Micro wedding? What is that? 2020 Has Created a Different 2021!

2020 has made the industry well aware in 2021 of exactly what a microwedding is by now. Having shot at least 10 now ourselves we thought that it would be helpful to talk about microweddings and give some insight on what we see based on our experience in the wedding industry for the last two decades.

But first let me introduce the beautiful Bride and Groom with whom we will be using their images to speak on behalf of this current trend. AnnMarie and Jason, one of our last client’s of 2020 to tie the knot, did so bravely, just the day after the United States Presidential Election day, I believe. When I first recieved the call/inbox from Kaitlyn Hostetler with EVOKE regarding covering AnnMarie and Jason’s wedding I was in no way surprised at all (*side note, I attended high school along side both of them and AnnMarie had been following us for a while on instagram @theregetis keeping in touch over the last year). Many of you may remember Michelle and Michael’s wedding that we last covered with the talented EVOKEDC team, quite the fans of all things detailed – so we cannot wait to show you their spin on this absolutely beautiful microwedding in Washington DC at the Line Hotel.

In my opinion these were two kids in high school that if I could have crowned homecoming king and queen just to put them together, I would have. AnnMarie was always very prim and proper, well put together, nails always perfect and to accompany that perfection the dream student for any teacher. She was typically quiet, reserved, non-confrontationally and got along with practically everybody, I think it is safe to say we all loved and adored her. Jason on the other hand was a bit preppy for most, loved baseball, always had a hat on his head, he was the cute blonde haired, blue eyed, tall slender, lean handsome boy that could have stepped out of the High School Musical, so light hearted, jovial and charistmatic that if he said hello to you – one would of simply been surprised he might even know your name – when all along he was the most down to earth, fun loving guy who hung with a lot of the upperclassmen.

To see these two married melted me to my core, I could not imagine a couple that I have wanted so much to see have a love like this ever before. They took all that goodness from highschool, combined with all the lessons they have learned in life, creating this amazing and beautifully blended family unit. The most humble of people embracing it all, the good with the bad, the happy with the sad – having seen you all make it through 2020, the rest of life ain’t got nothing on you two!

This is why a microwedding was the perfect way for the two of them to have been able to embrace their wedding day.

Micro wedding What is that 2020 Has Created a Different 2021

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/250
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/125
Aperture Value : 5.6
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/125
Aperture Value : 5.6
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/60
Aperture Value : 3.2
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/80
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/250
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/250
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/1250
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 100

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/160
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/160
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/200
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 1.8
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/800
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/250
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/640
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/800
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/640
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/640
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/640
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/640
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/500
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/400
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/640
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/500
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/500
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/640
Aperture Value : 3.2
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/320
Aperture Value : 5.6
ISO : 100

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/80
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 320

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/3200
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/8000
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 160

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/2500
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/8000
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 5600

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/8000
Aperture Value : 2.0
ISO : 200

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/6400
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 640

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/8000
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 2800

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/200
Aperture Value : 5.6
ISO : 100

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D5
Shutter Speed Value : 1/640
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 320

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/8000
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 1000

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/8000
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 1000

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/200
Aperture Value : 5.6
ISO : 100

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/8000
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 1000

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/200
Aperture Value : 5.6
ISO : 100

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON Z 6
Shutter Speed Value : 1/8000
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 5000

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/200
Aperture Value : 5.6
ISO : 100

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/320
Aperture Value : 4.0
ISO : 100

AnnMarie and Jason

NIKON D4
Shutter Speed Value : 1/250
Aperture Value : 5.6
ISO : 100

At the start of this pandemic we were busy handling many a change request regarding dates as people jumped ship on committed wedding dates and tried the best they could to find dates that not only worked to save most if not all of their prized wedding vendors but that also might push them through if not past the fear of the pandemic to include federal and state mandates.

It was these very mandates that we feel forced our couples to trim down their guesst lists and rethink their wedding approach altogether as a whole from a planning perspective. For many of our weddings the planners have been the unsung hero’s in it all – behind the scenes many think that the industry simply shut down, but far from it. We all pulled together, brainstormed options moving forward, talked about comfort zones, listened to one another’s struggles and for our clients submerged ourselves in the massive amount of emails/logistics, opening our hearts and minds taking flexibility to a new level allowing contractual changes that permitted clients to split their one wedding day into multiple days and even weekends amongst 2020 and 2021. Given the unknowns most client’s simply wanted to be married and felt the celebration of that would be best embraced in 2021, some completly jumped ship on 2020 and others said the show must go on. Thus sprang the microwedding concept of reeling it all back in for a moment and being presented with the options based on the venue restrictions, state and federal restrictions, ability and comfort with traveling, while remembering that everyone’s comfort level with COVID varies greatly and should be respected. It allowed the world a moment to breathe and rethink what truly matters most in the thick of it all. Our families. It turned these original largely scaled events into these smaller, intimate, one of a kind celebrational experiences. Coverage hours due to less prep time or the omission of dancing were reduced by one or two, allowing the focus to become more about the concept of “Me & You”. Our clients have creatively come up with using wider long tables with simple details, florals fresh and full of life, individually noted seat cards already placed at their table voiding the concept of the typical seating chart display most of us have grown use to and see many hovering around. Client’s are reinvesting thier funds on immersing their clients in the experience of this intimate setting, upgrading the floral spreads, seating, tableware, linens, lighting, providing shaws for warmth while sitting at the dinner table, expanding the menu experience and embracing their loved ones speeches just a little more than they use to.

As a third party looking it, it’s humbling. 2020 was a challenging year for us all. But from the ashes a Pheanix is born, new life is all around us. If we just take a moment to stop and look around we will find it. 2020 left us a little more reminded and I think that microweddings are earning themselves a new place in our market – respected and embraced by all. In our professional experience it has created a “reset” if you will to allow clients the option to scale it back without the fear that loved one’s will have hurt feelings or that they have to fullfil the obligatory portrait list any longer. We are excited for 2021 and what the future brings having seen so many things. We are hopeful that this solidifies the need for event planners even more.

We cannot express our own true love, respect and admiration for all of you as you rose to the challenge presented before you. We are looking forward to standing side by side with each one of you as we move into a new era of the event industry embracing the beautiful new world of weddings that have sprung!