Recently, my close friends opted for a “micro-wedding” (about 20 guests or less). I was intrigued to find out that this is becoming more and more popular with couples. With the price of weddings as high as ever, and everything else that goes into having big celebrations, a small wedding is looking more and more appealing to many couples.

Not everyone wants a large venue and the pressure of having to entertain hundreds of guests. A “micro wedding” has some of the elements of a traditional wedding but is smaller and less time- and money-consuming. By paring it down, you’ll have fewer things to stress about and more time to spend with your guests. Here’s a few ideas to accomplish this:

Cut the Guest List

How much you cut is totally up to you. Maybe it’s a family and besties only event. Whatever the case might be, you won’t have to feel bad about forgetting to invite your fifth cousin Marjorie because the event is only for those super close to you. Best part of all, you can hand-deliver all your micro-wedding invitations or just call/email them and forgo the hassle and cost of printing and mailing traditional invitations.

Toss the Dress Attire Aside

Forget about matching bridesmaids’ dresses. Hell, you may not even have bridesmaids. You can even pare your dress down to a white mini-dress or any other dress you like with a bridal leather jacket.

Forget the Venue

Opt for a house party or a table for six at a fancy restaurant instead. That means you won’t have to worry about booking a DJ, or ordering napkins and flower arrangements. Instead, you can pick out your own bouquet.

Photographer

The only thing I do still recommend is to get a professional wedding photographer. However small your wedding, it is still one of the most important days of your life, and you should have nice photos to remember it. It makes a big difference! Photos are also a nice way to share those moments with friends and family that weren’t there.

And the BEST Part: Spend the extra money!

Here’s the fun part: take a portion of the money that you would have spent on a big wedding and use it as a down payment on a house or finally take that dream trip to Europe.

pictures via Macy's