5 reasons to have a small wedding in 2020

Later this month with any luck the government will allow small weddings in England and we thought we would highlight the reasons why small weddings can be the ideal solution for couples that had planned a large wedding but now have to downsize and rethink their celebration.

1. Social Distancing in a crowded space is very stressful.

Everyone has had the moment in the supermarket when pandemic etiquette goes into overdrive, the awkward hesitation, then exasperation, lunging and grabbing the quinoa and profusely apologising for closing the 3 meter hidden exclusion zone. Imagine this pressure at a wedding when everyone is on social tip toes anyway, it would all be too intense. Instead, how about half a dozen guests who are all of a similar mind set who can all have common sense and just relax and enjoy the ceremony and reception? Sounds much better…stress free

2. Growing Number of Venues

The number of venues on offer grows too, all the smaller quirky hotels and Register Offices from downtown Chelsea to a quaint hotel room are now on your shortlist. All the guests can easily drive there for the day or stay over, no need to worry about parking for 50 cars, or where the Portaloos may be placed out of sight, or the complex seating plan…Of course the wedding celebration can take place later in the year when there’s a chance things will be back to normal. Couples often decide to make the most of this opportunity to have portrait sessions taken in front of a number of London’s well known attractions, from China Town to Tower Bridge and St Paul’s. Hire a taxi and with a good driver I can shoot up to 10 locations in one day. It really does make for a dramatic and unique set of images.

3. Delay but Don’t Cancel the Celebration

Don’t let something like a pandemic put a stick in the spokes of a celebration that’s been in the planning stage for many months if not years, talk about an emotional deflation! Just go ahead on or as near as the original date, make it small and intimate wedding and postpone the wedding party till the following year with friends and family who can all then mingle and catch up on news in a much more relaxed atmosphere.

4. Cost Savings

Simple economics may play a significant role this year too, so perhaps it is sensible to keep the wedding in the diary but make it a simple affair with immediate family. Exchange the vows, have that first kiss and make sure the Prosecco is on ice. This will still be one of the most significant days of your life and one to remember foreve

5. Small Weddings are Romantic

Remember too, a small wedding is a romantic wedding, a large venue with 100 guests has melodrama certainly, but half a dozen people gathered around a couple exchanging vows in defiance of all the difficulties going on around the world right now and seeing the lasting long-term value of marriage can only restore the faith in human spirit in all of us.

Do hire a photographer, when the Prosecco and cake have all been quaffed and eaten, the one thing that will remind of these extraordinary times and the day you put all thoughts of vaccines and isolation to one side for a short while, will be your treasured photographs. Don’t let a family member feel obliged to get out their iPhone and witness the day through the back of a screen. Wedding photographs are worth every penny in the years to come, so make them good ones.

By Douglas Fry Wedding Photographer