Yes! You Can Still Get Married This Year.
Now more than ever, couples are told that it can take as long as two or three years to plan a wedding. I don’t know about you, but that feels completely whack when you're ready to start the next important chapter of your life.
As your friendly Vermont wedding photographer, I'm here to tell you the good news. You can easily plan the wedding of your dreams in under a year, as long as you have a little flexibility.
Full disclaimer: If you have your heart set on a larger ceremony with all the bells and whistles or if you’re really dreaming of a particular venue, you may need that longer timeline.
But if that isn’t the goal, you're in luck.
The year may have begun already, but you can absolutely still get married in 2025. (And if you need a photographer, I still have dates available on my calendar, so let's chat!)
Why microweddings rule
For those of us who are excellent project managers, it’s perfectly possible to plan a 100-person wedding in under six months. For a three- to four-month timeline, a shorter guest list could be a better answer. Not only are smaller, more intimate wedding ceremonies and elopement celebrations perfect for couples who want a shorter wedding planning timeline, but they also have lots of other benefits. Here are a few of my faves:
Less stress, more flexibility
There is something to be said for planning an event with 25 attendees versus 250. If your main goal is to show up, get hitched, and have FUN with your people, it can be easier to accomplish if you have a limited number of guests. Plus, if there happens to be a hiccup or two leading up to (or even on) the big day, a smaller guest list makes it easy to adapt on the fly.
More venue options
Inviting fewer guests to your wedding actually opens up more venue options, many of which are hidden gems that are perfect for a cozy, intimate celebration. Personally, I have taken some of the most incredible photographs at venues that are only able to accommodate smaller wedding parties—just check out this amazing Vermont castle rental where I got to photograph an elopement.
More quality time with your favorites
Big weddings are a blast, but they can also limit the amount of time you spend with your most important people. Remember, this is your day, and you get to choose who you want to spend it with. Because smaller celebrations and shorter timelines often go hand in hand, couples can be more selective about their guest lists, leading to more quality time with cherished friends and family.
Room in your budget for what matters
Microweddings and elopements are definitely easier on your wallet. Opting for fewer guests allows you to save money on some of the bigger-ticket wedding expenses, such as the venue, catering, reception, and décor. This frees up room in your wedding budget for the perfect dress, wedding photos and videography, personalized gifts for your attendees, and let's not forget the honeymoon!
Making the most of late fall and winter weddings
One trend I’ve noticed the last few years is that summer weddings have become massively more popular, so much so that the dates you expect to be busy have more availability than you might think. If you’re open to having your wedding in late fall, you’d be surprised by how often you can still find an explosion of fall foliage here in Vermont, or embrace a cozy winter celebration with a sunset across a snowy field. (Bonus tip: Many venues and vendors have more availability during this time!)
While there are a few things to consider when planning a late-season wedding in New England, I always tell my couples to go in with the best manifestations and commit to whatever is going to be. Will the weather cooperate? Maybe, maybe not, but that's why you have a backup plan. Even if things don’t go according to plan, it will always make for an excellent story that will just be the start of your epic family lore.
Because the days are shorter during fall and winter, daylight hours are limited. This is often remedied by having an empty wedding day timeline, which means your day is not overpacked and you can be more flexible about stepping outside for the perfect photo op. And because I like to avoid frostbite when I'm photographing winter weddings, I usually remind my couples to factor in a few extra warm-up breaks for their outdoor photo shoots.
One last thing: Embrace flash photography. Living in Vermont, we can get so caught up in that big, beautiful outdoor scenery that we forget to appreciate the soft intimacy of indoor settings. Especially in low light, flash photography has helped me capture some of the most stunning images for my wedding couples.
Pick a date and place, and everything else will work out.
Trust me on this. Even if you haven't planned a single thing yet, you can 100% still get married in 2025, and having a smaller celebration gives you the freedom and flexibility of a shorter wedding timeline.
I’ve had many, many couples book me only a few months (and weeks) before their planned wedding date, and it turned out to be exactly what they wanted: a handful of guests, a privately catered dinner, and an album of photos documenting an unforgettable day. And most importantly, a day that felt completely like them, and not a production of what their wedding should be.
