You might be hearing the term ‘micro-wedding’ being used a lot more frequently nowadays, but maybe you aren’t too sure what it actually is…

What is a micro-wedding?

Micro-weddings are somewhere in between a HUGE, bells & whistles wedding & an elopement. Normally the amount of guests tends to range between 5-50 & they are the perfect option for anyone that wants the simplicity of an elopement, but still wants to have their favourite people there. Micro-weddings are a great way to ensure your budget doesn’t go sky high & ultimately the less guests you have at a wedding the lower the cost. BUT having a micro-wedding doesn’t mean that you’re going to have a ‘budget wedding’, far from it. Infact it means that by having a smaller headcount for your big day your budget will go a lot further & you’ll be able to get the things you really want to make your wedding day special. You might even decide you want to have that ‘bells & whistles’ budget, whilst only having to cater for a select group of people, which will mean you can really splash out. Maybe there was a band you really wanted to play or you wanted to spoil the guests with extra special favours, it’s all possible, depending on what you want.

Going small with your guest list just means that you are really ensuring that the people that share in your day are the ones that are important. There can often be a lot of pressure to invite everyone, even inviting people you don’t really know to please someone else. Often couples are having to change their vision to fit in with their guest count & really when it comes to your once in a lifetime, special day you don’t want to have to do that.

Also another BIG perk to having an intimate & budget friendly wedding is that there is more money left over for the HONEYMOON & whilst your wedding day can fly by in the blink of an eye, your honeymoon is a chance to relax & unwind together & such an important finale to your wedding.

So, how do you even start with the guest list…

Micro-weddings are great, but choosing your guests is undeniably hard. You can’t have everyone there, so your old school netball team pals are probably off the list, as is your mother-in-law’s friend Sue, who you’ve actually never met before, which probably isn’t such a bad thing! Generally you will find that the list is limited to immediate family only, then any close friends you’d like to be included. One huge benefit of not having a huge guestlist is that you genuinely get to spend quality time with each guest, something that many couples say is the one thing they wish they had got to do, as often you can end up not speaking to some of your guests at really big weddings. Yes, some feelings might get hurt when choosing to have a small guestlist for your wedding, but it’s generally short lived & intimate weddings are becoming more & more popular, which means people don’t tend to worry as much. Oh & we can’t forget to mention the fact that the seating plans (if you even have to do one) are a doddle when you have a small headcount!

What is handfasting?

Weddings have been cancelled, or should we say postponed since the world went into lockdown back in March, but we can’t wait to start welcoming you all back & we have a feeling that micro-weddings will become more popular as we ease lockdown & things gradually start getting back to normal, whatever normal is…

At Dode we are fortunate to not only be able to offer our couples civil ceremonies in our church, but we also offer outdoor handfasting ceremonies, which is something that we believe will be available to couples before indoor civil ceremonies are allowed again in the UK. We understand that many will be cautious about planning big weddings following the pandemic & so smaller weddings may be the answer, even if you were considering a bigger affair before.

Hand Fastings are often referred to as Pagan Weddings. They don’t have any legal significance, but instead is a binding of a couples “ hearts & souls”. The vows that couples make express both individual frailties & united strengths in an ancient ceremony which far pre-dates marriage itself.

At The Lost Village of Dode we can help guide couples in how a handfasting works & we always encourage couples to create their own, unique promises & vows. There are normally seven in total & you say these whilst your hands are tied together. It then concludes with the couple “jumping the broom” as a symbol of their new life together.

You can have up to 40 of your closest family & friends attend a wedding at Dode, where you will have sole use of our charming Norman church, the last remaining trace of the ‘lost’ village of Doe, that was built over 900 years ago, along with use of our gorgeous grounds including out ancient Stone Circle and our award winning cottages are a perfect end to a perfect day!

If you would like to take a virtual tour of Dode, see if it’s the enchanting venue that you’ve been looking for, this is something that we are now offering. Click HERE to book your tour.