How To Plan Your Intimate Home Wedding

One of the best parts of planning a wedding is that you have the ability to create the day of your dreams. COVID has changed the way weddings happen, but that doesn't mean that you can't have a nice wedding, although you might have to scale it down, in some cases, by a lot. an intimate home wedding doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be all about DIYs. Vendors are transforming homes to look magical these days! Small and intimate weddings can be lovely and immensely gorgeous looking too. So if you this is the kind of wedding you're looking at having right now, then we have some wonderful tips on planning one!

Image via Through the Barrel★ 4.6

Take Control Of That Guest List

One of the most important factors of a small and intimate wedding is the guest list of that wedding, especially given the COVID scenario. Though it’s difficult to cut short a guest list at Indian weddings, you have to show restraint, and make sure precautions like a sanitiser station are in place! You could even go a little extra and get some customised wedding masks designed for everyone, to encourage them to mask up at the wedding. Also, find out the COVID guest limit and guidelines in your city or area and stick to it!

Create A Vision Board

Its easy to get overwhelmed with so many options out there. Pick two sources, say the WMG gallery and the WMG Pinterest and then create a vision board of how your want each event to look like – colours, outfits, décor – everything. This way you can budget ahead as well as have a reference point to show while picking out vendors or planning things yourself!

Pick The Right Vendors

People usually just talk to the vendors over phone (sometimes not even that!) and book them. If you are looking to add your own touch to this intimate wedding, do your research on your vendors, meet them virtually, ask them to do a recce of the space at home, communicate your plans to them and only when you feel that they can execute them within your vision and budget, hire them!

Start virtually checking out outfits

Designers are really bending these days to provide brides with their dream outfit from the comfort of their homes, and you can do everything without even stepping out! Check out the WMG Bridal Gallery for amazing outfits, discounts and to chat directly with the brands!

Breakdown Your Budget

Some people want a small intimate wedding to cut down on budget while some want to have a lavish one with limited people. Understand what your budget it and break it down into percentages – like how much do you want to spend on the venue vs. the alcohol and so on. This will help you pick your vendors and see what can be deleted.

Check out this lavish yet intimate wedding of Anita Dongre’s son Yash at Mussoorie

And for budget lovers, check how this couple planned their entire intimate wedding in less than 5 lakhs!

Involve Your Friends And Family

The entire purpose of having a small and intimate wedding is to be able to spend more time with your loved ones, so why not do that in the planning too? Ask friends and family for references, planning tips, their experiences and also help in terms of co-ordination. Quick note – pick only those people who you think match your wedding style and will not get offended if you reject their ideas. You don’t want to deal with that during your planning months!

Image via Anita Dongre's Son's Wedding

DIY Things

From bridesmaids gifts to wedding favors, you can DIY a lot of things to cut down on your budget and add a personal touch. Do remember not to go overboard with DIY-ing everything that you know (or see on Pinterest!) because you want to enjoy your wedding, not be stressed about your DIY décor on your wedding day!

Personalize Your Wedding

A small intimate wedding means you can really personalise it! So why not add personal touches to every bit of the wedding? You can leave a personalised note with your wedding invite, or maybe have a small message for all guests on your food tables. These little gestures will go a long way to make your wedding memorable.

Image via Wedding Tales★ 4.9

Intimate Pre-Wedding Events

Have a welcome brunch or post-wedding dinner party so that you can have fun and also be introduced to the other side of the family in a more casual, informal setting. Even if you have an intimate wedding, chances are high that you will be busy with rituals and immediate family on the day of the event. This is a great idea for both the families to interact too!

Interactivity

Given the scale of small and intimate weddings, its always fun to have interactive games and activities if you have a destination wedding. This way everyone gets to know each other plus have fun!

Take inspiration from these amazingly cute ideas that this couple had at their intimate wedding in Alibaug 

Image via Vogueshaire★ 4.8

Spend Time With Your Family

By that we mean immediate family. Usually they are the ones who are running around, taking care of guests and usually super stressed. With an intimate wedding, you can allow yourself to spend time with them – include them in your photos or go a step further and have a proper family portrait time scheduled before the wedding madness begins!