Micro wedding? What`s that? – What ARE weddings going to look like this year?

After the wildest and weirdest of years in 2020 (remember that global pandemic? ) the wedding industry, like most industries, have been hit really hard. My heart goes out to all those couples who have had to postpone and change their plans. Last year I was shooting alot of Micro weddings, so much effort goes into arranging a wedding, and its not lost on me the energy and finances that get poured into the celebrations.

One of the questions I get asked the most as a Birmingham wedding photographer is “ What will happen with my wedding this year Chris?”.

And unfortunately, the honest answer is…I do not exactly know.

2020 hit us all by surprise and it seemed like much of the government’s response was sporadic and ineffective to say the least. Restrictions, no restrictions, top, start, stop have left couples completely confused and frustrated, and believe me I empathise!

But I feel incredibly optimistic right now that 2021 will be a successful year. But we have a responsibility to make it a success.

That means being realistic and unfortunately, I do not see huge wedding events taking place this year.

You want 300+ guests, foam party, and fireworks? Prepare to be disappointed. As I just do not see that happening.

You want to spend the day with 30-50 of your nearest and dearest? I definitely see that going ahead.

I see wedding days with the empathise on intimate, boutique and cozy being a huge success.

Wedding days where the essence has been stripped back to just the two of you, will always win. And you can always book the party for next year and give yourselves the excuse to get dressed up again!

So, my advice for couples this year is –

*Be realistic. I know its hard but manage your expectations.

*Communicate with your suppliers. These people will help you and support you. But also, be aware that whilst it’s your big day, its also their livelihoods that are risk. The industry has been destroyed, and most wedding suppliers are genuinely struggling.

*Think intimate. Plan the day so you are not rushing around as much. Intimate means you’ll so much more time with all of your guests, and you can avoid a “Blink and you miss it” style day that most couples complain of.

Here` some words from Natalie ( see her wedding here ), one of my brides from Sept 2020. She already had postponed and had decided that she was getting married come hell or high water!

“2020 was supposed to be our year…and it still was, despite there being a global pandemic! We were supposed to get married 5th June 2020 but decided to postpone to 11th September 2020 because the nation had gone into lockdown.

We vowed that if weddings could go ahead on our new date, we would be doing it. I know you only get one special day, and believe me, I was in mourning for months knowing what I had planned for so long was not going to be happening.

But once I got my head around it, I started to feel excited and nervous all over again; we were going to be husband and wife! We were going to have a Micro Wedding!

For us, postponing the rest of our lives, for one day just did not sit right with us. Looking back on our day, it was so special.

Yes, it was not what we had planned, not everyone we originally invited was there and there was no disco to round off the night, but we didn’t come away feeling like we missed out on anything. We still had those iconic moments that are part of a wedding; wedding breakfast, cutting the cake and first dance.

We had a perfect imperfect day surrounded by our close family and friends and captured by our amazing photographer. I do think it takes courage to sacrifice something you have planned for so long. But the result is the same; you get to marry your best friend. And you can always have a huge party when COVID has gone!