Small weddings are having a big moment. Mostly because if you want to get married right now, a small wedding is the only choice you’ve got. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been so lucky to photograph many couples who have decided to scale things down to get married on their original date. It’s inspired me to finally create a few mini wedding packages!
But with every small wedding I work, I am immediately reminded of my own.
On a snowy Monday in March 2016, I got married at Studio 415. It was my North Side photography studio that I used to rent with my friends (and badass wedding photographers) Maria Palermo and Krystal Healy. The first time my husband saw me that day, I was moving furniture around in my wedding dress…Not the first look I imagined!
Nathan proposed over Mad Mex margaritas just 7 months earlier. He looked at me and said “We should get married.” I asked him if he was for real–like could I call my parents and tell them we were getting married?!–and he said sure! No ring, and no fuss, but 100% us!
I have a huge family, and while I love them, a wedding with 100+ guests was a little too much for us. We always knew our guest list would be small, just our parents and dogs to be exact! We moved forward with that in mind, knowing we’d celebrate with everyone at a picnic–and free flowing booze–later in the year.
While we had originally intended to get married outside, the March weather made us switch to Plan B, which was my old studio. A week before the wedding, we pulled the trigger on moving everything indoors. I loved my light-filled photography space, and I already paid for it monthly, so why not?
Our wedding day started off with a frantic mix of logistics: Moving furniture out of the way while our dogs Jane and River tackled me in my wedding dress, and making a pit stop to the Strip District with my mom for a last minute bouquet. There was no coordinated ceremony ‘entrance,’ and boy did the dogs need wrangling at every moment.
Thinking back to those hectic moments, the excitement of finally being married eclipses them all. I’ll never forget basking in that glow all day since we were in such a small group. We soaked in every minute, and I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything.
I invested in a photographer (duh), makeup artist, and hired one of my favorite Pittsburgh officiants, but I held on tight to the notion that since my wedding was small, I couldn’t have big plans or do anything special. At that point, I wasn’t seeing anyone planning a grand affair for four guests outside of blog-worthy people eloping in Europe, or at the beach, or on mountaintops.
It wasn’t until four years later that I wondered how my small wedding might have looked like…had I known what was possible.
In January 2020, I was invited to photograph a styled shoot in the same studio where I got married, and it changed every assumption I’ve had about small weddings.
Organized by Lauren Rachelle Photography and a kickass team of vendors (links below!), they designed a romantic meets industrial wedding day with pops of dusty blue and blush. When I walked into the studio, I was honestly blown away by the transformation. It was simply gorgeous.
I had done tons of photoshoots in the space back when I rented it, but never saw it set up for a wedding other than my own. When I got married there, it was a studio that we cleared out for a few hours. For the shoot, it looked like a legit intimate wedding venue.
I’ll be honest: Sometimes styled shoots can be so grand, so logistically impossible and so artistically driven, that it’s difficult to envision the design in a real wedding. Many are created for inspiration, not imitation.
But at this shoot, it was almost too easy to see how it would translate to a real day with a real couple.
It could have also been set up for double the people (it was set for 6) and been a doable “wedding and a dinner party” kind of vibe like my own wedding was. But this was just way, way cuter than my wedding.
If I were to reimagine my wedding day in the same space, I would have allowed myself to invest in something more special for the ceremony. We literally got married in front of a wall! Floral design would have added a lot here, and it’s something I’ve come to appreciate more in the past few years.
Flowers change a space, and they were the biggest difference between my wedding and the shoot. They add life, color, wow factor, and help define a larger room. And! They can do that even if you aren’t spending ‘a ton.’ Don’t believe me? Our styled shoot floral designer, Miranda Ladak of Community Flower Shop threw down pricing:
“Arch flowers (assuming it is not our arch), the table florals, cake florals, bouquet and boutonnière and with set up would be around $800, plus tax/delivery.”
My second investment? A day of coordinator, at the very least! No one should have to move a couch in their wedding dress, or deal with the awkward milling around trying to figure out what the heck happens next. There’s a reason these jobs exist, and you deserve it to hire someone to manage it all.
Maybe a smaller wedding was not your original plan, but you find yourself smiling at the idea of getting married this summer. Maybe you just got engaged, and know that a small wedding is your dream wedding. No matter what your reasons, don’t hold back!
Get married surrounded by the people who love you the most. Go big in the floral design, fashion, and table decoration. Hire a photographer who will capture these moments for others who will only see it from their images.
I didn’t have iPhone photos, or a live stream, so I understand the importance of having beautiful, emotive photos from your day.
