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Amber, 26 & Ben, 29

Encino, California

Wedding Date: September 18th, 2010

Number of Guests: 75

Wedding Cost: $13,000 (approximately)

Wedding Ceremony Location: Ben’s Aunt’s backyard

Wedding Reception Location: Ben’s Aunt’s backyard

Why did you have an intimate wedding?

Ben: We both think that big weddings are kind of gross. Not the bigness, per se, but the fact that it just can’t be an intimate event once it gets to a certain size and once enough other people get their hands into planning it. Why would we have a wedding other people set up for us when, instead, we can have our ideal mega-fun party that is also our wedding?

What are some the challenges that you faced planning an intimate wedding?

Ben: Doing everything ourselves was a big challenge. Designing and printing invites, building our photobooth, doing all the location setup and decorating, we didn’t hire out for much more than our photographer and our caterer. It’s both the most fun and absolutely most stressful part of doing the wedding this way. At the worst, two days before the wedding, we looked at each other and said “Why didn’t we run off and elope somewhere? This is terrible.” The day after that, right before the wedding, it all kind of calmed down and it was smooth sailing after that. It was totally worth the effort and madness to make it happen. Because we did it all ourselves it was also exactly what we wanted, despite some minor head-butting about what we wanted to do and what tradition dictated. Our way won out, and it was super fun.

Was it difficult to pare down the guest list?

Ben: Since my family isn’t local and are all spread about the Midwest, and Amber’s family is not huge, it was actually pretty easy. The guest list was quite a bit bigger than the list of folks who attended due to the distance.

Did you have any ‘issues’ with the small guest list from friends and family?

None.

What were the highlights of the ceremony?

Amber: Walking out with my father, to one of my favorite Wilco songs, and seeing so many friends and family standing there in the gorgeous backyard.  I loved having everyone standing because I got to walk through them in a much more intimate manner than if it had been an aisle in seating.  I got to see all the guests’ joyful expressions up close and that was amazing.  It was like I got to share a tiny personal moment with every guest I made eye contact with.

What were the highlights of the reception?

Amber: The photobooth really stole the show.  It was adorable and awesome to see grandparents tugging on sleeves and herding people in there.  I love how it wasn’t just the young people who got excited about it.  Even the caterers had a blast taking pictures later in the night!  I feel like it’s got to be a special wedding if even the caterers are having a great time. It was even better for Ben, he and his brother built the photobooth for the wedding and seeing it go over so well was pretty great.

What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding?

Amber: It was wonderful having the time to really take part in everything.  Because we had a smaller guest list I was able to participate in everything and take time to really make memories with more of the guests, such as dancing with the preschoolers and cheering for the pinata batters.

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What advice do you have for couples who are considering an intimate wedding?

Amber: Having a smaller wedding gives you a lot more freedom in really every aspect of what you are able to plan.  Because our wedding was small we were able to use a non-commercial venue, we weren’t tied to specific caterers and other expensive (and generic) vendors.  We got to have exactly the food, drinks, and DJ we wanted, all while saving a TON of money AND making our wedding more fun. Oh and whatever you do, get a good photographer!

Vendors:

Wedding Dress: Made to order off of Ebay for $130 shipped.  (Simply search “custom wedding dress” to see many examples)

Shoes: Gabriella Rocha

Wedding Hair: Linda Drsata (Amber’s mom)

Wedding Makeup: Amber – makeup by Sephora

Engagement and Wedding Rings: Engagement ring mounting by Parade, custom head and shank by Philip’s Diamond Shop in Marion, IA. The diamond was also hand cut at Philip’s by Ben’s father, Phil High. Ben’s wedding band is by Fable Jewelry.

Menswear: Joseph Abboud at Men’s Wearhouse

Caterer: Loteria Grill

Wedding Cake: Auntie Em’s Kitchen – red velvet cupcakes. Homemade Guinness cupcakes and vegan margarita cupcakes by Ben’s Grandma and family.

Invitations: Amber & Ben

Florist: Linda Drsata (Amber’s mom)

Entertainment: Photobooth by Ben (you can rent it now!), DJ Scott T Sterling, pinatas, and candy.

