Evolving Small Wedding Trends

It’s no secret that we have been fans of small weddings for a long time, but now it seems like the rest of the world has come around to our way of thinking!  Over the last 18-24 months, we have seen evolving small wedding trends as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To begin with, small weddings and elopements became a necessity rather than a couple’s first choice. However, evolving small wedding trends indicate that downsized celebrations are here to stay!

Why The Renewed Interest in Small Weddings?

Throughout the pandemic, the events and hospitality industries as a whole have been heavily impacted by lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and restrictions on gathering sizes. The wedding industry was forced to pivot in order to adapt to our new way of life. Couples who had initially planned on a big, traditional wedding were forced to make a choice – downsize or cancel! Some chose to wait out the pandemic to have the wedding of their dreams at a later date. However, many didn’t want to put off tying the knot and took advantage of some of the evolving small wedding trends vendors had to offer.

Evolving Small Wedding Trends That Are Here to Stay

At the height of the pandemic, we were seeing some huge changes in the wedding industry including virtual weddings conducted over Zoom! Of the many evolving small wedding trends this seems to be the one that was only fleeting – although a lot of couples are still incorporating live streaming to give extended families access to their small wedding celebrations.

Elopements and small weddings became increasingly popular throughout the pandemic. This was initially due to the restrictions on gathering sizes. However, as time went on, a growing number of couples began to see the value in keeping things small! Although we had reached a point where we were returning to some level of normalcy, with the new variants COVID-19 is still a risk and many don’t want to put vulnerable family members in danger by throwing larger wedding parties. For that reason, small socially distanced weddings have continued.

An overriding reason why the tide has turned in the wedding industry making smaller celebrations more popular is money. Couples are seeing how much could be saved by downsizing their wedding plans. The pandemic highlighted just how many people were barely one or two paychecks away from financial instability. This has put into perspective how much we spend on non-essential items. Millennials in particular would rather save money for the future than blow it all on a lavish wedding.

Have you traded your big wedding plans for a smaller celebration? We want to hear your story!