There are many ways to celebrate a wedding and all of them have a special charm, as the event itself contains magic and symbolism in equal parts. But when deciding on the style of your celebration, one of the first things you should ask yourself is whether you prefer an intimate wedding or a wedding with many guests. An important choice that will define the path to follow in the wonderful adventure of wedding preparations. In the following post, we expose you the pros and cons of both types of wedding, to help you make the best decision.
Intimate or large-scale wedding? Nowadays, the world of weddings is so wide and diverse that any option, style or format of celebration is possible. Although it is true that the circumstances experienced in the past few years have led to a popularization of intimate weddings with few guests, traditional weddings with more than 100 guests are still booming. Both formats coexist and intermingle, offering you an infinite number of possibilities when it comes to creating your ideal party.
The size of your wedding will set the roadmap for planning it from the beginning, as one of the first aspects to define will be the space where the celebration will take place. If you don't want to disregard any commitments on the guest list and your families are rather large, you should look for open spaces with different atmospheres, in case the weather makes a plan B necessary. A large ballroom, a spacious hotel in the city centre or an estate with vast gardens will be your perfect option if you opt for a large-scale wedding.
Organizing a large banquet is a bit more time-consuming, especially when it comes to putting together the ideal seating plan. In addition, It will also require taking care of logistics and travel if the ceremony and the banquet are held in different locations, for example, by organizing a shuttle service to take guests from one place to another and return them to their point of origin at the end of the celebration. However, once it is done, it is a very rewarding job and a real luxury to be able to bring together so many people who are looking forward to celebrating this special day. In any case, hiring the services of a wedding planner will always be a great help and will allow you to enjoy the process much more.
Intimate weddings offer that emotional and personalized touch that is more difficult to achieve in large-scale weddings. Intimate ceremonies are perfect to include readings, songs, special moments and all this in a close and relaxed environment. By having a small number of guests, you will be able to prepare exclusive details for each of them more easily and thus make them feel very integrated into the party. The buffet format is becoming more and more established, especially in weddings with a casual touch, and the gastronomic offers are becoming more original and surprising. Also, if you decide to get married in a private estate, you can even extend the celebration by accommodating your guests there and culminating the next day with an intimate family breakfast. Sounds good, doesn't it?
On a financial level, although at first glance it may seem that a small wedding is less expensive, they often become a more upscale celebration because of their charm and exclusivity. Thinking about everything on a small scale allows you to distribute your budget in a more selective way, investing in aspects that, perhaps, in a larger wedding would not be enjoyed in the same way. If only your most intimate circle accompanies you, nerves, protocol and rigidity are left aside, giving way to a pleasant and cozy familiar atmosphere.
When it comes to the outfit, a smaller wedding will make it more practical to follow a dress code or have a themed party, as fewer guests and more trusting guests will make it easier for them to accept your requests. Although there are intimate weddings with the same class or etiquette as the traditional format, in general, a chaque or frac, as well as a big dress with a long trail and a cathedral veil will not be very suitable for an event with few guests. This will be more in line with relaxed, casual and informal attire. In any case, it will always depend on whether it is day or night and the chosen setting: beach, forest, private property or even at home if there is enough space, why not? It is your wedding and you set the rules. Either way, it will be a spectacular day.