Many of the couples we have featured here at IW have opted for a dinner party instead of a formal reception. The vibe at a dinner party is much more intimate and allows for couples to actually spend time with their guests!

Although some dinner parties are all out casual, others are big on elegance. Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite ways to make your dinner party fabulous!

1. Great Lighting

Lighting can transform a small space into something spectacular. Exposed low-hanging bulbs look perfect with a simple table setting.

2. Vintage China

For a stunning outdoor setting, choose ornate, vintage china plates. Add a pretty runner , some bright blooms and fresh fruit.

3. Candles

What better way to add romance and warmth to a dinner table, than with candlelight?

4. Small Details

Small details go such a long way for an intimate dinner. Wooden menus on mini easels not only add to the decor but show your guests how much thought you’ve put into planning the menu.

5. Fresh Fruit and Cheese

Fill the table with tempting cheeses, fruit, charcuterie, fresh bread and bottles of wine.

6. Table Runner and Chair Details

A sheer runner falling to the floor, along with lace draped chairs will give you some drama for an Edwardian style dinner party.

7. Mismatched Chairs

If you are going for a more rustic look, use mismatched chairs in an outdoor setting. A low-cost backyard wedding with a focus on good food and great company has so much charm.

8. Greenery

Create a runner with leaves, vines and lemons for a Mediterranean flair.

9. Exposed Wooden Tables

For a farm to table feast, strip things back with wooden tables and benches. Decorate with metallic candles and small floral centerpieces, or use fresh herbs.

10. Go Family Style

Family-style dining is the way forward for a fuss free dinner party. Sharing food at the table allows for more variety on the menu and adds a lovely atmosphere. Seat everyone at one long table to enhance the intimacy of the event.

Photo one: studioimpressions.com;  Photo two: weddingomania.com; Photo three: stylemepretty.com; Photo four: rusticfolkweddings.com; Photo five: halforangephotography.com; Photo six: southboundbride.com; Photo seven grazierphotography.com; Photo eight: lisapoggi.com; Photo nine: greenweddingshoes.com; Photo ten: kristynhogan.com; Photo eleven: pinterest.com

If you’re a bride who loves an unforgettable view, prepare to be swept away. Kirkridge, a New England retreat center, is a stunning intimate wedding venue situated atop the Kittatinny Ridge in Pennsylvania.

Brides and Grooms are welcome to rent out the venues 1800’s farmhouse to host their special day and serve dinner, as well as welcome guests to spend the night on location. Due to its location nestled far in the woods of the Appalachian mountains, guests are encouraged to unwind, relax, and ultimately enjoy the special occasion without the distractions of city life–if only for a day.

Kirkridge will work with you to create the perfect menu and ambiance for your intimate wedding. The only things left on your wedding planning list will be your wedding cake and alcoholic beverages. Kirkridge can even help you locate a local officiant, photographer and florist.

Kirkridge is undeniably the venue of choice for the earthy, New Englander bride looking for an unplugged celebration.

Photos:  Janine Collette

Crystals, geodes and gems are a hot trend in wedding decor. If you are on a budget, this trend might not be practical for you, unless you take matters into your own hands! These DIY Gemstones cost pennies to make, and they require zero crafting skills!

You can use the gemstones as table decor, or turn them into magnets and give them as favors. You could also use them to make your own napkin rings, or escort cards. (Why not make some candy gemstones to go with your theme?)

What you will need for this fun project is sea glass. We happen to be avid sea glass collectors with more sea glass than we know what to do with, but if you don’t have your own, no worries! You can buy sea glass on Ebay or Etsy. You don’t need jewelry grade sea glass (look for mosaic quality), which will keep your costs down. We used white sea glass for this project.

Let’s get started! You will need:

• white mosaic grade sea glass
• Mod Podge
• A paint brush
• Fine glitter (We used Martha Stewart Crafts Iridescent Glitter, which we love!)
• Magnets (optional)

Gather your sea glass.

Using a paint brush, paint one side of the sea glass with Mod Podge and sprinkle with glitter. Be generous! Shake the excess glitter off of the sea glass.

So pretty!

If you want, use a glue gun to adhere magnets to the back of your gemstones and give them as favors.

You can also mount them onto wooden blocks using a glue gun.

These glittery gemstones look awesome en masse, don’t you think?

