Minimalist Weddings: Beauty and Joy in Simplicity
Minimalist Weddings: Beauty and Joy in Simplicity
Minimalist weddings put the focus back on the bride and groom, where it belongs, and allow for a more cost-effective, less stressful, and more memorable wedding experience.
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The Minimalist Wedding Trend
Six-tiered cakes with intricate designs… Elaborate tablescapes laden with innumerable decadent culinary delights… Brides adorned in layer upon layer of tulle and lace, a seemingly-mile-long train fanning out behind her… Over-the-top arrangements of flowers, branches, and greenery sprawling theatrically across every surface– and sometimes even hanging from the rafters… You get the picture. We have probably all been to weddings of the like, and– let’s be honest– they can be spectacular!
But the past few years we have witnessed a new, and refreshing, trend in the industry– the minimalist wedding. And it's no wonder they’re gaining in popularity amongst brides and grooms. The stress and sadness provoked by COVID, the overall busy-ness of our daily lives, never-ending rising costs… All of these have us longing for simplicity, for ease, for a return to what is most important– connection to one another.
What is a Minimalist Wedding?
At its core and first and foremost, a minimalist wedding pares down all that is unnecessary and focuses on the essentials, embracing the concept that less is more, and that there is great beauty (and joy) in simplicity. Furthermore, it’s about creating some intentionality around the details (not stripping them all away). And lastly, it puts the focus squarely where it was always supposed to be– on the newlyweds-to-be.
Paring Down and Focusing on the Essentials
You may ask: Well, what are the essentials? That, my dear, is totally up to you. Which is, in part, the beauty of the modern minimalist wedding… You can fearlessly defy whatever traditions don’t speak to you and/or to your sweetheart. Consider all of the common elements of a wedding– location, ceremony, guest list, food, dress, decorations, invitations, music, etc– and then choose to hone in on the ones that spark the most joy for you. For many couples, the answer may be the ceremony and the guest list. For others, it may be the food and the music. Regardless of which camp you fall into, spend some time really reflecting on what matters to you most, and then cultivate some intentionality around those elements.
Intentionality
Once you and your partner decide on which elements you want to focus on for your event, you can take the time to really customize and personalize those details to make your celebration even more intimate and unforgettable. Maybe you want to forgo spending thousands of dollars on flowers that will, sadly, wilt and go to waste after your big day. But, you do want some vibrant pops of beauty and greenery… You might place small votive glasses (that can be recycled for candles) around your tables and put sprigs of ferns or a small wildflower that you love in them. A friend of mine made her wedding altar out of walking sticks her father had carved, along with branches and greenery from her family’s property. (You can read more on minimalist flowers here)
Or, perhaps you hate the thought of an elaborate, expensive wedding cake going to waste. So you choose instead to have a talented friend bake simple macaroons (matching your sweet color palette, of course) instead. Or, you can not stomach the thought of dropping $2500 (about the average) on a wedding dress, so you upcycle your mom’s or a friend’s. The point is, you do (minimalist) you! It is YOUR day.
The Proper Focus
You may have decided to look into having a simpler, more intimate wedding because you have noticed at many of the weddings you’ve attended, the focus is decidedly not on the bride and groom. It seems to be, instead, an affair committed to some arbitrary timeline and a production for the amusement of the friends of the bride’s and groom’s parents. (Yikes! That is harsh, I know.) But that kind of affair is just not for you. You have decided to strip away the extraneous details and get back to the entire true purpose of the day: the uniting of two souls in love. A minimalist wedding, at its heart, puts the bride and groom as the centerpiece, and everything else is part of the backdrop, as it ought to be.
What Minimalism Looks Like in an Adventure Elopement
Many couples who want a more modest, more streamlined wedding naturally end up considering eloping. In fact, elopement is the very definition of a minimalist wedding. It allows the newlyweds-to-be to simplify in a significant way and to intentionally put the attention back on what is most important– the marriage of two people who are dedicating their lives and their beings to one another.
An elopement does not necessarily mean that there is no guest list. On the contrary, plenty of the couples I work with bring along a small party of their nearest and dearest. Nor does an elopement mean that there are no flowers and no cake, or no food and no music. It just means that the energy and effort of the day is purposefully concentrated on whatever it is the bride and groom choose as their center and their intent.
Want to recite hand-written vows to one another atop a wildflower-dappled mountain in Crested Butte, with your dogs and your parents and a bottle of Reposado in tow? Dreaming of a serene, snowy ceremony in the Alps, with just your sweetheart and your four best friends? An adventure elopement allows you to pare down to the essentials so that you can have a small-scale wedding, but still celebrate your love and commemorate your new life together in a truly and unforgettably large-scale way.
Ready to Celebrate Your Day Your Way?
Elopement Photographer Andrea Enger (Portrait by Realm Studios)
Find out how I can help make that happen!
If you’re ready to get the ball rolling to secure your photographer, that’s great!
You can do that by filling out the form below, by emailing me directly at andrea@andreaengerphotography.com, or by calling/texting me at (720) 739-0784. I look forward to hearing from you!
If you’re still in the research phase, I hear ya! Here are some more resources that my couples have found helpful. I hope you do, too!