First of all, I’ve got to say congrats!!

Anytime I’m talking about weddings, the first thing I have to do is congratulate you!! I mean, come on, this is super cool, you’re getting MARRIED. And I know it’s super easy to think that because you’re having a Minneapolis micro-wedding, you shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. In fact the whole reason that’s what you’re doing might be the fact that you DON’T want to make a big deal out of it. And that’s okay! But today I’m here to tell you that even if you want to be low budget, even if you want to be low maintenance, and EVEN if you’re pretty much trying to have the most low-key micro-wedding in the history of weddings themselves… you still need a photographer. I’m looking at you over there, with: “I plan to wear a dress from H&M and we’re going to the court house, why would we need a photographer??” written all over your face.

You DO need a photographer. Even if you’re having a courthouse wedding. Even if it’s going to be super quick and you’re getting Taco Bell after to celebrate. Actually, scratch that – ESPECIALLY if you’re getting Taco Bell after to celebrate!!

You deserve to remember your day, whether it’s “big” or not!

At the end of the day, your wedding is about you, and it’s about what you want. If you want it to be intimate, then that’s amazing! But just because it’s intimate, doesn’t mean you have to forego the MEMORIES that come with hiring a photographer. Your day is “big” in its own way, because it’s changing your life. Whether it feels like it or not in the moment, things absolutely will change after your micro-wedding. Even if it’s just paperwork, and some dotted lines. But those kinds of changes deserve to be remembered.

You deserve to be able to print an album, if you want to. You deserve to remember the look on your face when you signed the papers, when you kissed for the first time as a married couple – you should get to keep those. And not just as fleeting images trapped behind your eyes – as real, physical printed images that you can look at for the rest of your life, and remember how big your day was, even if, practically speaking… it was intentionally not a wedding in a cathedral with 300 guests.

Choosing the part of the day your photographer attends is easy, so it helps keep costs down!

If one of the reasons that you’re having a micro-wedding is that you need to keep costs low, that still doesn’t mean you have to forego photography. With a micro-wedding, you don’t have to worry nearly as much about the cost of hiring a photographer for the full day! Standard wedding packages usually come with a maximum number of hours included, at a flat rate. Normally starting around 6 hours, or what’s referred to as a “half day” when you’re looking at packages. And they go up from there, sometimes into packages with up to 12 hours, and even coverage for multiple days.

But obviously if you’re having a micro-wedding in Minneapolis, you don’t have to worry about that kind of time-scale! You can hire your photographer under an elopement package or a micro-wedding package, and keep the timing down to exactly what you need. That’s one of the reasons I actually offer micro-wedding packages under my Minneapolis Event Photography package prices. And those are calculated by the number of hours you actually NEED a photographer – not based on preset packages I already have designed for weddings specifically. It helps make sure you’re paying for EXACTLY what you need, and not a penny more!

Smaller guest lists mean fewer phone cameras

Along with thinking that you don’t need a photographer for your micro-wedding because it’s going to be short – a lot of people try to rely on guests with smart phones as their wedding documentation team. And I’ll admit there are super cool ways to do that! There are systems where you can set up a QR code to scan for people to upload the pictures they take, along with things like wedding hashtags for social media. And sometimes, those kinds of tools and systems work really well! But when you’re having a micro-wedding… you don’t have the same kind of guest list that a larger wedding has. It’s kind of part of the deal.

So what does that mean? It’s simple, and I think you know where I’m going with this already – a smaller guest list, means fewer phone cameras. And fewer phone cameras… means fewer pictures. The absolute last thing you want, is to think you can rely on your guests to snap pictures of the kiss, for example, but – oh no – they were enjoying the moment with you, and forgot to snap one. Those are the moments that you REALLY need a trained professional there for – to make sure you can remember those moments that your guests are LIVING with you. And so that they feel they can be IN the moment with you, instead of WATCHING the moment to document it. Really, it’s a win-win for you AND your guests! Even if you want to have them take some nice smart-phone snaps throughout the rest of the day.

But remember, that’s another big pro for scheduling micro-wedding photography the way that I offer it here at Jessica Strobel Photography. If you only want me there for the ceremony… you can book for just that!

These aren’t the only reasons to include photography in your Minneapolis micro-wedding!

Now, as always, I have to tell you that this list isn’t exhaustive. There are TONS of other reasons to have professional photography at your micro-wedding. And if you’re not convinced, or you’re on the fence – reach out anyway! We should talk, and see whether Minneapolis event photography is a good fit for your micro-wedding. And of course, I would be absolutely honored to be the photographer who helps you remember your big day, even if practically speaking, that day is a bit “micro”.