As a practical and minimalist minded person, let me begin this by saying these are just my opinions that have been based on my own wedding experience, having been a bridesmaid a few times, and what I’ve observed as a wedding photographer. Being more on the minimalist side, some of these will undoubtedly be on the unpopular side but that’s the fun of it! So here are 5 of my *most likely* unpopular opinions about weddings!

Weddings don’t have to be huge to be amazing.

The size of your wedding doesn’t determine how incredible it will be. Trust me…these COVID elopements have been incredible! Some of the most elegant and incredible weddings I have photographed have been smaller, more intimate weddings with less than 50 people. Those couples tend to be less stressed, have been able to invest in the things they truly care about without worrying about their budget, and are able to soak in every single moment of their day instead of being rushed from one thing to the next. Instead of feeling like a giant production with tons of moving pieces, the day was focused on the heart of the wedding day: Marriage and love! Want some perks about having a more intimate wedding? Read this blog post!

You don’t have to incorporate every wedding tradition for your wedding to be….a wedding.

I didn’t do a bouquet or garter toss at my own wedding. We also didn’t have any dancing besides the first dances (me with Matt, our parents, etc). We set up a bonfire and s’mores for everyone and we even opted out of favors and donated that money to a local farm instead. It was so fun to be able to curate our wedding day to fit our personalities and not worry about whether we were “doing our wedding the right way”. There is no wrong way to get married!

Your wedding doesn’t have to be expensive to be beautiful

Some of the most beautiful and elegant weddings I’ve ever been to cost less than $10K. These weddings tend to be more intimate in size and since the overall costs associated with their guest list were smaller, these couples were able to invest in the things that mattered most to them and curate some of the most beautiful weddings I’ve ever been a part of! Conversely, I’ve been to weddings where the budget was $30k+ and had virtually no decor, florals, etc because the majority of the budget was spent on accommodating the guest count. There are obviously gorgeous, expensive weddings but my point is that they don’t *have* to be expensive to be beautiful.

You don’t have to be considerate of everyone’s feelings as you plan your wedding day

First, I’m not saying that you need to be a complete bridezilla but it’s impossible to please everyone. Being pressured by family or friends to include guests that you have never spoken to or a tradition that you don’t like is just plain rude in my opinion. This day is about you and your fiancé starting the journey of marriage. If you don’t want to have a bridal party, then don’t! If you don’t want to invite your aunt that you haven’t spoken to since you were 12, then don’t! Don’t want to have a cake or a bouquet?? I mean the list could go on. You get the point.

Don’t try to DIY your wedding or elopement- it’s just not worth it

Take it from the girl who DIY’d her whole wedding- the decor, floral arrangements, everything. Just don’t. It was way more stressful and honestly didn’t save me that much money. Looking back I wish I had hired professionals to do those things and unload all of those unnecessary tasks off of my plate. TRUST ME. Just hire a professional. You won’t regret it.

So there you have it! My top 5 unpopular opinions about weddings! I’m sure I have plenty of others but I’d love to hear yours! I promise I won’t judge ;).