The Truth Behind a Micro Wedding Budget: What You Need to Know
From the moment you get engaged–and sometimes even long before–you’re surrounded by a whirlwind of wedding content.
Nowadays, we have unlimited access to inside peeks at weddings of all kinds–from luxury celebrity weddings to the ultimate compilation of DIY weddings.
Whatever we want to know about the wedding world is virtually at our fingertips.
In a way, it feels like a content machine, infinitely creating snapshots and videos of what the best of the best weddings look and feel like. As a micro-wedding and luxury elopement photographer, I love to get a front-row seat of how couples choose to celebrate their days.
But there is one thing I’ve noticed about this kind of unchecked access–so many of us don’t get the full picture of what a wedding (especially a luxury wedding) truly costs.
We’re constantly seeing these glimpses of high-end weddings; we just don’t know that they’re high-end. And with every perfect IG post and 15-second reel, our expectations climb.
There’s long been an idea floating around that the average cost of a wedding is somewhere between $30-$40,000. A quick Google search–and even a fast poll from friends and family–shows that this usually isn’t the case unless we’re talking about weddings with many DIY elements.
What’s most hard-hitting about this reality? Those dreamy, luxury weddings you’re seeing on social media don’t come close to costing $30,000.
Here’s the thing: Couples can still have the wedding they’re dreaming of within their budget.
And the best hack for making that happen is taking a good, hard look at their guest list.
In this article:
- Understanding Micro Wedding Budget Factors
- The Best Micro Wedding Budget Hack: Consider the Guest List
- Determine Set Costs vs. Swing Costs
- Create Different Wedding Scenarios on the Same Budget
- Consider What Actually Matters to You & Your Partner
- Ask the Tough Questions
- Memories Over Everything – Make Sure Photos Are Part of Your Micro Wedding Budget
Understanding Micro Wedding Budget Factors
Many people who are soon to be married experience a common timeline of events.
They get engaged. They start collecting ideas and images to piece together what their dream wedding looks like. Then they consult social media and recall moments from weddings they’ve attended. They have heart-to-heart chats with their almost-spouse and dream up what their ideal wedding day feels like.
In the midst of this experience, reality hits–weddings are far more expensive than anyone lets on.
Quotes from vendors start to add up. Venues that can fit the guest list pile on. The aesthetic costs quickly snowball. And the more guests you add to the list, the greater the price tag gets.
That luxury wedding with 200 guests you pinned on Pinterest?
It’s undeniably beautiful–but with the creative vendors, guest count, and details that went into it all, it’s probably much more expensive than that national average The Knot mentions.
But that doesn’t have to be disheartening news.
Most importantly, it doesn’t mean you can’t have the wedding you’ve dreamed of within your budget.
It just means you might have to prioritize some things over others.
The easiest, quickest way to cut costs without changing the experience of your wedding day is to think hard about the guest list.
The Best Micro Wedding Budget Hack: Consider the Guest List
No matter what amount of money you’re working with (because it’s different for everyone), the reality is that most couples do have a hard line on budget.
From a budget perspective, it’s not necessarily all about “cutting costs”–it’s about allocating that money toward what matters to you.
There are a few different directions you could go–try to DIY pieces of your wedding, sacrifice the look and feel you’re chasing, or adjust the guest list.
The reality is that wedding guests cost a lot of money–and not just from a per-plate perspective.
Determine Set Costs vs. Swing Costs
One of the best ways to better understand your wedding options is to break down the costs of your wedding day into categories.
This helps you clarify exactly how a guest list impacts your costs. (It also helps you to see what has wiggle room and what doesn’t).
List out every single cost. Ask yourself, is this a set cost or a swing cost?
What’s a Set Cost?
A set cost is something that’s going to cost the same amount, no matter how many people come to your wedding. In other words, these costs are not going to change based on your guest list.
For example, a set cost is your wedding attire. Your dream dress is going to cost what it costs–whether 20 people come to your wedding or 200 people come to your wedding.
What’s a Swing Cost?
A swing cost is an element that’s going to change based on your wedding day head count. In other words, these costs are going to change based on your guest list.
For example, a swing cost could include:
- Venue: You’ll have to pay for a larger venue if you invite a larger group
- Food & Alcohol: The cost difference is substantial for 20 vs 120 people, right?
