There’s no doubt that the pandemic has forced us to adapt to a new way of life, especially when it involves gatherings. And as a newly engaged couple, wedding planning has been an uphill battle to say the least. Cameron and I are currently on our third wedding plan, but rather than pushing against the pandemic we’ve decided to flow with all of its chaos. This is why we decided to embrace the 2021 microwedding trend.
+ The obvious… health & safety
This pandemic is uncharted territory and we are put in the uncomfortable position of making big decisions for the near future. As such, we’ve tried locking in multiple 2020 – 2021 ceremonies that included a minimony followed by a sequel wedding, but the stars just would not align for us. The national parks closed for minimonies and elopements. And the venues we were considering involved extensive travel, included the dreaded acts of god clause in their contracts, or they proceeded to triple book our wedding date… leaving us without a venue at all. Perhaps it was for the best though.
As we started planning our wedding earlier this year, we did not realize the prolonged impact that COVID-19 would have on the world. That’s when Cameron and I realized we needed to embrace the here and now if we wanted this to be a semi-smooth planning process. We are hopeful for vaccines on the horizon, but unfortunately this is still our reality. Hosting a large wedding would put all of guests and ourselves at risk if a vaccine is not readily available by our wedding date. As someone living with a compromised immune system, Cameron and I came to the conclusion that a large wedding just isn’t in the cards for us.
+ Small and intimate weddings have their perks
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Hosting a microwedding does have its advantages. Rather than spending a few minutes with each guest at a large wedding, Cameron and I can actually spend quality time with our immediate family, grandparents, and childhood friends. Not to mention, we’ll actually have time to eat dinner!
And because we aren’t spending a large amount of our budget on headcount, it actually leaves us room to get creative with our event. It will not be a traditional wedding in the least, but that’s okay. We are not a conventional couple to begin with. However, that doesn’t mean our microwedding will be less meaningful, romantic, or elegant than a traditional wedding. Stay tuned for updates as we continue with our planning process!
+ We can still share our big day with extended family & friends… virtually
Cameron and I really struggled with our decision to host a microwedding. However, we didn’t want to risk postponing our marriage or infecting our guests at a large wedding. That’s why we’ve decided to embrace technology and create a livestream for all of our extended family and friends. Again, very non-traditional! Yet, we feel that this is the best way to share our big day and keep all of our loved ones safe.
+ If virtual isn’t an option, we’ll celebrate with our loved ones at a later date
A livestream may seem simple, but there are a lot of things to consider when you’re trying to set up a quality connection for the big event. Our venue is in a very remote location so we’ve had to ask ourselves…
Does the venue have a strong wifi connection? What about cables? How are we going to prop up the camera, but also keep it out of the way? And a livestream with a production crew can get pricy. If a livestream is too expensive or just too much of a headache, your loved ones can celebrate with you at a later date. We’re living in uncertain times and (hopefully) they will understand and look forward to celebrating with you at a later date!