These mini weddings were all pre-COVID, planned beautifully, and were the PLAN A. My couples prioritized an intimate day that allowed for their nearest and dearest to be a part of everything, and didn’t compromise on beautiful details. Plus…they stayed on budget! Their days perfectly reflected their personalities together and were full of sentimental details and joyful moments.
Remember those mini wedding packages I created? I’ve actually always shot them, but only marketed them at an hourly rate. I offer beautiful packages for my full wedding clients to pick from, with fun little add ons and perks, so why was I not giving my small weddings and elopements the same treatment?
If I’m being honest, I think it was that approach that made me feel like my own wedding wasn’t a “real” wedding. But it was just as valid, beautiful, and important. And so is yours!
(View my mini wedding portfolio)
Styled Shoot Vendors:
- Organizer/Creative Genius: Lauren Rachelle Photography
- Event Stylist: Reverie Events and Weddings
- Makeup artist: Antonette Medved
- Florals: Community Floral Shop
- Baker: Cakes by Colby
- Suit + Dress shirt: Asos
- Tie: DAZI
- Jewelry: Fulani Jewelry
- Dress: Top BHLDN
- Hairpiece: Clarissa Boutique
- Event Rentals: Event Source
- Shoes: Badgley Mischka
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- Sam & Dan
"Not sure how to give this review because I can not really put into words how amazing Dawn is as a person and a professional photographer. If you are looking for a talented photographer who will make your experience with pictures fun and stress free, Dawn is your photographer. From the moment I found her Instagram page and fell IN LOVE with her skills I have NEVER regretted my decision to book with Dawn. Also, listen to all of her suggestions, DO the engagement shoot, DO the sunset pictures, DO EVERYTHING. She goes above and beyond to make your day as magical as you dreamed it would be. She pays attention to what really matters to her clients! I like to call her my photography unicorn because she seriously one of a kind and is VERY good at what she does. If you don't book her, you will regret it! Side note: I just got married last weekend, have only seen my preview pictures (which I got that night and the NEXT morning) and waiting for the rest. I'm writing this review now because that is just how OBSESSED with her I am."
"I like to call her my photography unicorn"
- Christine & Andrei
"Dawn is incredible!!! She is truly one of a kind – I’ve never seen a vendor go above and beyond for clients like she does! Not only is she insanely talented, but she is incredibly meticulous, extremely responsive and cares about every detail just as much as you do! Weddings can be complicated, especially when it comes to family, but her detailed questionnaire about anything and everything she needs to know put me completely at ease. And if that wasn’t enough, she has an incredible guide that helps you shape your day, answer every question you could ever think of (and ones that you didn’t even know you had or should have!) – all just to make sure your day turns out beautifully. She captured the most incredible shots, worked so fast, and was so fun to hang out with throughout the day! I could never have imagined working with someone so wonderful for our big day – she truly is the best & if you have the chance to work with her, don’t even think twice. Book her immediately!!"
"I’ve never seen a vendor go above and beyond for clients like she does! "
- Samantha & Ryan
"There are not enough positive adjectives to describe our exceptional experience with Dawn Derbyshire. From the initial consultation, engagement photos, wedding pictures, a COVID postponement in between – she made the process enjoyable and easy. She made taking pictures fun and not awkward, often cracking jokes between each shot. She took the time to know us as a couple and what was important for us on our special day. We had periodic check-ins to discuss the process for our wedding day and what to expect, one less stress we had to worry about on our wedding day. Let me just tell you the photos were all AMAZING! We cannot thank her enough for her talented work, we look forward to using her in future endeavors. We highly recommend Dawn; this is one decision you will not regret!"
"She took the time to know us as a couple"
- Paige and John
"Dawn was truly the all star of our entire wedding day. From the time we booked her (over 2 years ago) to the wedding, she was SO communicative, beyond organized, and helpful. She brings such a positive energy while still getting. it. done. She made us feel so comfortable during our engagement session, that by the time we took wedding photos, they felt seamless. Let me also mention her work is PERFECTION. I could not love our engagement and wedding photos more if I tried. I would recommend Dawn 1000x over and if you have already booked her, consider yourself the luckiest!!!"
"Dawn was truly the all star of our entire wedding day."
- Lauren & Chris
"You deserve to have a photographer as amazing as Dawn. We can't stress enough how much we love her and would recommend her a million times over. Not only is she an amazing photographer that gave us thousands of unparalleled photos between our 2 shoots, she's an incredible person and every second you spend with her will be a delight. She made us feel so at ease, made us laugh, we made each other cry for sure—and honestly, she helped make our wedding the success it was. She's professional and dedicated, took charge when we needed it, wrangled our friends and took gorgeous, quality photos of everything we asked for and everything we forgot. Seriously, if you're looking for a wedding photographer, you could not pick a better one than Dawn."
