Micro Wedding Planning Services: 5 Things to Consider

Whether you call them intimate weddings, elopements or micro weddings, they have always been a thing. But, in the recent weeks and in light of ever changing regulations on weddings, they are all of the sudden center stage—and in sudden demand. Are you ready? Do these services even make sense for you to offer? So today, we wanted to start the conversation micro wedding planning services in order to help you (and us all) wrap our heads around what this actually means. Read on for some initial thoughts on the subject and advice about how you might go about offering these services to couples.

Will micro wedding services be a permanent or temporary offering?

For many, even considering adding micro weddings to our service list my purely be out of necessity. Because, if working with your couples to reduce guest counts is going to be the only way you can continue to provide services (and make money to pay the bills), it might not feel like you have a choice. On the other hand, some planners might really be excited about this shift and are looking at making this a regular service offering even when restrictions on gatherings are lifted. Regardless of which camp you are in, have some sort of plan in place to make sure that you can still provide a high level of service (even if it is simply for a few micro weddings you have no choice but to do).

Do you actually want to do smaller weddings or are you simply jumping on the bandwagon?

Building off of the first question, this one is almost more about whether or not it makes sense for you to add intimate weddings to your repertoire. Maybe you already love elopements, so it is an easier transition for you to put more effort into marketing these services. But, maybe it doesn’t make sense for you and your life at the moment (that is okay!) and really the most productive thing you can do is something else. Whatever you feel, just remember—smaller doesn’t necessarily mean easier

How should you structure your fees?

The pricing question. Always a challenge to answer even when you aren’t being asked to make quick changes in your business! But, when it comes to pricing your services for micro weddings and elopements, we suggest either a percentage model with a minimum OR an hourly rate with a minimum fee. You may want to try each of these out and then decide which is best for you based on what the actual scope of these services ends up being. Most experienced planners that have done micro weddings increased rates after the first couple, so be sure to track your time in order to give you the information you need to make a decision.

Have you done the research?

When it comes to planning intimate weddings, one of the best things you can do right out of the gate is getting a team on board. Why? Because not everyone is set up or wants to provide these services and your usual go-to vendors may not be available for these couples (so don’t assume they can). Start reaching out to your favorite vendors to find out who is also offering micro wedding services and ask them details about their packages are, minimums, etc. That way, you can have an already vetted list of the best vendors in the area to recommend to couples who have hired you for their intimate wedding.

How can you balance booking micro weddings with “regular” ones to keep your numbers on track?

If you are planning on offering these service for the long term, you may want to consider only offering them in the off season or for weekday weddings. Because the price point and budgets for micro weddings is likely to be much smaller than a traditional one you should look at your calendar and run the numbers. You might see that saving your prime Saturdays for larger events is the best thing for your business’ bottom line. However, for the next few months, you can be flexible since this is a great way to add some cash flow into your business. 

Cheering you on and here to support you!