Micro Weddings & Events: What Are These?
Online searches using the term “Micro Wedding” or “Micro Event” (ME) have doubled since March; so, what are they? These mini events can vary widely in size and style but are characterized as intimate affairs with 2-50 guests.
Micro weddings, not to be confused with an elopement, still feature time-honored wedding traditions, but on a much smaller scale. Recent studies have found that couples are still spending as if they had their original 100 person guest count but have less than 50 onsite. Where are these costs going? These expenditures are used on elements to create comfortable lounging and dining seating arrangements as well as floral and lighting enhancements, rather than outfitting an entire bar for 100ppl which we all know eats away at the budget. Couples may have been saving for years and already have the budget established, and while they may not spend all of it, many times they still look for that magical and memorable day for themselves and those guests that are in attendance. Additional trends working together with micro weddings are those that make the experience feel custom to the couple and their guests. These trends include custom printed masks with the couple’s initials and wedding date as well as hand-written notes from the couple accompanying each place card at the dinner table. Smaller seating pods, grouping only family members or small friend groups, have also become extremely popular. Lastly, setting aside a small portion of time to do both in-person and recorded video speeches, for those that could not make it, allows for the couple to feel the love from those near and far.
Dozens of hotels across the country, including the Four Seasons brand, have also created micro wedding packages. Typical inclusions are an outdoor/nature focused ceremony space allowing your closest friends and family members to enjoy the nuptials in person and in a social distanced environment. These packages also include custom bouquet/boutonnieres, a 3-4 course dinner with bar/wine service and a hotel stay for the wedding couple.
As a planner, be sure to understand the maximum capacity for an in-person event in your area and remain empathetic, patient, and flexible! Do away with the “normal” phrase and all preexisting expectations of what should have been and create something MORE memorable. Take advantage of the smaller size and help the couple celebrate somewhere they wouldn’t have even been able to consider with a larger wedding. There’s a whole world of unique spaces that become inaccessible when the guest count is large!
For those in the corporate world, micro events (MEs) can mean two things: those that take place online and those that are in person. Historically speaking, corporate micro events are those that take place online; webinars and live video broadcasts that engage a target audience with very minimal setup. Offline micro events are small in person events with like-minded peers with focused content. Many miss the face-to-face contact that in person/live events create, and as these become more of an option, remember bigger isn’t always better when it comes to the event world. Attendees really like to focus on the connections made and the quality of content. This can be hard to accomplish with a thousand+ industry folks onsite or an entire company’s sales team from all over the country.
Planner to Planner Advice: Have a list of which preferred vendors have mastered micro events and get creative, think outside of the box! Contact your local bakery for a variety of different desserts, rather than the traditional cake for 85 guests as well as your local florist who specializes in smaller unique table arrangements. Smaller events open a world of new (local) vendors that may not have been considered in the traditional setting. Likewise, these smaller affairs allow for more meaningful touches throughout the event, such as hand-written notes or painted invites instead of printed. For corporate ME’s, a more robust virtual event will be in order; attendees need more than the traditional PPT presentation deck to stay engaged with the amount of time they are already online. This is also a great time to reach out to your AV partner(s) for help and to have working knowledge of what’s possible and more engaging, and to have familiarity with some of the virtual platforms available.
