09/01/2026
Recently a friend of mine started planning their wedding and told me “I really want to invite more people, but then it won’t feel intimate right?”
And I thought for a second to the intimate weddings I’ve shot. It’s true some of them were 40 people or less, but I’ve seen some with 75-100 people that felt like an entire community and family of people coming together. And it felt just as intimate as the 20 person wedding.
One couple I asked said “we were very intentional about our guest list and vendors. We wanted to make sure everyone was picked very specifically to make this day blend together seamlessly”
Several other weddings I’ve noticed this one thing that made them feel like they had double the time with their guests, which was to have a welcome dinner.
You quite literally are doubling your time with people.
And the best part? This time is LOW PRESSURE.
You don’t have to put a wedding dress on.
You don’t have to have the fanciest meal.
You don’t have to have every guest there.
You get to dictate this time to be exactly what you want it to be.
The next day on the wedding, you’ve already gotten to spend time with all those special people at the welcome dinner, now you get to see and talk with the other guests who showed up for the wedding day.
It’s a win-win for everyone.
It can be a dinner at someone’s home, or out at a nice restaurant. Your choice on budget and atmosphere.
It’s one of the easiest and best things you could do for yourself if you want more time spent with the people coming to celebrate your wedding with you.
Save this to a friend who is getting married soon and hasn’t thought of this yet.
