Intimate & Micro weddings at a Cotswold Barn Venue…

Are you starting your wedding planning and thinking of your guest list? Ever thought about smaller guest numbers and wondering if it’s right for your wedding day?

Intimate Weddings are generally considered to have between 30 – 50 guests, whilst Micro Weddings are less than 30, and typically around 10 guests including the happy couple.

We love those weddings with smaller guest lists here at The Barn – the atmosphere and the intimacy bring huge smiles to our faces.

Best of all, as we don’t have a minimum number requirement, The Barn can provide you with the flexibility to have your Intimate or Micro Wedding exactly as you would like it.

Why have an Intimate or Micro Wedding?

Big Eye Photography | www.bigeyephotography.co.uk

There are some very good reasons to have an Intimate or Micro Wedding.

Probably the most crucial of all is that you can still have all the same things on your wedding day with 30 guests that you can have with 100 guests.

A smaller wedding doesn’t mean you compromise on quality or style – what it does mean is:

You’ll be able to spend more time on the day with each person who attends your wedding (as well as your new husband/wife!)
It’s less stressful on your budget
You can strip your planning right back – focus exactly on what you both want from the day and the people that you want to be there
Even with smaller guest numbers, it can still be big on style and atmosphere

Also, importantly if you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy the spotlight, the idea of standing up in front a large number of guests can be uncomfortable and intimidating – not so much if it’s 30 of your closest friends and family.

Big Eye Photography | www.bigeyephotography.co.uk

You can still include all the traditions that you want (throwing your bouquet, cake cutting or your first dance) or you can ditch them altogether!

Left | Gordon Singer Photography | www.gordonsingerphotography.com

Centre | Cotswold Pictures | www.cotswoldpictures.co.uk

Right | Holly Derrick Photography | www.hollyderrickphotography.co.uk

Your Ceremony & Wedding Breakfast

The beauty of having smaller numbers in a venue like The Barn is that you have lots of choice of beautiful spaces for your ceremony and wedding breakfast.

Flowers & Photography| www.hazelea.co.uk

All three of our main Barns – The Threshing Barn, Grain Store & Sheep Shed are licensed for your indoor ceremony. If you fancy an intimate outside ceremony, how about our Cart Lodge – the perfect blank canvas, licensed for smaller ceremonies.

For your wedding breakfast, you can use any of the Barns – there are no restrictions on where you sit down to eat.

How about a long table in the Threshing Barn, a top table and rounds for your guests in the Grain Store or buffet tables in the Sheep Shed? The possibilities are endless and we love chatting about all your options.

Vikki Kelly Photography| www.vikkikellyphotography.co.uk

The Barn at Upcote Team| www.thebarnatupcote.co.uk

The Grain Store is an area typically used for your dancing in the evening but during the day, as it’s a blank canvas, you can tailor this to exactly what you’d like. Fairy lights twinkling all around the walls? Lots of tall flower arrangements? Flower wall? Sounds fab!

Evening Reception

David Lindsley Photography | www.lindsleyweddings.com

For your evening reception, We have the perfect space in the Grain Store for your dancing. Even with smaller numbers, you can still have a DJ, band or even your own playlist through speakers.

The space is perfect for your intimate or micro wedding. The space is easily adaptable for different guest numbers, so if you are the only one dancing you won’t feel self-conscious or lost on the dancefloor. It’s brilliant for smaller guest numbers as a result!

For a variety of reasons, couples have fewer people at the ceremony and wedding breakfast keeping it at just close family and friends and then a larger evening reception. We can accommodate up to 200 guests across our Barns in the evening so don’t worry if you want to invite lots more in the evening.

Why not switch it up and save important parts of your day for when evening guests arrive. You could keep the cake cutting, your first dance and service of evening food for all those that have come to celebrate with you in the evening. Then they also get to be a part of these moments on your big day.

Cotswold Pictures | www.cotswoldpictures.co.uk

Top Tips for an Intimate or Micro Wedding

Ensure you make a list of exactly what is important to you both to include on your special day
Don’t be afraid of making a guest list and then writing it again a few times before coming to your final numbers
It’s worth getting an idea of a guest number range before you start searching for your venue
Check that the venues you’re looking at don’t have a minimum number requirement
With less guests, certain parts of your day will be less expensive – so think big on those grand ideas
Enjoy planning your day!