Bridal Veil: Homemade by Amber and Sakura Minamida

Photography: Sherri J Photography

All other details: All illustrations (save the date postcards, coloring books, buttons, and stickers) by Amber, Sakura Minamida, and Amelia Cantlay.

Shantel & Drew

Nashville, Tennessee

Wedding Date: July 29th, 2010

Number of guests: 57

Wedding Ceremony Location: Historic Cedarwood

Wedding Reception Location: Historic Cedarwood

Why did you have an intimate wedding?

The main reason we had an intimate wedding was because we wanted to be able to enjoy every aspect of our wedding and not have to worry about mingling with a large group of people.  July 29^th was our special day and we wanted everyone who was special in our lives there.  You could really feel the love in our quaint group of guests.  Our personalities are ones that don’t scream “Big Wedding”.  We just wanted to be married and all the focus to be on our love, not how much we spent on the big day.

What are some the challenges that you faced planning an intimate wedding?

After speaking with friends and other brides, I must say that we had it pretty easy as far as our planning went – thanks to our venue, Cedarwood. Finalizing the guest list was probably the hardest thing to deal with because we could only have so many people attend in order to achieve our special horse shoe dining table shape.  Deciding on music was also tough because we weren’t sure if anyone would feel comfortable dancing in such a small group.  Luckily we knew our friends pretty well and decided that they would probably dance if given the chance, and they did!

Did you have any ‘issues’ with the small guest list from friends and family? If so, how did you address them?

Everyone we knew was aware that we were having an intimate wedding, so we didn’t really run into any issues.  We did, however, have trouble trying to decide where to seat people since the table we used placed people in such close proximity to one another.  We didn’t want people sitting next to others they may not exactly “mesh” well with.

What were the highlights of the ceremony?

The highlight was having Drew’s Grandfather, Bill Perry, officiate the ceremony.  It was so nice to have “Pawpaw” add personal touches about Drew and I that I am sure no one else would have been able to do.  He completely designed the ceremony to fit us and it was beautiful.

What were the highlights of the reception?

Some of the most poignant moments of the reception were the speeches.  My Dad gave the most touching speech that I will never forget and Drew’s best man, Kyle, added touches of humor within his moving words to his best friend.  I’ll also never forget watching my parents and grandparents dance with all my friends.  It was a first and will probably be the last time I see that happen!  We used an iPod and near the end of the night some of our guests decided to take it upon themselves to go off the play list which wasn’t the greatest of ideas.

What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding?

The best part was that we had the chance to spend all of our time with friends and family that mean the most to us.  Everyone could see everything that was happening and could hear everything being said.  Having an intimate wedding also allowed us to cut down the planning time to 4 months!  I didn’t have time to stress.  Being at Cedarwood felt like a big family vacation that was over too fast.

What advice do you have for couples who are considering an intimate wedding?

I would say make sure that you check in with yourself every once and while and make sure that all the decisions you are making are ones that YOU want.  It’s was great feeling leaving for our honeymoon knowing that we got to talk to every one of our guests and didn’t leave out a third cousin or a parent’s co-worker who we only met once before the wedding.  I had so many compliments from people who go to tons of weddings.  They say our wedding was the most fun because it didn’t feel like a typical modern wedding.  In the end, we got everything we wanted, everyone had fun, and we get to spend the rest of our lives together.

From the Wedding Planner/Venue:

Shantel and Drew had no shortage of “something blue” at their intimate farm wedding. Blue flowers, butterflies and rainbows graced gorgeous blue skies in a perfect setting for a summer country wedding. Intimate reception seating involved every guest in the gala with table top style.  Cobalt blue details and decor paired with burlap, galvanized pails of green apples, and wildflowers in French flower buckets pulled together a rustic chic vibe perfect for a southern farm wedding. Blue and green are a perfect pairing for summer, especially with the ‘just picked from the field’ bouquets and floral décor.

Vendors:

Photographer: Divine Images

Venue: Historic Cedarwood

Flowers, design & décor, planning: Cedarwood Weddings

Officiant: Bill Perry (Groom’s Grandfather)

Cake: Patty Cakes

Catering: A Dream Come True Catering

Ceremony Music: Rob Higginbotham