One of the discussion threads we had in W@W asked us to define an intimate wedding. For an average Filipino family, having 200 guests IS intimate!
What makes a wedding intimate? Here's my take:
1. Primarily and technically, it's about the number of guests. A wedding with
50 guests (or even less!) is what you can call intimate. In our culture where we have huge
families, you can consider 100 guests intimate (read: impossible!).
2. The look and feel of the wedding. Having your wedding ceremony and
reception in a place where you commonly have family gatherings will give your
affair an intimate feel. This place can be your family's ancestral home or a
hotel or restaurant where your family would usually go for birthdays and
anniversaries.
3. Lastly, for me, the intimacy of the wedding greatly depends on how closely
the couple can interact with their guests during the party.
For our wedding, we are skipping all pictorials. The more time you allocate
for pictorials, the less chance you get to entertain your guests. My brief for
my photographer: capture images of emotions and connections and people. I
don’t want you art directing us the whole time. Just let things happen
naturally and let us enjoy our wedding and our guests.
We are also avoiding the big trend of having a grand entrance at the
reception and proceeding to the first dance. Instead, my fiancé and I, together with
our parents, will be at the entrance of the dinner hall to personally receive the
guests.
We won't have our own table at the reception - the one that separates the
couple from all the guests. I'm referring to the elevated table for the couple
that caterers/restaurants/hotels usually set-up.
What do you think?
Michelle and Oshine as featured in snippet and ink, Aregrayline Photography
Just the 2 of us: Their only guests were the photographers. Donna and Kevin as featured in snippet and ink
Amanda and Matt as featured in snippet and ink. Photo by Jessica Johnston
