Intimate but Intentional
Over the last year, we’ve been so touched to see couples staying true to their vows before they even make them. In the face of a global pandemic, they’ve declared to one another, for better or worse, we will put each other first. Despite their original plans, they’ve found a silver lining in the paired back and minimal approach. They’ve allowed everything else to take a virtual back seat and have decided to keep themselves at the centre of their own love story.
The profound intimacy of witnessing a micro wedding is so extraordinarily beautiful and its been a joy to see that going forward couples are intentionally choosing this. What if Great Aunty Norris and her neighbour’s friend didn’t attend? What if your third cousin, twice removed, wasn’t there? What if you could be surrounded by the glowing warmth of love without the drain on finances? Would you choose this if you could?
Intentionally having an intimate wedding could be everything that you’ve always dreamed of, without ever realising you had. It’s like choosing a house purely based on the feeling it gives or falling in love with someone who doesn’t tick any of your pre-requisite boxes but just makes sense somehow. It’s allowing plans to evolve and discovering that what you thought you wanted, can change.
Fran & Connor Elope to Happy Valley in the Autumn - pic by Aurora Grey Photography
The Upsides to Downsizing
1) When reducing the guestlist, you reduce your carbon footprint – with fewer guests travelling, they’re producing fewer carbon emissions to get to your special day and you’re negating food wastage. Having a smaller, eco-friendly wedding goes a little way toward helping the planet.
2) It’s morally soothing to the soul – with a micro wedding, it could feel more meaningful. You can really focus on the reason you’re wanting to get married without feeling overwhelmed by social expectations. You can even go further by having an eco-friendly wedding dress, bio-degradable confetti, a charitable wedding gift page or looking into the option of vegan catering.
3) It’s not about the quantity but the quality – sit down with your partner and agree to set preconceived notions aside. Talk through those who have made the biggest impact on your life and whom you would consider to be your “forever friends”. Who would you call at 3am and know they would drop everything, travelling miles if necessary, just to be with you in that moment? If you have a select few to love you when you’re at your worst, it seems poetic for them to rejoice with you at your best.
4) Just because it’s small, you can still make a splash – rather than budgeting on a vast scale, you can invest in the minimal. Instead of having a row of bridesmaids dresses, suits, table favours, bouquets, buttonholes etc, you can spend more on less and make a bigger impact on a smaller space, ensuring everything is in line with your own eco-friendly ethos.
At Happy Valley, we have witnessed some exquisite micro weddings that had every bit of magic and spark larger weddings have had, yet somehow, they carry a depth and level of authenticity that cannot be compared or replaced. An intimate wedding could just be everything you ever wanted, without ever knowing you did and venues such as Happy Valley are here to help you discover it.
With love,
The Team at Happy Valley xx