Intimate Indian Wedding Guide

Intimate Indian weddings are currently the new norm, which you definitely want to ace, right?. This guide has compiled some infallible intimate Indian wedding ideas that you can rely on!

The current situation of the Covid-19 has not only affected the global economy but also unfavorably affected social gatherings. 

Social gatherings like marriage ceremonies, held worldwide due to the pandemic and lockdown situation, were significantly affected. 

Some people are still adhering to intimate wedding ceremonies. However, this new way of doing parties influences Indian weddings drastically because who disagrees that these weddings are synonymous with tons of dancing, music, and entertainment? 

Unfortunately, due to the rise in the Covid-19 cases, some couples had to transition from big fat Indian weddings to small, intimate, and straightforward Indian weddings. This whole transition indeed matches with the new normal that we are living in!

Social distancing is the need of the hour, but surely this doesn’t mean you need to put off your Indian wedding plans for long because you can still host smaller and intimate weddings. 

Since the government wedding guidelines are still in effect, people usually opt for sit-down dinners, viable décor, live streaming events, and sophisticated makeup in their weddings. 

Indeed until now, you are all ready to plan your small intimate Indian wedding, so without wasting your time, let’s begin with an Intimate Indian wedding guide for you!

The Minimum Guests, the Better!

Indian weddings are surely long-awaited events where friends and family come together to celebrate the couple’s biggest day with their blessings, love, and enthusiasm. 

To minimize the guest list is to reduce the chances of being infected in this pandemic and move towards a more sustainable Indian wedding. 

Even when this activity protects everyone, making the guest list is still one of the most challenging tasks. We can ease this dilemma by creating an effective guest list. 

To play down your Indian wedding guests, you can make different guest lists for each event. 

● Alternatively, the bride can celebrate the Mehndi ceremony with the ladies and invite 20 relatives or 20 school/childhood/work associates.  

● You can also invite ten other ladies who are essential for the mutual family or those she might not be able to invite over the other events in the Mehndi function.

● Families can host different events for different people keeping only the central circle, including siblings, BFF, grandparents, and cousins, for the day of the weddings. 

Another thing you can do when making a list is to create a standby guest list. 

We live in unpredictable times, and in case any guest cannot make it to your big day, you can also pre-offer the slot to those, not on your preliminary guest list. This way, you can accommodate as many guests as you can while considering capacity. 

Also, there is no need to hesitate when it comes to the kids and elders-free wedding celebration because there must be no risk to the health of kids and elders. 

● Hire a Wedding Planner To Save Your Day!

You might be thinking of saving some cash by not hiring a professional wedding planner, but here you are utterly mistaken! Trust me; planning a small intimate Indian wedding is more hassle than doing a big fat Indian wedding, especially if you live outside India. 

To simplify your wedding planning, you can hire a wedding planner because an experienced one will make sure things are smooth on your big day. Also, they can save your money by connecting you with an extensive network of vendors. 

● Digital/E-invites to the Rescue!

During Covid-19, E-invites are the best way to invite guests to your small Indian wedding. These digital E-invites are aesthetically pleasing and well designed. That is where you can use your engagement photos.

Such invites are pretty practical for the Covid-free Indian wedding because they reduce the number of hands before reaching the receiver. 

There is no need to worry about the packing, hygiene, sanitization, and delivery of these cards. Furthermore, you don’t need to visit the card maker to choose designs physically, and as a couple, you don’t need to visit and invite people personally. 

You can communicate the date or Zoom event in the virtual wedding ceremony through WhatsApp or email images. 

Since the virtual event is a new concept for everyone, you can specify the whole concept in your digital invites.

●   Play Around and Customize As Much You Want

Wedding planners have been famous for customizing weddings extensively for the past few years. They can do the same customization even if you have a small intimate Indian wedding or online event with just 50 people. 

You can think of customizing everything at your wedding, from the menu to gifts and outfits. This is because guests are reduced to a smaller number, and personalization can be amazingly easy and fun in such an environment.

●   Ditch the Designer Outfit and Slay Your Mother Dress!

How about you pick a stunning traditional wedding outfit from your mom’s wardrobe and ditch the designer outfits worn by everyone? 