For Allison and Tim, who already have a son together, hosting a large, lavish wedding simply wasn’t a priority. They chose, instead, to have a casually elegant family-only wedding at the Ocean Course Kiawah Island Golf Resort that was relaxed and love-filled, fitting the laid-back newlyweds to a tee. They both agree that they couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate!

Special thanks to Brittany Callahan at Riverland Studios for sharing Allison and Tim’s wedding day with us.

Allison, 36 & Tim, 54

Kiawah Island, SC

Wedding Date: September 26, 2014

Number of Guests: 21 (including the bride and groom)

Wedding Cost: $10,000

Wedding Ceremony Location: The Ocean Course, next to the 18th green

Wedding Reception Location: The Atlantic Room at the Ocean Course Club

Why did you have an intimate wedding? 

We’re both very laid back people and neither of us likes big parties, so a large wedding just wasn’t for us. We’re also a bit older than the typical first time bride and groom and we have a young child, so I think our priorities are different from what they would have been had we married in our twenties. We knew going into it that we didn’t want wedding planning to take precedence in our lives.

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

It’s hard not to get sucked into the wedding industry marketing machine and think that you need to mimic every detail you see in wedding magazines in order to have the perfect wedding. That can be overkill for a small wedding. So when I saw something I liked, I had to force myself to think long and hard about whether it was a good “fit” for our intimate wedding. Some of the best decisions I made were things I decided “not” to include.

Was it difficult to pare down the guest list? 

It was hard. We worried initially that there would be hurt feelings, and we did have moments early on where we second-guessed ourselves, but we realized after the wedding that our decision to invite just immediate family (plus one family we’ve adopted as our long lost siblings) was absolutely right because the entire day felt perfect.

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

We really didn’t. Our friends and extended family have been kind and gracious. They understood why we wanted a small wedding and seemed to respect our decision.

What were the highlights of the ceremony? 

Hearing my sweet husband say his vows and being able to say mine to him. Also, hearing laughter from our guests during a few humorous moments and being able to recognize every voice. That was an unexpected nice touch.

What were the highlights of the reception? 

Just being able to relax and share a wonderful meal with the people we love. No pressure to make the rounds and shake hands with people we barely knew. Just a lot of laughter and sweet words from our toastmasters.

What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding? 

I won’t say it was “no stress”, but it was definitely less stress than I would have experienced with a large wedding. The morning of the wedding I played with my son on the playground. There was no rushing around and no frantic scramble to get out the door.  It was so peaceful and so perfect. I also got to hand make many of the details – invitations, place settings, gift bags – and that would have been impossible with a big guest list.

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

Go with your gut instincts. If a small, intimate wedding was the first thing that popped into your head when you decided to get married, you’ll regret doing it any other way. The day really is about the two of you and you should celebrate in a way that feels natural.

Vendors:

Photography: Brittany Callahan at Riverland Studios

Venue: The Ocean Course

Living in the Yukon, where weddings are large and very laid-back, Julia and Bobbie wanted to bring some of that Northern spirit to their own intimate Ontario wedding. Quality time with family and friends being a top priority for the couple, the days leading up to and the morning of their wedding were spent prepping for the big event with their nearest and dearest. After a ceremony in the living room of the bride’s family home – a space full of memories for not only Julia and her family, but also for Bobbie and many of their guests – the couple and their loved ones celebrated with a relaxed dinner party style reception on the screened-in porch, complete with a local pig roast, a moving musical performance, dancing, and a late-night bonfire.

Special thanks to Jennifer Moher and Hugh Whitaker for beautifully capturing the spirit of day and sharing it with us.

Julia, 30 & Bobbie, 32

Lang, Ontario 

Wedding Date: October 5, 2014 

Number of Guests: 50 (including bride and groom and 2 photographers) 

Wedding Cost: $11,000 (including Bobbie’s new wedding jeans and Blundstones!) 

Wedding Ceremony Location: Family living room  

Wedding Reception Location: Screened-in stone porch at the back of the house  

Why did you have an intimate wedding??  

Bobbie and I knew we’d most enjoy the experience if we kept the wedding small, just family and close friends. We loved the idea of gathering together those nearest and dearest in our lives, and wanted the day to feel more like a big, relaxed dinner party than a traditional wedding. We live in northern Canada (Dawson City, Yukon), where weddings are typically large, but incredibly laid-back. We tried to bring the spirit of a northern wedding to our little Ontario celebration.  

