venues. Luckily, there are a number of places that specifically cater to intimate weddings. Roost, PointBreezeway, and the Union Hall at Bar Marco are just a few of the venues where a micro-wedding is appropriate, given the size of the space. You can find more small Pittsburgh wedding venues in the Burgh Brides Vendor Guide. Be sure to ask about special packages for small weddings too!
Invest in an amazing photographer.
Hosting a small wedding will save you money, no doubt. But one area where you most definitely want to invest is photography. The size of the celebration doesn’t make it any less worthy of beautiful documentation. Prioritize a quality Pittsburgh wedding photographer when creating your wedding budget and we guarantee you will come back to thank us when, years from now, you pull out your wedding photos and get all teary-eyed looking at them over again and again.
Spring for a videographer.
If your wedding budget also allows, we highly recommend hiring a Pittsburgh wedding videographer. Photos can take you back in time, yes, but there is something so unbelievably powerful about being able to WATCH your wedding unfold from another person’s perspective. Trust us…you will never regret spending money on being able to relive so many special moments! Don’t believe us? Check out these five reasons why you won’t regret having a wedding film!
Get glammed up.
While the celebration may be small, it’s still your WEDDING DAY! You deserve to look and feel like a million bucks. Whether you choose to go full bridal with a traditional wedding dress or play it cool with something a little more low key, you should look and feel the part. Jumpsuits can provide a modern, cool look while some bridesmaids dresses can pass for a casual wedding dress! To complete your look, hire a hair and makeup stylist to make sure you are photo ready from head to toe.
Involve your guests.
The beauty of a scaled-down wedding is that guests can actually play a more intimate role in it. Invite close friends and family to say a few words during the ceremony or welcome each of them with a hand-written note. During the reception, snap an individual photo with everyone to commemorate the special day and mail it to them afterwards. Overall, throughout the day, you’ll be able to spend a longer amount of time with each guest, resulting in more meaningful conversations and memories made.
Don’t forgo the details.
Small can still be stylish! Just because the celebration is intimate doesn’t mean you can’t think about all the little things that will make it memorable. Beautiful florals, stylized tablescapes, and a gorgeous wedding cake are just a few ways you can bring your love story to life. Add some romantic candlelight and soft music and you have the recipe for an extraordinary soiree, no matter the size!
Include traditional wedding “moments”.
To make it feel more like a “traditional wedding,” include all of those things you would expect to find at one. Cake your cake, have a first dance, invite a few close friends or family members to make a toast, and kiss every time those glasses are clinked with a fork! If you’re struggling with making your intimate affair still feel very much like a wedding, including these customs just might remind you and your guests where they are and what they are celebrating!
