The Intention-Filled Wedding Ebook

This is Chapter 1 of The Intention-Filled Wedding. 

What Type of Celebration Fits You?

Elopement vs. Micro Wedding vs. Small Wedding vs. Intimate Wedding

There comes a moment early in the planning process — usually sometime between googling “how to elope” and staring at your bank account — when you realize that the kind of wedding you’ve been taught to imagine may not be the kind of wedding you actually want.

Maybe it hit you quietly.
Maybe it arrived like a full-bodied exhale.
Maybe it came after trying to picture yourself in a ballroom full of 200 people and your whole body whispered, “No.”

This chapter is your soft place to land as you begin exploring what your wedding could look like when it’s built around you, not expectations.

Let’s take this slowly. You may already have a feeling about what’s right, or you may be here because you’ve never seen anyone give a clear, grounded explanation. Either way, you’re in the right place.

Understanding the Landscape of “Small” Weddings

Not all small weddings are the same. They carry different energies, different logistics, and different emotional experiences. Naming what you’re drawn to helps create clarity long before you choose a location or tell your family what you’re planning.

Here’s a simple, soothing breakdown of your options:

Elopement

Guest count: 0–4 people
Vibe: Deeply personal, quiet, liberated
The day feels like: An adventure that happens to include vows
Best for couples who:

• Want privacy

• Want to avoid the pressure of hosting

• Are drawn to nature, travel, or nontraditional locations

• Want their wedding to be about connection, not production

Most elopements feel like slipping away into your own world — just the two of you, maybe an officiant, maybe a photographer who feels like a friend. They’re slow, intentional, and incredibly tender.

Micro Wedding

Guest count: 5–10 people
Vibe: Intimate, social, simple to plan
The day feels like: A small gathering with the closest humans in your life
Best for couples who:

• Want to celebrate with a tiny circle

• Like the idea of a ceremony + dinner

• Want something low stress, meaningful, and affordable

Micro weddings are wonderful when you want intimacy without isolation. They create space for shared joy without the intensity of planning a full wedding.

Intimate Wedding

Guest count: 10–25 people
Vibe: Cozy, celebratory, slightly more structured
The day feels like: A traditional wedding, simplified and softened
Best for couples who:

• Want a “wedding” feel without the overwhelm

• Love shared moments, group photos, music, and rituals

• Prefer a mix of intimate and festive

Intimate weddings sit right between an elopement and a standard wedding — meaningful, but still lively.

Small Wedding

Guest count: 25–50 people
Vibe: Warm, community-focused, relaxed elegance
The day feels like: A beautiful wedding without the production
Best for couples who:

• Still want to host friends and family

• Want a reception, dinner, or dancing

• Prefer a more traditional format, but simplified

This is the upper limit of “intimate,” and it’s where intention matters most. With 25–50 people, you can still cultivate presence, depth, and authenticity without the chaos of a 200-person event.

Why Defining Your Category Matters

This isn’t about labels.
It’s about clarity.

When you know the scale of your day, you naturally understand:

• how much planning you’ll actually need

• what your budget might look like

• which locations make sense

• how family may react

• what kind of vendor team supports your vision

• how your timeline will flow

• how much flexibility or structure you’ll have

It becomes easier to say no to things that don’t align with your vision and yes to things that make your heart feel settled.

In other words: naming the size of your celebration helps protect your energy.

Choosing What Feels True for You

You don’t need to overthink this.
You don’t need to make a perfect decision right now.
You only need to notice what your body does when you read each option.

Do you soften at the thought of exchanging vows alone on a cliff in Ireland?
Do you smile imagining a candlelit dinner with your families?
Do you feel a weight lift when you picture a 10-person ceremony at a lakeside cabin?
Do you crave a joyful, intimate gathering where your closest people get to witness your relationship?

Pay attention to the clues.

Your wedding doesn’t have to match anyone else’s definition except yours.

A Gentle Guide to Making the Decision

Here are a few questions to sit with:

• Do we want our wedding day to feel private, social, adventurous, relaxed, or ceremonial?

• Are we choosing intimacy because it feels right — or because we feel pressure?

• How many people do we feel emotionally capable of hosting?

• Does nature inspire us, or does a small venue feel comforting?

• What are the top three experiences we want on our wedding day?

Let these questions simmer.
There are no wrong answers here.

You are not choosing less.
You are choosing deeply.

A small wedding — whether two people or fifty — invites a kind of presence and authenticity that big weddings often struggle to hold. It creates space for eye contact, slow breaths, meaningful words, and genuine connection.

No matter which form you’re drawn to, you’re choosing a celebration that honors your relationship, your story, and your emotional wellbeing.

That already makes it beautiful.

If these words felt like permission, there are thirteen more chapters waiting for you — each one designed to help you plan with the same clarity, intention, and ease you felt here. The full guide and workbook are ready when you are. This is just the beginning.

Take the next step; get access to all 14 chapters first