Micro Wedding Vs. Elopement

What is the difference between a micro wedding and elopement?

These are terms that have been tossed around a lot in the wedding community over the last several months because of the pandemic. Since couples cannot have the traditional full scale wedding, many are considering a smaller scale wedding with close family and friends that fit within the gathering guidelines.

Before COVID-19, many people would use the term “elopement” when describing a small intimate wedding. Now, they are called micro weddings. So . . . what is the deference? We are here to answer that question for you.

What is Eloping?

The traditional meaning of eloping is a wedding ceremony that is conducted without family and friends knowing. These typically do not take a lot of planning and happen in a quick timeline. Recently, the definition has changed slightly. Like mention early, it is now used to describe a small intimate ceremony with just a couple guest in attendance and possibly has more planning involved.

Some examples of eloping is:

• Courthouse Wedding

• Flying to Las Vegas and getting married with Elvis Presley.

• A Waterfall ceremony with just you, your partner and the officiant.

What is a micro wedding?

A micro wedding is an intimate affair with no more than 30 guests. They still have a full scale wedding with the traditions, dancing, and dinner but with a small guest count. The term micro wedding is newer to the wedding industry. It has become increasingly more popular due to the pandemic. It is a great alternative for couples that still want to get married during this time.

Why should you consider these for your wedding?

We know how disappointing it is to get engaged and start planning your big dream wedding to then have to cancel or postpone it. But remember this . . . love does not stop. Don’t let this pandemic stop you from marrying the love of your life. Elopements and micro weddings are a great alternative for your special day.

We encourage you to still get married. Elope with just a couple witnesses and have a vow renewal once things get back to normal. If having your family and friends at your ceremony is important to you, host a micro wedding with your closest family and friends. It will still be as special if not more special then the big dream wedding that you were planning. With a small guest count, you could have more of a budget to get more decor or the higher end photographer that you were really wanting.

If either of these sound interesting to you, we have packages available for both a an elopement and micro wedding. Please contact us today to schedule a time to tour and discuss the details of your wedding. We would be honored to help you with your special day.

Vine & Sparrow Open House

Back in March, we hosted our first open house at the space! It was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with local vendors to show off what the space would look like for an event. We had a wide range of people that attended. There was wedding industry vendors, community members and individuals planning events.

Attending an open house is a great way to check out the space and meet local vendors all in one visit. It allows you the opportunity to freely walk around the space without a personal tour guide.

During our open hour, we got to showcase some of our favorite vendors because an event takes a team of people. We want to make sure that you have the best team possible for your event.

In the photo above, that is Cambrae with Photography by Cambrae. She is one of our favorite photographers in the Portland area. Her work is timeless and beautiful. Her pricing is also very affordable. She does all kind of photography from general events, corporate headshots and weddings. We highly recommend her for your upcoming corporate event or wedding.

We also wanted to showcase one of our recommend caterer at the open house because what great party is without food? Divine Catering is located in Tigard Oregon. Rob is amazing to work with and can help you plan the perfect menu for your event. They do drop off to full service catering. We have worked with them a lot and cannot recommend them enough.

The person the really gets the party started is the DJ. NW Mobile DJ is one of the top DJs that we recommend because Kevin and his team are just awesome. The DJ does more than just play music. They have to read the room and be the emcee. You want to make sure to find the right DJ for your event and we cannot recommend NW Mobile DJ enough.

You cannot forget the sweets! There is nothing better than ending the night with a cupcake. We are blessed to have the amazing Hungry Hero as a neighbor. They are located just a block or two away from Vine & Sparrow. We love Hungry Hero because they give back to the local community, have amazing cakes and they do all different kinds of desserts for a dessert buffet. They have cookies, brownies, cupcakes, rice crispy treats and so much more.

In addition meeting great vendors, it is a great way to see the space set up for an event. It can be hard to envision an event in an empty space. At the open house, we had the space set up for a reception, indoor ceremony and outdoor ceremony. Here are a couple of photos of the set up.

Overall, we had a wonderful turnout. We love being able to showcase the space to see if it is a right fit for your next event. We hope you are available to join us for our next open house in March of 2021.

If you would like to see the space sooner for your next event, feel free to contact us to schedule a time for a private tour of the space.

Thank you again to the amazing vendors that participated in the open house.

Photography by Photography by Cambrae
Catering by Divine Catering
Music by NW Mobile DJ
Desserts by The Hungry Hero

When should I book my wedding venue?

Getting engaged is such an exiting time. It can also be an overwhelming time because there is so much to do. A common question we see is “when should I book my wedding venue?”

The answer to your questions really depends on when you are ready to start planning and when you would like to get married.

Wedding venues typically book out 9 months to a year out. It can take a couple months to research and tour venues. November through February is known as engagement season. Many couples get engaged and married within a year. Summer/ early Fall is the busiest time for weddings because of the beautiful weather.

If you would like a summer wedding, we highly recommend booking your venue at least a year out or as soon as you can. If you are looking at a spring or winter wedding, there is generally more availability.

If you have your sights on a particular venue, it is better to book sooner rather than waiting. If the venue is more important than the date, leave your date flexible. Pick out a handful of dates that work for you. This will give you greater chances of booking your dream venue.

If you have a date that your heart is set on, it is important to be open minded in venues. Just understand that it might take time to find a venue that you love that is open on your dream date.

Every year there are dates that fill up quickly because they are what I like to call “pretty dates”. Do you remember 08/08/08? That was the most popular date in 2008. 2020 dates are going to be the same. Many couples have pushed their wedding to get married in 2020. There will also be many that will have a quick engagement so that they can get married in 2020. If you would like to get married in 2020, book your venue as soon as possible. This also goes with your other vendors because these dates will fill up fast.

Before you go venue shopping, make sure to have have a budget in pace and a estimate guest count. You do not want to fall in love with a space that eats up your entire wedding budget or is too small/ large for your guest count.

Overall, just be flexible to get what you are looking for if it be the date or a particular location.

Photo by Sighglass Photography