35 Totally Different Micro Wedding Ceremony Ideas

Weddings are becoming smaller and smaller every year, and it’s no wonder. With rising costs and couples desiring a more intimate experience, it makes sense that a smaller celebration would make sense. Choosing to have a small wedding comes with a lot of benefits, including opportunities to make the event totally unique to you. In this blog, we’re covering a whole range of micro wedding ceremony ideas to help you get creative.

To be clear, ceremonies for a small wedding can be an exact copy of a traditional wedding size on a smaller scale. You can have everything you’d find in a larger wedding, or you can choose to do something totally different.

Most blog posts out there are talking about micro wedding ideas more generally and not specifically about your ceremony so we’re covering the elements of a ceremony in depth.

When I was planning my wedding, I knew I wanted something different from the traditional wedding. So much of what I saw out there didn’t reflect who my now-husband and I are. I struggled to find inspiration that aligned with our vision and kept running across the same things everywhere I looked. Our goal is to provide one-of-a-kind ideas and content that can help you bring an amazing celebration to life.

PS—If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out our blog post on how to plan a micro wedding!

Traditional Wedding Ceremonies vs. Micro Wedding Ceremonies

Before we dig into all the cool things you can do to make your micro wedding ceremony uniquely you, we wanted to provide a quick overview of what’s typically included in a wedding ceremony.

What to Include in a Wedding Ceremony

These will vary a bit depending on your religion or culture, but generally, a very basic ceremony will include the following:

• Processional
• Vows
• Exchange of the rings
• First kiss
• Presentation
• Recessional
• Other elements, such as a bridal party, an officiant, ring bearers, and flower girls, unity ceremonies, and readings may also be included

Customizing Your Union

The beauty of a more intimate wedding celebration is that there are only a few parts of a traditional ceremony that are actually required by law (I am not going to talk about any cultural or religious requirements here). A completed state-issued marriage license, an exchange of vows, verbally agreeing to enter into a marriage contract, and a proclamation that you’re now legally wed. With that in mind, you have permission to throw out any of the other things you typically see in a ceremony if they don’t bring you joy.

So, for whatever you decide to keep, here are some fun ways to make your special day so much fun and a perfect reflection of you.

Unique Ideas for Your Micro Wedding Ceremony

Micro Wedding Locations

The sky's the limit when it comes to options for your small wedding ceremony. Especially when you are going super small, it's nearly impossible to find a location that you couldn’t use for your ceremony. We’ve seen everything from river houseboats to lighthouses, remote beaches, and movie theaters. There is something truly special about exchanging your vows in a place that truly feels like home.

• Waterfront: on a boat, on a remote beach, or in a lighthouse
• In a remote location: on top of a mountain, a desert canyon, or a glacier
• Make it urban: a loft overlooking the city, a clocktower,
• A beautiful outdoor location: a local park or botanical garden
• Somewhere quirky: a speakeasy, old movie theater, or roller skating rink

We have a list of over 100 location ideas in our Venue Discovery & Tour Planner: get that here.

Processional

The wedding processional is where everyone walks down the aisle, which typically marks the beginning of the ceremony. We have a number of unique ceremony ideas for your micro wedding processional.

Here are 5 ways to make this part of the ceremony really special:

• Walk with both of your parents
• Walk in as a couple
• Use music that you love–we did an instrumental version of ‘Here Comes the Sun’
• Have your pups run down
• Have your entire guest list walk down the aisle and greet the groom—this is totally doable with a small guest list!

Flower Girls & Ring Bearers

• Having a flower girl and a ring bearer for your small wedding ceremony is totally optional. You will need someone to carry the rings, but there are many alternatives.
• • You can choose to carry rings in your pockets or give them to someone in your wedding party
  • Having an adult-only party? Why not consider “flower friends” instead, or what about a “flower granny”--anyone can play this role
  • Assign the duty to your dogs
  • I once attended a wedding in Mexico where they had a bird swoop the rings in…and they almost ended up in the ocean, so proceed with caution on this one
  • Don’t have any at all

Unity Ceremonies

• This is another part of the ceremony where you could really inject some fun. Feel free to involve your guests where appropriate–how cool would it be for the entire wedding to contribute to a bonfire?!?
• • Sand pouring
  • Handfasting
  • Knot tying
  • Planting or watering a tree
  • Wine blending and blessing
  • Log cutting
  • Build a bonfire

Readings

I chatted with Jamie of Broadly Entertaining, an officiant, entertainment, and planning service based in Texas, for some great ideas for unique readings if you choose to include those in your ceremony. Here’s what she had to say:

• At my oldest brother's wedding, I presented a reading made up of quotes and song lyrics.
• You can choose from films, books, poetry, Nobel Prize acceptance speeches, etc., for both the words the officiant speaks and the readings given by chosen guests.
• If you have a musically talented friend, the reading can be a song.

Vows

Vows can be anything you like–this is where you can really infuse some creativity into your ceremony. Also, know that it’s totally okay to snag something off the internet that resonates—that’s what we did, and it didn’t make it any less meaningful.

• Use a theme like Halloween wedding vows or gamer wedding vows
• Borrow from your favorite show like Game of Thrones or Grey’s Anatomy
• Funny golf or redneck wedding vows
• Song lyrics
• Simple wedding vows you found on the internet
• Or something written totally by you

Other parts of the micro wedding ceremony

There are many other parts of the ceremony that can be customized to suit your vision. Let your imagination run wild with options to customize the ring exchange, who officiates (as long as it suits local laws), first kiss, and recessional. And don’t shy away from having guests participate a little more actively in the ceremony. My husband once officiated a wedding for a friend, and they did a call and response with one of the couple’s favorite songs, which made the moment so much more memorable.

Hybrid Weddings

Elopement + Micro Wedding receptions

I love the idea of hybrid style events where you exchange vows elopement style (no guests or a few guests) and then celebrate either immediately after or down the road with a larger group. You may also choose to have a small wedding and then a larger party later. Or, if you’re jetting off to an international location and aren’t able to bring older family members with you, you might choose to do a civil ceremony close to home and your small wedding abroad.

• Get married on top of a ski mountain and then ski down to greet your guests for a reception
• Go on a hike  or a Jeep tour to a waterfall, exchange vows, hike back down to celebrate with your guests
• Have a civil ceremony with your immediate family and then jet off to a faraway destination with your closest family and friends for a more intimate celebration

Check out how L+C executed a perfect hybrid celebration

As you can see, there are so many incredible things you can do to make your micro wedding ceremony special. Injecting special touches throughout is a great way to take advantage of choosing to have a small ceremony.