How To Plan A Small Intimate Miami Wedding

Smaller weddings are, by nature, virtually always going to be more intimate affairs than larger weddings.

However, creating an intimate atmosphere and environment is about much more than simply reducing the venue’s size or the number of people in it.

When you’re planning a small, intimate wedding in Miami, you’ll want to focus in on creating spaces and opportunities for human connection more than on impressive spectacles. 

How Intimate Do You Want It To Be?

Before you even start contacting potential venues and vendors, the first thing you should decide is which people you want to be in attendance at your wedding.

At least a few of the people you invite are probably not going to be able to show up for one reason or another, but you should still avoid inviting anyone you don’t actuallywant to be there. 

Now, the fact that you don’t want someone at your wedding doesn’t mean that you don’t like them, and it’s not about leaving them out.

It’s about only inviting people who will gel with both of you and with each other in the specific environment that you’re creating at your small, intimate wedding in Miami.

Before you send out each invitation, ask yourselves:

• Will this person’s presence or absence make a large and noticeable difference to us?
• Will this person drink a lot at the wedding? (This matters more than you might think.)
• Does this person have any beef or friction with any of our other guests?
• Do we want this person to mingle and interact with the rest of our guests?
• Does this person actively support our relationship?

Every person at your wedding is effectively acting as a witness when you say your vows to each other, and they are also all members of your support network. As time goes on, whenever you have those difficult moments, days, or weeks (as all marriages inevitably do), these are the people you should be able to call to get support, encouragement, and even helpful advice. 

Consider Hiring a Wedding Planner

A small, intimate wedding in Miami is still a wedding, and as such, there are certain things related to decor and logistics that you’ll need to plan intentionally.

As a professional who handles weddings all the time, a wedding planner can help you filter through your ideas and turn them into actionable items.

In other words, a wedding planner’s whole job is to help you turn your vision into a reality in the most efficient and functional way possible.

They also free you up to focus more on what matters to you and less on technical things.

A planner or coordinator can:

• Manage logistics
• Coordinate timelines
• Communicate with vendors

Additionally, a planner or coordinator can be of immense help to you if:

• You’re planning your wedding far from where you live
• You’re working with multiple vendors
• Your wedding will be held outdoors

A wedding planner or coordinator is there to help ensure that your wedding day goes smoothly and according to plan. And in doing so, they enable you to relax and simply enjoy the day.

Pro Tip: Before you book a venue or hire a planner, ask both whether they’ve worked together before and whether there is any reason they can’t. 

Select An Appropriate Venue

A significant benefit of hosting a small, intimate wedding in Miami is that you don’t need that much space.

Since land and commercial space aren’t cheap here, that can make a big difference. However, not all smaller venues are created the same, and you’ll want to be selective. 

Before booking, ask prospective venues about things like:

• Guest capacity
• Air conditioning
• Restroom facilities
• Vendor spaces
• Ceremony spaces
• Where the lighting tends to be best for photos
• Parking (free or paid)

Above all, if a venue owner is being evasive in answering your questions or you feel like they’re trying to rush you into signing without adequately answering your questions, it’s probably best to keep shopping around. 

Try To Be A Little Relaxed With Time

We don’t mean to have no schedule at all. A small, intimate wedding in Miami is still a wedding, and it still needs some structure to keep everythingon track. But you don’t necessarily need to have every few minutes specifically scheduled and assigned. 

Instead of filling your schedule with events to avoid silence and keep everyone’s attention, schedule time and opportunities for your guests to mingle and interact naturally. 

Some examples of such opportunities are:

• Free conversation periods
• Light, non-competitive games, such as team trivia
• Conversation starter games (taking care to avoid anythingtoo controversial)

The idea, again, is not to eliminate structure or timelines entirely, but to intentionally incorporate periods of free and social time to create opportunities for more organic, spontaneous connection.

Be Intentional With Your Seating Plan

In keeping with the same theme we just discussed, your seating plan is another area where you can intentionally encourage and foster social connection without it feeling unnatural or forced. 

Some ways you can do this are by:

• Arranging your seating in such a way that as many people as possible are facing each other (such as with circular tables, like the ones we have here at Gables)
• Being mindful of generational and other understanding gaps when deciding who to sit with whom
• Strategically seating people together who might share common interests but don’t know each other already

Remember that everyone present at your wedding is effectively your support group for your marriage.

They are your biggest fans as a couple, and they are the people with the most personal interest in seeing your marriage thrive.

And the more they all like each other, the more helpful they’re likely to be in that capacity later on when you need their support or advice.

In Closing

Planning a small, intimate wedding in Miami, like anywhere else, ultimately comes down to fostering as much organic human connection as possible between yourselves and all your guests.

And one of the greatest benefits of that is the fact that, because it’s supposed to be organic, you can actually get away with planning a little less than you’d have to for a larger wedding.

But whatever you do plan, what’s important is that it’s intentional and designed to encourage your guests to relax and become friendly with one another (and with both of you).