How to Plan an Intimate Wedding
Small Wedding Ideas for a More Personal Celebration
For some couples, the perfect wedding isn’t about filling a room with hundreds of guests. It’s about celebrating with the people who matter most and creating a day that feels personal to you.
An intimate wedding gives you the opportunity to focus on your closest family and friends, spend more time together and put greater thought into the details that make the occasion special.
If a smaller celebration sounds right for you, here are some ideas to consider when planning your day.
Decide What an Intimate Wedding Means to You
There’s no single formula for creating a smaller wedding. Start by thinking about what you want the day to feel like.
Would you prefer a relaxed daytime celebration centred around your ceremony and wedding meal? Or would you still like to continue into the evening with food and more time to celebrate together?
Answering these questions early can help shape everything from your guest list to the intimate wedding venue and package you choose.
At Three Horseshoes Country Inn & Spa, our Intimate Wedding Package is designed around celebrations for 15 guests, with both Day Only and Day & Evening options available. Why not book a tour of the venue to discover more?
Keep Your Guest List Meaningful
A smaller guest list allows you to consider who you truly want beside you on your wedding day.
Start with the people you couldn’t imagine celebrating without and build your guest list from there. Rather than focusing on reaching a particular number, concentrate on creating a group that feels right for your celebration.
With a more intimate group, you can spend more of your wedding day enjoying conversations and sharing the occasion with the people you’ve invited.
Choose an Intimate Wedding Venue That Fits Your Plans
Once you have an idea of guest numbers, you can start considering the type of venue and package that best suits your day.
Look closely at what’s included rather than focusing solely on the venue itself. Room hire, your wedding meal, drinks, evening food and accommodation can all affect both your plans and your overall wedding budget.
Having these elements included within a wedding package can also make the planning process much simpler.
Think About How You’d Like the Day to Flow
One benefit of planning a smaller wedding is the flexibility to create a celebration that feels natural rather than overly complicated.
You might want to focus your day around the ceremony followed by a wedding meal, or continue into the evening with additional food and celebrations.
Three Horseshoes offers two options for intimate weddings.
The Day Only Package includes day room hire from 10am until 5.30pm, a three-course meal with coffee and mints for 15 guests and a choice of drinks as part of the drinks package.
For couples who would like the celebrations to continue, the Day & Evening Package includes the elements of the daytime package alongside evening room hire from 5.30pm until 11pm and buffet platters for 15 guests.
Make Your Wedding Meal Part of the Celebration
Food gives everyone an opportunity to sit down together and enjoy the occasion, making it an important part of an intimate wedding.
Rather than treating the wedding meal simply as another part of the schedule, allow enough time to enjoy it with your guests.
The Three Horseshoes Intimate Wedding Package includes a three-course meal with coffee and mints for 15 guests, helping to bring everyone together as part of the daytime celebration.
Add Thoughtful Personal Touches
Smaller weddings provide plenty of opportunities to introduce details that mean something to you as a couple.
You could personalise place settings, choose meaningful music, write individual messages for your guests or incorporate memories from your relationship into your decorations.
You don’t need to make every detail elaborate. Small touches can have a big impact when they’re personal to you and the people sharing your day.
Choose the Traditions That Matter to You
Planning an intimate wedding doesn’t mean you have to follow every wedding tradition.
Think about which elements genuinely matter to you. You may love the idea of traditional speeches and toasts, while other couples might prefer something much more informal.
A smaller wedding gives you an opportunity to focus your time and budget on the parts of the celebration that mean the most to you.
Include Time for Just the Two of You
Your wedding day can pass incredibly quickly, even with a smaller guest list.
Build a little time into your plans to enjoy the occasion together. It could simply mean taking a few quiet minutes after the ceremony or spending some time together once the day’s celebrations have finished.
At Three Horseshoes, an overnight stay for the bride and groom with a full English breakfast is included within the Intimate Wedding Package, giving you somewhere to relax at the end of your wedding day.
Extend the Celebration With a Minimoon
Your wedding experience doesn’t necessarily have to end when the celebrations finish.
Three Horseshoes couples booking the Intimate Wedding Package receive 20% off the Mill Wheel Minimoon Spa & Stay Package for the day after the wedding.
There’s also 20% off Mill Wheel Spa day packages and treatments for the bride and groom during the seven days leading up to the wedding, as well as 20% off the Anniversary Spa & Stay Package on the date of your first wedding anniversary.
These added touches give you the opportunity to build some relaxation into the days surrounding your celebration.
Intimate Wedding Packages at Three Horseshoes Country Inn & Spa
Located at Blackshaw Moor in the Staffordshire Peak District, Three Horseshoes Country Inn & Spa offers an Intimate Wedding Package centred around celebrations for 15 guests.
The Day Only Package starts from £2,200 and includes:
- Civil service set-up within the Function Room, if required
- Day room hire from 10am until 5.30pm
- Three-course meal with coffee and mints for 15 guests
- A drinks package with a choice of welcome drink, wine during the meal or sparkling Moscato for the toasts
- Overnight stay for the bride and groom
- Full English breakfast
The Day & Evening Package starts from £2,600 and includes everything in the Day Only Package, as well as evening room hire from 5.30pm until 11pm and buffet platters for 15 guests.
Packages are available on any available day within the next nine months, or Monday to Wednesday after nine months. They are not available on Sundays, during December or on bank and public holidays.
Plan a Smaller Wedding That’s Personal to You
An intimate wedding gives you the opportunity to strip away some of the expectations surrounding a traditional large wedding and focus on what matters most to you.
Start with the people you want beside you, decide how you’d like your day to feel and look for an intimate wedding venue and package that works with those plans.
If you’re considering an intimate wedding in Staffordshire, explore the Intimate Wedding Package at Three Horseshoes Country Inn & Spa and book a wedding walk-around tour to start planning your celebration.
