Large-scale weddings may be paused due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean you need to postpone your wedding.
Washington, DC has seen a rise in micro weddings and we’re thrilled to see this new trend gain traction. As one of the first to pivot in this direction back in April, we believe couples need savvy solutions and creative ideas so they aren’t forced to put their lives on hold.
Knowing how special a wedding date is to many couples and being 100% on board with the #loveisnotcancelled movement, we put our heads together to come up with a solution.
Since the launch of our “Just the Two of Us” wedding package in April (an intimate, micro wedding experience), we’ve hosted nine weddings and worked in venues we’d not previously been in, which was super exciting.
We’ve discovered charming settings and breathtaking aesthetics at all nine, which include: Tudor Place Historic House & Garden, The Larz Anderson House, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Meridian House, Carnegie Institute of Science, The American Pharmacists Association Building, and St. Regis Hotel in Washington, DC.
Our COVID-19 weddings have been featured in Washingtonian Weddings, Essence, and Black Bride. It was such an honor to help these couples keep their wedding date and continue their love story.
As the pandemic lingers, we’re prepared to adapt and innovate within the confines of safety standards and the economic impact many couples are facing. Sometimes creativity thrives within the confines of a situation and that’s exactly what’s happened at B Astonished Events.
How We’re Pulling Off 3 Micro Weddings in One Day
On October 10, 2020, we’re designing three more weddings, however, for the first time ever—we’re doing them all in one day! It was nearly impossible to plan two weddings in one weekend prior to COVID, but with some creative planning and collaboration, we’ve come up with a smart solution for couples getting married in both a pandemic and recession.
Hosted at the Conrad Hotel in Washington, DC, each couple has a detailed ceremony set-up and mood board for their wedding decor and design. Slightly different from our “Just the Two of Us” package, the “Exclusive Affair” wedding consists of the couple, their 15 guests, and a detailed design for their intimate wedding ceremony.
We’ve created welcome bags for the hotel to hand out to each couple and their guests. We’ve also partnered with Terri Baskin Photography, Blair Williams Productions, Pretty Petals Floral & Event Design, and Buttercream Bakeshop for the cakes.
Each couple will have a beautifully styled wedding, cake, champagne, and photography and videography. They’ll also have a stunning tablescape personalized to their ceremony. Following their enjoyment of cake and champagne, we bid them goodbye as they switch scenes for a small reception with family and friends at a nearby restaurant.
Because couples no longer need a venue for hours at a time to host large-scale weddings, these micro weddings make it possible to share the same space, keep the cleaning crew on hand for safe sanitization, and cut costs without cutting corners.
On the 10th, our first wedding starts at 9 a.m., the second at 1 p.m., and the last one at 4 p.m. This leaves plenty of time for each to have an intimate ceremony, 90 minutes with the photographer Terri Baskin following the ceremony, and enjoy their cake and champagne before setting off to celebrate at their restaurant of choice with loved ones.
Prior to COVID-19, it wasn’t uncommon for couples to have 300-500 people on their guest list. With the pandemic, that’s just not possible and it’s encouraged couples to become more thoughtful about who’s in their inner circle. It can be hard to cut what might be a large guest list down this drastically, but we’re finding it makes for an incredibly intimate and meaningful experience.
Gratitude seems to permeate the air and any subtle family or friend drama that one might think came with a wedding prior to COVID-19 just isn’t there. There’s a lingering sense of family, camaraderie, and bonding. Nothing is taken for granted.
Today, getting together with your closest 15 friends and family members is a gift, and it’s a gift couples are absolutely willing to embrace in order to get married and continue their love story.
If you have an upcoming wedding in the Washington DC Metro area and would like to keep your intended wedding date or you recently got engaged, we would love to help you plan a micro wedding during the pandemic. Reach out to us via the contact page to learn more about our experiences.
I could not agree more. As an event planner in LA, I have seen a surge in intimate and customized micro weddings. It is a challenge to make sure the wedding is safe as well as fun.
Thanks for sharing such an amazing blog. I think the miro wedding is good in such pandemic because now in the wedding have restrictions in gathering. So in this micro wedding is a good approach.