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Three perks of having an intimate wedding

June 4, 2020

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Hey friends! With the shift towards elopements and intimate weddings due to health concerns, I realize a lot of brides may be feeling disappointed that they are being forced to pare down their guest list to meet health guidelines. But having had an intimate wedding myself, I thought I’d share the upside to having a smaller guest list and bring out the GOOD that can come from all of this! There are so. many. benefits. and this blog post could be so long but I’ve chosen the three benefits that, in my opinion, are the best! So here are the three perks of having an intimate wedding!

Intimate Wedding- wedding of 50 people or less

intimate wedding

You Save Money

This is probably the most obvious and biggest perk of having a more intimate wedding. It’s no secret that the bigger the wedding you have, the more it will cost. From more apparent costs like food for each guest, chairs, tables, to less apparent ones like printing programs or sending out more invitations- literally everything costs more when you have a larger guest list. So it naturally follows that a smaller wedding will cost less. You have more venue options that are affordable, you won’t need as many chairs, as much food, etc. and you can hire the photographer of your dreams for less since covering elopements and intimate weddings doesn’t require 8 hours of coverage, etc. Which brings me to my next point.

intimate wedding

Quality>Quantity

Since you have pared down your guest list and therefore have saved money, you can prioritize the things you *truly* care about for your day! You can take the extra money you saved and focus on quality over quantity. With a smaller wedding, you have the ability to invest in the cake of your dreams, spare no expense on food, florals, photography etc. and curate a beautiful and elegant wedding. Or you can take the money and invest it in your honeymoon! You can invest in the things that are important to you and don’t have to cut corners because you are worried about the budget to accommodate a larger guest count.

Sweet Meadow Farm and HomePlace Intimate Wedding

Less Stress

It’s no secret that my brides who opt for a more intimate wedding are less stressed and are able to celebrate and enjoy their day more easily! Their day isn’t filled with so many moving pieces or people to wrangle- it’s much slower, more intentional, and there is so much more time to relax and soak in every single moment. There’s less pressure to produce an event and perform and more room to be present and focus on the whole purpose of your day: your marriage!

Those are the three perks to having an intimate wedding in my opinion but in reality there are SO MANY MORE! What are some added benefits that you have seen of having a smaller wedding? Leave a comment below and share with other brides!

My heart went out to so many couples who were so disappointed that they had to reimagine their day because of COVID-19. But I’m here to tell you that there is so much GOOD that can come from a disappointing situation. So much lemonade from those silly lemons! Over the next few weeks I’ll be talking about how to *still* have the wedding of your dreams within the confines of our current situations. Have a topic you want me to discuss specifically about intimate weddings? Send me a message or leave me a comment!

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BEHIND THE LENS with alabama wedding photographer

Meet Sarah

At home in the garden. Ever-focused on finding beauty in simplicity and the art of creating.

I'm Sarah and I'm beyond blessed to photograph amazing people on some of the most important days of their lives. I believe your wedding photos should feel as meaningful fifty years from now as they do today. My approach is equal parts artistry and heart: capturing the small, unplanned moments that make your day truly yours, while guiding you through portraits that feel effortless and natural.

Inspired by the elegance of European weddings and the beauty of meaningful connection, I approach every wedding as if it were my own—thoughtfully, with care, and always focused on what matters most: you. Whether I’m documenting a garden wedding in Alabama or a château celebration abroad, I want you to feel fully present and at ease, trusting that your memories are in good hands.

When I’m not behind the camera, you’ll find me at home in our 120-year-old farmhouse with my husband and our four children, baking something sweet or tending to our garden. My greatest joy is preserving life’s fleeting moments—and it would be an honor to preserve yours.