Destination Wedding Photography

Alpakas Hannover Hochzeit

The current COVID-19 crisis has made smaller wedding ceremonies a lot more popular. Well, popular might not be the right word. More intimate wedding celebrations have become much more necessary in the present environment. Because of state and local regulations restricting large gatherings, so-called “elopements in place,” “minimonies” and “microweddings” have become the new norm. If you and your future spouse want to get married right now, those are just about your only options.

The good news for you is that those types of weddings can be awesome! Since becoming DC wedding photographers, we have had the pleasure of documenting many smaller wedding ceremonies. And we can tell you that they are every bit as special as larger marital events. What the couple is there to do is no less sacred. The emotions are certainly no less genuine. The people in attendance might be fewer in number, but they are no less happy to be there. The photos that a Washington DC wedding photographer takes have a different look and feel, but the memories they preserve are no less precious. In the end, you will not care if there are fewer guests in those images if they still bring a tear to your eye in 20 years.

Advantages of Small Weddings

There are even some factors that make a small intimate wedding ceremony more special than a larger celebration. In our experience, couples who have opted for those kinds of events have been very happy with their choice. Here are a few reasons why:

There are fewer distractions. A bigger guest list brings a lot of good things to your marriage celebrations. It allows you to spend time with family members you do not often get to see, for example. Your wedding could be the only time in decades that aunts, uncles and cousins from around the world come together. The same is true for old friends or classmates. A wedding can serve as something of a mini-reunion that allows you to reconnect with people from your past.

The downside is that the more people who are at your wedding, the more your attention is going to be pulled from what you are there to do. Couples naturally feel an obligation to make sure everyone whom they have invited has a good time. That means they spend a lot of their wedding reception going around greeting people. And that means they are spending less time celebrating being married!

With a small guest list, you avoid this problem entirely. With fewer people to worry about, you are freer to focus on you and your future spouse. It is easy to relax and just enjoy your wedding day.

Everybody who is there really wants to be there. In a similar vein, a smaller wedding celebration means only those closest to you are present. Chances are only your immediate family and best friends will attend your small intimate wedding ceremony. Almost by definition, everyone who is there matters deeply to you and your future spouse. No one will have come out of obligation. (Or for the free food and drinks, for that matter!) Instead, the presence of the guests at your nuptials will be an indication of the love and affection that they have for you.

That is going to make your wedding feel very, very special. Nothing on that day will seem ordinary or insignificant. Every emotion will be deeply felt. Every moment will have extra meaning. And every wedding photo will affect you deeply when you see it decades from now.

Small intimate wedding venues rock! One of the best things about a smaller marriage celebration is that it opens up a whole new world of great locations. If you no longer need a space that fits hundreds of guests, then you can get married in some really cool places. Beaches, parks and mountains become great options for a small outdoor wedding. In addition, a lot of more offbeat wedding venues become a possibility if your guest list is small. You and your future spouse can get married in an escape room, for example. Or you can tie the knot in your favorite restaurant. Or you can exchange your vows at an alpaca farm like this couple did. When you can hold your marriage celebrations at smaller wedding venues for 20 guests or fewer, there is almost no end to the cool things you can do.

Small Wedding Photos

Expanding on that last point a bit, there are even a number of wedding venues in DC and abroad that cater specifically to small events. Tudor Place Historic House & Garden in Georgetown is a great example. It is a stately mansion steeped in local history and surrounded by gorgeous gardens. The building is not available for weddings, though, and the grounds sit on only about one city block. Which means the gardens cannot accommodate more than 70 people for a wedding ceremony. Not great if you are dreaming of a huge celebration, but perfect if you want a gathering of just your closest friends and family. The intimacy of the setting really helps you appreciate just how lovely the gardens are.

Another venue that is only available for smaller wedding celebrations is the aforementioned alpaca farm. Alpakas Hannover is located just outside of Hannover, Germany, and is perfect for intimate marital events. You can tie the knot with up to about 30 guests in attendance. One word of warning, though. Your invitees might be just a little bit distracted during your ceremony. That is because the space available for weddings sits just in front of one of the alpaca paddocks. So you and your future spouse will have some extra special “guests” serving as witnesses to you exchanging your vows.

That is exactly what happened during this couple’s small intimate wedding ceremony. As the newlyweds shared a tender kiss, two alpacas who were watching the proceedings turned and touched noses. The bride and groom’s destination wedding photographer got a beautiful (and hilariously memorable) picture of that moment as it happened. An image (and a moment) that would have never been possible had the couple opted for a larger wedding.

Location: Alpakas Hannover, Kananohe 11, 30855 Langenhagen, Germany.