Weddings are often as diverse as the couples who decide to marry. In this case too, parallels can be drawn with tik the popular saying that there is no arguing about taste. One couple will want a three-day wedding, another just a wedding ceremony together with the closest ones, but someone else is getting married on the other side of the world. Most likely, if you got engaged to this summer, then you turned already for wedding planning issues. One of the most important - what will be the concept of your wedding?

Size DOES matter

Perhaps a more important question about what your wedding concept will be is,

What do you really want and expect from your wedding day?

Answering this question will also answer the previous one. When it comes to wedding celebrations, couples mostly admit: size DOES matter. And that size is often determined by nothing but budget.

Therefore, the issue of wedding costs is the reason why couples most often choose to organize smaller weddings. For a small wedding there are certainly different advantages, but they are also very different. The word "small" can mean a wedding for two and ushers, as well as weddings where no more than 30 people are invited. Respectively, the most popular so-called small weddings concepts are:

• Weddings for two or together with ushers;
• Destination wedding;
• Small wedding;
• Wedding ceremony and being together for a couple of hours;
• From three days to one day.

Wedding for two or together with fans

It will not be a lie if we say that this is one of the most visible trends of recent years. The reasons for this tend to be different - starting from from a limited wedding budget to a simple human desire to be with only the closest people on this day. Likewise there are couples who do not feel comfortable being in the center of attention - a wedding for two is the perfect solution in their case, because will allow you to look only at each other, instead of constantly worrying at which moment a guest will think to call in "Bitter!".

Duet Twins Katrīne Drozdovića and her husband Edgars Dīkis got married last summer and chose to do in the presence of only a few people.

"On our wedding day, we decided to focus on our own wishes and how we see our ideal wedding day.

We understood that we don't want a big party , but to feel calm, romantically and enjoy love in the presence of the closest people," says Katrīne. That's why Katrīne and Edgars have theirs love was celebrated on two different days - when registering in the registry office, both relatives were present, in turn the romantic ceremony at the Liepupe manor took place on another day, when together with Katrína and Edgar were only parents and, of course, Katrína's twin sister Anastasija, who got married this summer, holding a similar concept wedding.

2. Destination wedding or destination wedding

This small wedding concept is definitely suitable for those couples who want to get away from their own wedding to some extent, concerns about organizational issues and often also the unstable weather conditions of Latvia. Of course, destination weddings can be also larger in size, inviting friends and relatives to participate in them, celebrating not only the beautiful event, but also going on vacation together.

However, it is more common in Latvia to celebrate weddings outside of Latvia in pairs or with ushers, often also inviting wedding photographer.

Destination weddings undoubtedly have several advantages, one of which is that you will be able to combine the special event with a honeymoon, however, deciding in favor of this wedding concept, the couple must be absolutely sure that it is exactly what they both want and their kind of "running away from the wedding" they will not regret later.

A small wedding only in the closest circle

If even 20 years ago it was difficult to imagine a wedding where all the closest or most distant relatives, neighbors, colleagues and sometimes even distant acquaintances, then currently couples really carefully consider the guest list, which is also one of the biggest challenges of organizing a wedding. In recent years, the concept of weddings with a small number of guests has gained popularity – 20-30 closest people with whom this day is celebrated, going to a gala dinner after the wedding ceremony.

Wedding ceremony and being together for a couple of hours

If, however, couples have decided that their "YES!" wants to see all his friends, relatives and colleagues, however, do not want to organize a big celebration, so they often decide in favor of a wedding ceremony and then a small for a couple of hours of outdoor or indoor picnic, where guests can congratulate the new couple, sip champagne, hang out together, but without further part of the evening celebration. This concept was also chosen by the artist Ieva Ekmane-Bite and her husband Paul Bite, who got married this summer.

They decided that they will not have a big celebration, but after the ceremony they will have a picnic for their relatives and friends there near the church.

"In our case, we knew we wanted to go to a restaurant in the evening with our closest friends, but we also wanted a couple of hours to hang out with friends and relatives after the ceremony.

Therefore, it was the perfect solution. The picnic was laid out very close to the church, and it was a convenient continuation of the marriage for the ceremony," states Ieva.

From three days to one day

What each of us means by the term "big wedding" can certainly differ. Someone will already be 50 people, another has 150, and another has 600, which, by the way, is not such a rare phenomenon in foreign countries. Wedding size can also characterize the length of the wedding - a wedding of one, two or more days. In the past, weddings were celebrated for at least three days, and although it still happens in some places now, two-day and one-day wedding concepts have become much more popular.

• First, because of the wedding budget.
• Secondly, it facilitates a series of organizational issues – when holding a one-day wedding celebration, couples do not have you have to take care of guests' accommodation, the second day's activities, breakfast and other things, but they can indulge themselves to enjoy the new status, to each other or to go on a honeymoon trip immediately after the wedding.

Author of the article: LIENE PÄLĆA

Photo: LINDA LAUVA , MICK SCHEL , KRISTINE GRÍNVALDE

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