Cutting down on your swing costs–paring down your guest list and going from a larger wedding to, perhaps, a micro-wedding–can dramatically impact how you allocate your budget.
Create Different Wedding Scenarios on the Same Budget
OK, now that you’ve got the whole set cost and swing cost thing handled, get creative.
Outline a few different scenarios using the same budget, where the biggest change is your guest list.
Let’s make this easy and use an even $40,000 budget (remember, that’s a somewhat unrealistic number that often gets thrown around in the wedding budget world).
Here are three different examples of types of weddings you could have with a $40,000 budget:
A Large Wedding with 150 Guests:
You’ve gone all out on the guest list and included everyone that you wanted. You found a lovely venue where you live that can accommodate the size of your list. As a bonus, they have a day-of wedding coordinator who helps you stay on track during your wedding. You’re paying for a delicious buffet spread and open bar of beer and wine you sourced, but you’ve had to trim back on the floral arrangements, music, and decorative elements (and most of these are DIY). Ultimately, you had to do all of the planning and designing for the whole wedding because a planner was out of budget after the venue, food and beverage costs, and other guest experiences.
A Micro-Wedding with 20-40 Guests:
The dreamiest venue said yes to hosting your micro-wedding. Your small guest list arrives the day before your wedding for an intimate picnic on the beach, where you spend a few hours soaking in time with your favorite people. The wedding is everything you dreamed of – the florals are timeless, the private chef creates a gourmet meal, and since you’re not pressed for time, you have an intimate ceremony with your partner and a ceremony surrounded by your loved ones. Your micro wedding budget allotted you a planner and designer who orchestrated the entire day, and you never once had to think about staying on schedule.
A Luxury Elopement with 2-4 Guests:
It’s just you and your partner. You fly into a new destination a week early to explore a part of the world. Together, you check off some bucket list items and soak in the feeling of true adventure at your own pace. You splurge on accommodations–because why wouldn’t you? You hire the creative vendors that have been on your inspo list for months. The venue? It’s no ordinary space–it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of location that blends indoors and outdoors into a beautiful, aesthetic vision. On the day of your wedding, you wake up slowly and head out to the local spa for a massage. Your hair, makeup, and entire look is designed by local experts. You sip tea as you get ready for the best day of your life. Your wedding seamlessly transitions into your honeymoon–the feeling of freedom and love is a constant throughout your entire two-week experience.
Do you see how different each of those wedding experiences are?
The greatest swing cost in all of these scenarios is the number of guests you invite.
Those set costs we talked about – like your wedding attire – won’t change in any of these scenarios. But those swing costs change everything.
That same amount of money can do so many different things.
What matters is understanding what you care about, how you want to spend your wedding, and which elements are most important to you.
Consider What Actually Matters to You & Your Partner
The wedding advice that always rings true–no matter what kind of wedding you’re choosing–is to have the day that matters to you.
Think long and hard about what kind of day you and your partner want to have. What do you want to prioritize? What truly matters to you? How do you want your day to feel? How do you want to remember that day for years to come?
Make a list of what you both want to prioritize–then plan accordingly.
Ask the Tough Questions
I’m not denying that cutting down a guest list is challenging. Of course, you want all your people to feel loved and important.
Ultimately, though, it’s about what matters to you and your partner. And that means asking a few tough questions, like:
- Would you buy a $500-$1,000 gift for them? Does that second cousin you see every few years at a family function get a $500 present from you? The reality is each guest costs a substantial amount. If you wouldn’t buy that person a gift for what it costs to have them at your wedding, it might be time to rethink it.
Does inviting this person mean more to me than the experience I want my partner & I to have? Obviously, we can’t put a price on our relationships. But it is important to ask if having someone on your guest list matters more than the experience you’re dreaming about.
Memories Over Everything – Make Sure Photos Are Part of Your Micro Wedding Budget
Your wedding day should be one of the best days of your life. Slowing down, soaking it in, and experiencing the wedding day you’re both dreaming of can help make it last–even so, it can feel like it’s over so fast.
The moments you experience deserve a permanent place in your heart, and the best way to relive those moments is through documentation of your day. I’m here for the couples seeking a way to capture those memories and their authentic story.
