As Fall 2020 comes and goes, I find myself repeating the same advice in different ways to my couples and vendor friends. It all comes down to the harsh reality we’ll be facing this winter, and likely into 2021: Smaller weddings are not going anywhere.
If you want to have a wedding in the next six months, you will likely have to downsize your guest list. I already blogged about how I’d reimagine my 2016 microwedding, and it got me thinking. There are so many luxurious, beautiful things you can plan for your wedding when you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on feeding 200 people salmon, and still spend less than you would. How freeing!
I’ve compiled a list of the best things I’ve seen my summer and fall couples go big on, plus a few extras I’d 100% recommend.
More florals…everywhere.
Many couples who had to downsize have already invested in a floral designer, and without 20 tables that need a centerpiece, you can really get creative! Check it out:
The Farmer’s Daughter turned up for Bethany and Justin’s 50 guest wedding at the Riverfront. Their dockside ceremony was framed with two gorgeous floral installs, and created a cohesive vision throughout the venue.
Big Bouquets: My couples Liz and Jose, Frankie and Gage, and Kaylynn and Adam also worked with Farmer’s Daughter on two gorgeous bouquets! The bigger….the better.
Community Flower Shop brought all of the blooms for Carly and Joe, who cut costs and upgraded their florals!
Full disclosure: Community Flower Shop also designed a few amazing pieces for a few styled shoots I photographed this year, which is basically practice for a high end small wedding these days! Their colorful and fun florals mixed with balloons at our citrus-themed Burgh Brides shoot had me snapping away.
One more from our collaboration with Lauren Rachelle Photography. Don’t underestimate a big bouquet and a simple sweetheart table set up, it makes a big impact!
Hire a (really good) wedding planner!
Louder for the couples in the back! Just because your guest count is lower, doesn’t mean the planning is any less stressful. Invest in a professional to help navigate all of the wedding things! Here are a few of my favorite Pittsburgh planners.
Day of Pittsburgh. Heather Davis and her team were on point for Bethany and Justin’s wedding. Having them on site to direct the little stuff really allowed all of the vendors (including me!) to give 110%. I got to see first hand how she really made sure the couple had not just a smoothly run day, but an enjoyable day– as they didn’t have to stress over the details of the day or timeline, etc.
Devoted to You. I’ve worked with Melissa and her team on one elopement and two Point Breezeway Little Weddings, and my clients got to just get dressed and roll into their wedding–no stress no mess! Devoted to You and the rest of vendors who created the Little Weddings package at Point Breezeway have really gotten it down to a science.
The elopement was originally a full wedding, but plans changed due to covid, and they got married on their back porch with two guests: Melissa and I. She was doing flowers, coordinating every moving piece, and basically pivoting the whole wedding as fast as possible (this was back in early May!)
Bumbleburgh Events Co. In a world before COVID, Maggie and Karlie brought it for a small wedding last year. My clients were super chill professionals, and BB made sure they got to have the intimate day they dreamed of, while still having really luxe touches. This was one of the first times I saw an intimate wedding invest in a planner, great vendors, and go BIG with their vision on a small day.
Upgrade your rentals
This is such an overlooked part of your wedding design! When you only have a few tables and chairs, why not make them extra fancy?
For Maya and Josh’s backyard wedding, Trish of Vintage Alley Rentals brought in tables, chairs, a lounge, antique china….and it transformed the whole space! Literally no detail was left untouched and it had a very eclectic, vintage feel that completely elevated the backyard wedding vibes.
Curate your dinner and bar menu
Instead of a rushed grab and go buffet, treat your guests to a dining experience. Course out your dinner, offer fancy cocktails, or throw in an espresso bar to cap off the evening!
Add a videographer!*
Videography is always seen as an extra addition to your vendor team, but if you want to share something better than a blurry Zoom recording, hire one! They can help preserve your wedding day for guests that couldn’t make it, and for you to look back on throughout the years.
*Ask your photographer for recommendations! We love to work with videographers who know their stuff, and are always excited to partner up with our favorites to document your day! My favs:
So…What’s in it for me? Why am I bothering to shout this advice from the rooftops? Here’s the truth: My photographs at these small weddings are better. They’re more magical. My couples portraits are heartfelt, intimate, and just….different.
All of those little things add up to amazing photos, and a smooth day in the office. When you have beautiful flowers with pops of colors, and rentals for gorgeous photo backdrops, and details like a cool vintage lounge for couples portraits, there’s so much to work with!
Having a wedding planner step in means less stress for my couple, a better timeline, and an easier day for everyone, including me! The couple knows it’s handled and can breathe, I know I don’t have to be managing the timeline, and all the vendors can stay in their lane and excel at what we do best. And that means a better experience and more photo opportunities for my couples.
…So why not do everything I can to make sure they have the prettiest, best day ever no matter how many people are there? That’s the truth.
And I know I’m getting long winded here, but one more thing: If simple and minimalistic is who you are, bring that to your wedding! But don’t skip on the things that will make your wedding memorable, or more you, just because it’s smaller.
What you can do in budget for 50 guests is *double* what you could do with 100 guests in the same price range. Get the fancy individual charcuterie boards, upgrade those folding chairs, get that funky flower you love in your arrangements, splurge on an ice cream bar for the reception. Pick the things that will bring you joy and make your day a little extra special. Do what you want, and make it awesome. You’re allowed.
Leave a Reply
- 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"