If your mom’s wardrobe has Silk or Banarsi fabric outfits, nothing would be prettier than this. You can pair up these outfits with simple jewelry and makeup. 

These outfits are a perfect fit for your small intimate weddings, offering you comfort so you can enjoy your wedding festivities to their fullest.

●   Webcast would be your Knight in Shining Armor!

If you are someone who created a list of 200 or more people to invite to your wedding and suddenly you have to reduce the list to 50 persons, you are not alone! 

Many people are cutting down their wedding guest list, but last-minute changes might ruin your relationships as communicating the changes in the plan might be very challenging.

So to allow everyone to participate in your event, you can let everyone send their love virtually. You can clearly and honestly share your concerns with your people, and they will surely understand it with a big heart. 

Pro-Tip- To make sure your apology is accepted, you can do personal messages and phone calls which helps the people understand that their health comes first.

●   Fun-filled Small Staycation Wedding

Undoubtedly, the pandemic has decreased the number of destination weddings. However, on the flip side, local destination weddings have seen a drastic increase. 

People are now turning back to the interior five-star hotels to offer their guests a combination of destination and hometown wedding feels. 

Moreover, couples select localized trips after their wedding and save for their actual honeymoon to spend abroad later when traveling would be comfortable.

●   Easy to Serve Food is in Demand!

The buffets are no longer the traditional Indian wedding norm since the wedding list is small. Instead, families opt for small sit-down dinners and consider brunch and lunches over dinner due to lockdown.

Food now dish-up with the feature of individually packaged dishes, and the food quantity has also been reduced; however, the food variety has increased. In addition, this food could be quickly served on-demand compared to the food that the waiter/server needs to be around to distribute.

Also, instead of serving the whole wedding cake, the wedding couples pick the mini cakes perfect for small intimate Indian weddings. Also, sealed or canned mocktails are in the trend especially.

● Ecologically Pure and Sustainable Décor

Now is the perfect time to support local art and craft vendors and make unique decor and gifting options. You can make your own theme, decor, and more gifting options with the help of Indian artistic vendors. This decor won’t be a threat to the environment in any way.  

Some of the eco-friendly decor ideas that you can adopt are as follows:

● To welcome the guests, you can opt for handwritten signs on the chalkboard.

● To ornate the decor for guests and bride and groom, you can use in-season and local flowers.

● Repurposing the old furniture is another doable idea. You can use your least used furniture and decorate it with flowers to create a beautiful photo booth setup.

● If your wedding venue has a tree, make the most out of it by using it as your mandap.

● Potted plants can be used as centerpieces which your guests can take home as gifts later.

● Opt for sustainable wooden or steel cutlery to ditch plastic that ultimately goes to the landfill.

● Amaze Your Guests With DIY Wedding Boons

Finally, when your guests are going home after wedding celebrations, give them a gratitude-filled sweet reminder in the form of some cute DIY wedding return gift. 

Not only will this unleash your creative skills in front of them, but it will also prove how much you love your guests. There are many DIY Indian wedding return gifts available online, including:

● Fresh and organic honey for their health which is quite essential in the times of Covid-19

● DIY fabric made jewel box or pouch

● Green and fresh succulent plant in small clay pots painted in different pastel colors

● DIY Jewelry pieces like studs and bracelets

● A fresh batch of small scented candles for all guests and many more.

● Hire the Best Wedding Photographer and Videographer

If you are living outside India, this point must be checked in your list. 

Whether doing a large or intimate wedding, the best wedding photographer can turn your beautiful moments into splendid memories. Nothing can beat the happiness that’s being photographed professionally!

Suppose you live in Savannah, GA, and want to arrange your small intimate Indian wedding while storing your memories in photographs. In that case, you can contact me directly via this Calendly link. We are here to help!

Thank you for reading “Intimate Indian Wedding Guide.”

We also have other posts that can help you with your wedding preparations.

Visit our Indian Weddings page for tons of Indian wedding photos and videos!

Check out some of our traditional wedding articles Mackey House – Savannah Wedding Venue, 12 Wedding Traditions You Should Know About, The Mansion at Forsyth Park, An Exquisite Savannah Wedding Venue, and Ford Plantation – Where Your Wedding Dreams Come True!