Happy New Year and Happy Micro Wedding
A piece in The Times Body and Soul Section last Saturday highlighted an emerging trend in the wedding industry. Venues are reporting a drop off in bookings for large, luxury weddings, with couples opting instead for a minimal celebration. In fact, SO minimal, that the wedding could be little more than a quick ceremony with a couple of witnesses, no fancy reception, and no fuss!
How does this appeal to couples planning their dream day? Would it, in fact, come as the most enormous relief? Think of the savings that would be made in not indulging in an extravagant affair. In this day and age, with the realities of the cost of living crisis hitting home, it might be the solution.
Many couples are marrying in their mid-thirties nowadays. They may already have gone ahead and had their children. They may be at a critical stage in their careers. They may be steeped in mortgages and home improvements. The big romantic moment may simply have passed. These are not young couples headily swept up in a swoon of romance. They have most likely been cohabiting for several years. They may be divorced and seeking a no-fuss second-time-around event. They may come from different faith backgrounds with the challenges of blending their cultural heritage too overwhelming to contemplate. For all these reasons, and many more, the attraction of a big wedding, preceded by an expensive overseas hen or stag do, and followed up with a long distance honeymoon, might have faded with time.
There’s no doubt that Covid has had its part to play in all this too, opening the door to looking at weddings differently. Those limited affairs that took place when restrictions were in place, with numbers down to immediate family, best man and bridesmaids, offered liberation from conventional thinking. And it looks like it’s now a cool option to dispense with the whole shebang!
It doesn’t mean to say, however, that the focal point of the wedding is lost. The ceremony, if anything, can be more significant than ever, with nothing else to worry about. And these micro weddings can be achieved much more easily and quickly too. In fact, the transition to marital bliss could literally take just a couple of months. If this is the sort of wedding that appeals, then it might be worth picking up the phone and getting on with it right now! Too much time has been lost already in the last few years – this is the way to kick-start the next stage of your life! How romantic is that?!