7 Reasons Couples Are Choosing Small Weddings Instead of Big Weddings

Why More Michigan Couples Are Choosing Small WeddingsLast fall, a couple got married in a friend's backyard in Traverse City. Twenty-two guests, a potluck dinner, string lights strung between two maple trees. No head table, no seating chart, no timeline printed on cardstock. Just the people who mattered most, standing close enough to hear every word of the vows.

That kind of wedding used to be the exception. Now it's becoming the plan.

It takes the pressure off. When you're not managing a 200-person guest list, a dozen vendor contracts, and a seating chart that somehow still upsets someone, you actually get to enjoy being engaged. Couples tell us the biggest surprise of going small is how much time they get back — time that goes toward each other instead of a binder full of logistics.

The math works differently. A smaller guest list doesn't just save money — it changes where the money goes. Instead of stretching a budget thin across 150 place settings, couples put it into the things they'll actually remember: a photographer who gets the whole day, a dinner they actually chose, a venue that feels like them rather than the only ballroom still available.

Every face in the room means something. At a big wedding, there's almost always a table of people the couple barely knows — a coworker's plus-one, a second cousin twice removed. At a small wedding, everyone there was invited on purpose. You can actually talk to them. Some couples say it's the first time in the whole process they felt like the day was about their relationship, not about hosting an event.

You're not stuck waiting on a venue. Popular reception halls book out twelve to eighteen months in advance, sometimes longer. Smaller, more personal spaces have far more flexibility — which means shorter engagements, better availability, and a lot less waiting around for a date to open up
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The location options open up. A guest list of 20 can get married almost anywhere: a state park overlook, a friend's garden, a cabin up north, a downtown loft. Michigan has no shortage of beautiful, unconventional spaces that simply can't hold a 250-person crowd — and that's exactly what makes them feel special.

The day stays about the marriage. Strip away the production — the elaborate entrances, the extended vendor list, the hour-long photo session with extended family — and what's left is the actual point: two people making a commitment, surrounded by the handful of people who've earned a front-row seat.

It can look like whatever you want. Some couples elope with just each other and a photographer. Others gather twelve close friends for a weekend up north. There's no rulebook for what a wedding has to look like anymore — just what feels true to your story.

At A Simple I Do, we've helped hundreds of Michigan couples plan weddings that feel like them — simple, unhurried, and genuinely joyful. If a smaller wedding sounds like your kind of day, we'd love to help you and officiate  it. Learn More 
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Contact Nichole Bertucci