Our Microwedding

Topher and I got married! It still feels a bit surreal to say that and this post in general feels a little odd to write given our original wedding date isn’t until November 2021. On May 15th, 2021, Topher and I tied the knot in a very intimate, 9 people, backyard ceremony in my mum’s garden. I wanted to write a post on our microwedding to explain why, how and what we did for this wedding. I’m sure there are many engaged couples out there wondering how the heck to get married in a global pandemic, there were many bumps in the road for us, but our wedding day turned out perfectly.

We made the decision to move up our wedding day in March when a dear family member and our officiant was diagnosed with cancer. For as long as I can remember, I pictured her marrying me to whoever was going to be my husband. When we learned of her diagnosis, it was hard to want to plan a wedding if it meant she couldn’t marry us. Collectively we decided in March to move our wedding date from November to May so that she could marry us, it meant the world to us that she agreed and worked with us to plan and perform the ceremony. We also made the decision to keep our original November wedding date and make it a wedding/vow renewal with a big party including dinner and dancing to follow with our family and friends. So, we’re getting married twice, and it’s been fun to plan a spring and fall/winter wedding.

Planning our Microwedding

Planning a wedding during a global pandemic, regardless of the number of people you plan to have is tricky, complicated, and full of ups and downs. You have to have a plan A, plan B and plan C. We started off with a guestlist of 15 people, simply our parents, siblings, their partners, and my nephew. Then, when a new Stay at Home order was introduced we had to narrow it down even further to just our parents, siblings, our officiant and her wife, no partners or children.

We made online invitations using Paperless Post which looked so pretty and I loved that we could ask a question that people needed to answer to complete their RSVP. I think it’s really easy to think, well, we’re only inviting a few people, are invitations really necessary, but these little things make the event feel more special and just because it’s a small event, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go all out! Our invitations included the menu and people answered the meal option when they RSVP-ed through Paperless Post.

In March and Early April, I spent a lot of time on Pinterest figuring out what we wanted. We knew we wanted to keep it simple, but we still wanted the day to be beautiful and feel like a wedding. Topher and I decided that it would be best to have a late morning ceremony and serve lunch, that way his family didn’t need to stay overnight or drive home to London too late in the day.

Venue

We decided given this wedding was meant to be small and not too fancy, to use my mum’s backyard. Everything really came together to be a garden party theme and it was beautiful. The benefit of using the back garden, is obviously the cost but also that we didn’t need to worry about any extra staff or folks working, we could set a lot up ahead of time, and it was really easy and comfortable for all of our guests. It did mean that there was a bit of extra work getting it ready, from reseeding the grass to planting extra flowers and planters, but it all came together and was gorgeous.

Decor

Our colours ended up being pink, peach, and cream. We decided to put the majority of our budget into flowers. Our florist was Stok Floral and Design. I knew the flowers I really wanted to use, lisianthus, ranunculus, wax flowers, withe very little greenery and the ladies at Stok totally delivered! They designed my flower crown, the head table arrangement, my bridal bouquet, and Topher’s boutonnière. We also got 20 or so loose stems of lisianthus, tulips, and wax flowers from them and made little arrangements in various bud vases that my mum and sister had as the centre pieces on the tables.

As I already mentioned, I spent a lot of time on Pinterest ahead of the wedding to determine what we wanted for decor. We really focused on blooms and candles. Every table had flowers and candles on it. If you’re wanting to save money, arranging your own flowers in probably the best way to save the most money. I saw some beautiful images on Pinterest of tables covered with taper candles in all pastel hues and I fell in love, so we replicated that look on the head table/altar where we signed our marriage license. We used four tables to space everyone out in their own bubbles and that worked really well, it also meant movement during and after the ceremony was kept to a minimum.

We also decided we needed and wanted programs for our ceremony so that everyone could follow along even if they couldn’t hear every word. Programs are also such a lovely keepsake, so it was important to have them at our wedding. In addition to programs, we created a large sign to hang on our copper arch that we made to welcome everyone into the garden. Everything was printed at Staples and turned out beautifully. We will reuse the copper pipe arch we made in November and make a new sign and have it printed on foam core board.

Food & Drink

In terms of food, we needed to make everything COVID-safe, which meant all the lunches and desserts had to be individually packed. We had lunch catered from Fare by Food Dudes. We decided on cupcakes to follow instead of cake. The cupcakes we so beautiful and packaged perfectly in a clear box tied with cream-coloured satin ribbon. The cupcakes were the “Garden in Bloom” cupcakes from Bobbette and Belle. We packed up all the food in picnic baskets, one for each table (and bubble), and we included a bottle of Casa Dea’s Cuvée, a few cans of Matron beer, and a bottle of still and sparkling water. Again, these baskets meant everything was kept separate and COVID-safe.

Photography

We didn’t have a professional photographer. We knew that with restrictions and super tight numbers, having an extra person taking photos wasn’t going to work. We also knew that in November, we’ll have an amazing photographer and she will capture everything and more. So, for this event, we decided to keep it simple. We asked Topher’s brother to take photos and we also asked my brother to take photos, the photos turned out so well and I’m happy with our decision to forego a dedicated, professional photographer for this wedding. In addition, the rest of our guests also had their phones and were taking photos throughout the day, so it all worked out well!

While planning a wedding is always a bit stressful, throw a global pandemic and tight timeline in the mix and there are bound to be highs and lows and lots of bumps in the road. Even though it may not always feel like everything will work out, I promise it’s worth it and a microwedding makes for a beautifully intimate experience that is sure to be remembered by all. We are so grateful to our family for supporting and helping us with this special occasion and we cannot wait to keep the celebrations going and celebrate with our family and friends in November. Stay tuned for November, because we will definitely be sharing that wedding as well.

Tell me in the comments if you’re team small or big wedding!

xo,
Elizabeth