Emily and Tom were due to hold their wedding earlier this year in February 2021 at St Tewdrics near Chepstow. At the time of planning is was quite unthinkable that the world wide pandemic would be still affecting our day to day lives. As the government were forced to reinstate restrictions last winter, a lot of couples decided to postpone wedding plans for another year. Emily and Tom were one such couple, with plans to sixty guests to join them for a celebration once the threat of the virus has been abated. Fortunately, the success of the vaccine programme has allowed small or micro wedding ceremonies to proceed again. The number of guests allowed to attend the ceremony were heavily restricted and guidelines for personal spacing with mouths to be adorned with masks whilst inside. Nevertheless Emily and Tom decided to hold a marriage ceremony this April at St Mary and St Peter’s Church in the Gloucestershire village of Tidenham.
What is a micro wedding?
Micro weddings have become more popular recently thanks to covid restrictions, but they have always been around, though they were just referred to as little or small weddings. Generally speaking micro weddings have fewer than 20 guests, and the schedule can mirror a full blown wedding day with ceremony, drinks reception and meal, speeches and cake cutting. The evening party may be omitted or certainly less chaotic than evening spent on the dance floor. Though it is important to say there are no rules, the beauty of a micro wedding is you have the flexibility to mould the day to your preference. The reception is often a small buffet in private accommodation, or quite commonly a small restaurant has been hired out.
What is photography from a micro wedding like?
I have photographed quite a few small weddings over the years, but with guests numbers being restricted to prevent the spread of covid they have become rather “de rigueur”. The first obvious observation is that with fewer guests, the photographer’s skill to be able to blend in becomes even more important. Most of my wedding photography clients prefer to have natural and candid images to remember their day, so the ability to capture images in a reportage or documentary is paramount. Though with less people, the photographer’s presence is more noticeable so a friendly and approachable manner can pay dividends. The photographic coverage may be the full day or just part of the wedding day, it really comes down to personal preference. Emily and Tom’s wedding coverage was for the ceremony only, with the start and finish time set for the arrivals of guest to the departure of the newlyweds.