"You deserve to have a photographer as amazing as Dawn.
- Julia & Matt
"We highly recommend Dawn Derbyshire for your wedding photography. She was definitely one of our best vendor decisions for our wedding day. We cannot speak highly enough of Dawn as both a photographer and as a person. We're so grateful that we found and hired Dawn to photograph one of the most important days of our lives. She truly exudes creativity, passion, and professionalism. From our first meeting to our engagement session and our wedding day--Dawn completely understood our vision and made us feel at ease. She was able to capture the genuine, candid moments of the day, the spirit of our relationship, and all of the little moments that elicit big emotions. We will truly cherish every detail shot, every portrait, and ever candid she took of our day. Dawn's expert planning, organization, and attention to detail ensured that we never felt rushed but kept things moving so that we were able to fully enjoy our wedding. We took her advice and enjoyed a moment away from everyone for sunset photos--I'm so glad that we did. She went above and beyond to make sure we had every possible shot we wanted and more."
"We will truly cherish every detail shot, every portrait, and every candid she took of our day"
- Kaitlin & Reggie
"I'm so happy we chose Dawn for our wedding photos! She is so easy work with, organized and incredibly talented. We decided to have an intimate wedding due to COVID. Even though it was such a small wedding, Dawn made us feel so special throughout the whole process. She took the time to meet with us virtually before our wedding to get to know us as a couple and listened to what our dream vision was for our wedding photos. I don’t usually like to have my picture taken, but I never felt so comfortable in front of a camera before. Dawn’s energy and outgoing personality helped calm my nerves. Our photos turned out beautifully and we couldn’t be happier! Dawn is incredibly talented and her work speaks for itself. I definitely recommend choosing Dawn as your photographer. She is so easy to work with and your photos will turn out beautiful. Thank you for making our wedding day so special Dawn!"
"Dawn made us feel so special throughout the whole process"
- Laura & Zach
"I can't begin to come up with enough amazing words to say about Dawn.. but I will say that I knew shortly after getting engaged there was something about her photography that really stands out. From the perfect details, to the genuine feeling you get from the couple she shoots. When we had our first meeting with her she emphasized wanting to be the right fit for us. Between her details, organization, "thinks of everything" questions, her incredible work, and her positivity; we knew she was the right choice! We did our engagement session and wedding with her and can't tell you how happy we are with the pictures that we will treasure forever. Dawn might be the hardest working woman I've ever met and my guests were shocked when she delivered a preview of our magical photos in 24 hours. If you are searching for a photographer who will shine a true light on your day, Dawn is IT!"
"Dawn might be the hardest working woman I've ever met"
- Kathryn & Tony
"As other reviews have said - Dawn is the absolute BEST !!! We had an absolute dream team of vendors and Dawn was the leader of the pack. Her photos are absolutely gorgeous but take a look at her website or Instagram and you already know that. What set her apart for us was her awesome personality. I will openly admit I am very "type A" and planning a wedding made me a little crazy. I sent her about a hundred messages asking for input on suit colors, day of timing, my makeup, etc. I'm sure other vendors would not have been nearly as patient as Dawn. We received our wedding photos last week and all I can say is wow. There have been endless compliments and multiple people have told me that they look straight from a bridal magazine. I am over the moon and will treasure these for many years to come"
"We had an absolute dream team of vendors and Dawn was the leader of the pack"
- Mallory & Andy
"Dawn is so absolutely amazing! She was recommended to us by a friend, and we are SO glad we booked her! Dawn is very accommodating and understanding. We told her that my fiancé didn’t like getting his picture taken. She posed us and snapped the pics efficiently and quickly. The photographs from both our engagement session and wedding are absolutely stunning. Dawn is very quick to respond and willing to help you with anything she can. She gave me recommendations for other vendors, provided feedback, gave advice and was a listening ear when we needed to vent. We got married in September 2020. Many of our plans changed due to COVID-19. Dawn was so empathetic and helpful throughout. I got ready with just my mom and Dawn in the room. Dawn was a stand in friend and bridesmaid to me. I will never forget those special moments. We have received nothing but compliments on how beautiful our pictures are and how fantastic Dawn is. She has a super fun personality, kind heart, and exquisite photography skills. We cannot say enough about the wonderful Dawn Derbyshire!"
"Dawn was a stand in friend and bridesmaid to me"
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