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

I’d say the biggest challenge was trying to sort out logistics for the day. While the overall goal was for the wedding to feel very casual and relaxed, 50 people is a large enough crowd that a bit of organization was necessary. We were determined to have our meal on the screened-in stone porch of my family home, which was always going to be a very tight fit. After several creative table-arranging attempts, we managed to make it work. Trying to stick to a schedule throughout the day was also a bit of a funny challenge. It all worked out well in the end thanks to our very helpful, organized family and some close friends, and our very laid-back wedding guests.

Was it difficult to pare down the guest list? 

Yes and no. Those who came to the wedding were all on the original guest list, which was easy to settle on. Hoping for an intimate atmosphere, we decided not to include plus-ones on invitations unless we knew our guests’ significant others – we weren’t keen to meet anyone for the first time at our wedding. 

That said, when it came to the guest list there were a number of friends we’d have loved to invite if having a small wedding hadn’t been such a priority.

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

Other than my own sensitivity to how those not invited might feel, it really was ok. Friends, extended family, and neighbours were very understanding of what we were trying to do.  

What were the highlights of the ceremony? 

Originally we had planned for the ceremony to take place at the Millpond – a widening of the Indian River – just across from my family home. However, our chilly, windy afternoon had us re-think the setting, and at the last minute we decided to get married beside a roaring fire in the living room of the house instead. It was a perfect alternative. Many of our guests, and especially Bobbie, myself and my family, have years of wonderful memories in that big room. The cozy, more intimate space was a very special place for the ceremony – there were lots of happy tears, big smiles, laughs, and sporadic baby/toddler noises! 

What were the highlights of the reception? 

The reception was fantastic – a really fun relaxed rest of the evening. Up until the ceremony we’d had chilly overcast weather. Just afterwards we were treated to sun, and guests mingled in and around the house. There was a lovely spread of appetizers and hot apple cider, and people helped themselves to the wine bar and beer from a cedar-strip canoe. For dinner we tucked into local roast pig (roasted that day by Bobbie and his brothers) and a delicious seasonal spread of salads, sides and bread, made with local ingredients by our fantastic caterers. 

During the meal, speeches were a free-for-all and my brother and dear friend Kate performed a very moving song, followed by dancing and playing music around a bonfire late into the night. It was a really wonderful evening. 

What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding? 

Having a small wedding allowed us to easily spend time with all of our guests, many of whom traveled very long distances to help us celebrate. We didn’t feel overwhelmed at any point throughout the day. Most importantly, it was a very unique opportunity: to be surrounded by those we love most, from the various corners of our lives, all at once.

And with small numbers, it was fun to splurge on delicious wine, beer and food! 

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

Stick to your guns! Bobbie and I were so happy after it was all over to realize we’d had exactly the wedding we’d hoped for. For us, the key to achieving this was to focus on what was most important to us – family, friends, food, drink, natural local elements – and to not over-think the whole thing. Some traditions were nice to follow, but only the ones that held meaning for us. A wedding really can be whatever you want it to be, there are very few rules you need to follow.  

Vendors: 

Photos: We were so lucky to have the incredibly talented duo Jennifer Moher and Hugh Whitaker as our photographers. They so perfectly captured the spirit of the day. 

Wildflowers: They were picked the day before from fields around the house, and arranged by my sisters-in-law, mother-in-law and cousin. My sister-in-law Sasha also arranged my bouquet. 

Food: Bobbie and I care very much about local food, which was reflected in the delicious meal. Bobbie and his brothers roasted a pig from a farm up the road, and our caterer, BE Catering made a delicious spread of salads, side dishes and pies for dessert.  

Cake: My great-aunt Sharon made our 3-tier cake (a family fruit cake recipe), my aunt Julia iced it, and my sister-in-law Sasha decorated it with local wildflowers.  

Dress: I wore a custom wedding dress by Vancouver designer Patty Nayel of Pure Magnolia. Patty is an amazing artist and was lovely to work with. I really admire her business model – creating unique gowns from recycled and sustainable fabrics.  

Groom’s Jacket, Shirt and Tie: Brooks Brothers

Hair: Kelly Fisher of Kouture Hair Studio  

Makeup: My dear childhood friend Kate Suhr 

Live Music: my brother and friend Kate Suhr performed a song during the reception, one of the highlights. Kate Suhr is a gifted singer/songwriter and can be booked for events at: http://katesuhr.com