Planning a big fat Indian wedding is a huge undertaking and an equally huge investment—leaving modern couples torn on whether it’s worth it. An average Indian wedding these days costs anything between few lakhs to sometimes even a crore depending on the guest count, venue and grandeur of the celebrations. Due to the recent Covid pandemic, the guest count has come down drastically and it has made couples realise that intimate wedding is the way forward in these uncertain times.
What is a Micro Wedding?
A micro wedding is an intimate affair, typically with no more than 50 guests. They still feature time-honoured traditions that make a wedding but on a much smaller scale.
Micro weddings aren’t just great to save on expenses but also fantastic for the environment. Did you know an average Indian wedding generates roughly 200-300kgs of food waste? Now imagine all this waste rotting at a land fill and emitting tonnes of methane gas which contributes to global warming. Guests travelling to and from a wedding venue, generators burning fossil fuels to light up the venue, hundreds of plastic bottles used for water and other mixers leading to a surge in plastic pollution – For the eco-conscious, a regular wedding is an environmental nightmare. The holy union of two individuals does not have to cost the environment irreparable damage.
So how does one go about organising a micro wedding and what are the elements that go into it to make it special?
Let Your Imagination Run Wild.
“With fewer guests comes less work, fewer opinions and people to please, lesser budget and more options in terms of spaces to celebrate. Open up the world of unique spaces that are inaccessible to larger weddings. You can rent out cafés, restaurants, bars, parks, galleries, an Airbnb villas or really anywhere you’d never consider for a big wedding. They’re already designed beautifully—meaning you can save on décor and might have their own tables and chairs, so you don’t have to rent them.”
When you’re looking at renting an entire space (which might seem pricey on paper), keep those savings in mind, and you’ll probably notice that it’s quite cost-effective.
Pick a Venue First.
Whether your wedding is big or small, it’s easier to find a venue and then tailor your guest list to fit, instead of inviting everyone and then realizing you can’t find the right space. “If it’s your favourite restaurant, for example, find out the capacity of their private dining room, then cut down your guest list until there is space for everyone at the table”.
Invites.
Creating invites for a wedding can be a tricky decision. While the digital age is here and most people are available on socials to access e-invites, there may be still be some elderly of the family who will prefer a paper invite. A micro wedding definitely allows the liberty to do both. Hand written or seed paper invites for the select few in the family and the quirky fun digital e-invites for the other family and friends.. Most wedding cards are made from hard non-recyclable paper which often get dumped into the bin and lie in our environment forever. Digital invites definitely reduce this impact and stress on our landfills.
Cover the Basics.
Regardless of size of the wedding, there has to be great food and music at the wedding. Micro weddings allow you to have the option of a sit-down dinner. Till just two decades ago, sit-down dinners used to be the norm at most traditional Indian weddings. Not only does it help guests at the weddings mingle with others, it also cuts down on food wastage as each one takes as much in their plate as they can eat. Caterers can segregate the waste into wet and dry which allows almost all of the food waste to be taken to composting. Excess food can be distributed amongst poor through NGOs like the Robin Hood Army. Use water dispensers or water stations to serve water. Since it is a limited gathering, each guest can get a personalised glass which they can use to refill water from the dispensers or water stations thereby reducing hundreds of plastic bottles from entering into our environment and causing an eco-logical nightmare.
Get Dressed Up.
Your grandchildren will look back at the photos 50 years from now and say how fabulous you both looked. So, no matter how big or small your wedding, it’s so special to get gussied up in attire specifically for the occasion. Whether it is the traditional lehenga or an elegant sherwani, choose a set of clothes that compliment your partner. Using rental clothing or pre-loved clothes are a great option to cut down on the environmental impact that new clothes have on our environment. Brands like Kuro India and Saritoria give some lovely options for designer wear.
Hire a Photographer.
No matter how small your wedding is, hire a photographer. You’ll want to document this day, no matter what. But that doesn’t mean you need an eight to 10-hour package and a second shooter. A smaller guest list also means a smaller shot list, so talk to your photographer about creating a custom package for a shorter amount of time. Instead of doing a pre-wedding photo shoot, click photos of all the pre wedding preps, friends or family you visited to hand over the invites during the lead up to the wedding day. Hang up these photos on a tree or a white board at the venue and share some giggles with your guests on the big day.
Turn to the Pros.
You can definitely still do things like rent furniture, hire a florist, or get a cake but if you do not wish to take the headache on your big day then look for a wedding planner who can create what you love and knows yours taste. You don’t need a cake for 100 people, so get creative with your local bakery or favourite sweet shop instead. Your local florist, who might specialize in single arrangements instead of bouquets and floral arches, is a great resource for a smaller table. A planner will sort out the small nuances! Many planners today offer an online consultation that would be just the thing for an intimate celebration that doesn’t require the same level of planning as a larger-scale wedding.
The pandemic has definitely taught us it is time we work with nature than against it. As weddings get smaller and more intimate, people are beginning to realise how these weddings can be as much fun and yet not come at a massive cost to our environment. The trend of Micro Weddings may have come into existence in India due to the Covid restrictions but it’s a concept that is definitely here to stay for those who wish to make their special day memorable and yet cost effective and eco-friendly.
Written by: Nupur Agarwal & Ashwin Malwade, Greenmyna
Ashwin and Nupur met through common friends and bonded over a shared love for the environment at a beach clean-up initiative. Greenmyna’s journey started with their own wedding which was minimal in waste and low on emissions. They realized that there are a lot more couples who could benefit from their experience which led them to start their own green events and wedding consultancy. Through which they work towards creating a movement towards positive change by providing couples solutions to make their weddings as green as possible.
