Whilst the trend for micro weddings has been growing all season, with couples like singer Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner choosing an intimate civil ceremony over a big traditional affair, Taylor Swift went and did the exact opposite. On Friday 3 July, she and Travis Kelce tied the knot in front of a reported 1,000 friends and family members at Madison Square Garden, in a ceremony officiated by their friend Adam Sandler. It has been the talk of the internet all weekend, with fans camped outside the venue and a guest list stacked with names from music, film and sport all trying to sneak a peek.
It is the ultimate proof that there is no single “right” way to get married. Some couples want the world. Some want ten people and a cake. Both are correct.
So what actually is a micro wedding?
A micro wedding is usually a celebration with somewhere between ten and fifty guests. It still has all the important bits, a ceremony, a meal, some dancing, but it trades scale for intimacy. Couples are drawn to it for all sorts of reasons: tighter budgets, a desire to focus on the people who matter most, or simply wanting a day that feels personal rather than a performance.
Dua Lipa and Callum Turner are a great example. Rather than a big traditional wedding, the couple opted for a low-key civil ceremony, with Dua choosing a sculptural bridal hat over a cathedral veil for the occasion. It is exactly the kind of quietly stylish, intimate celebration that is becoming one of the biggest wedding trends of the last few years, and it is not slowing down. South Farm’s Drawing Room is the perfect backdrop for a small intimate ceremony, with each couple’s nearest and dearest gathered to witness their love.
And then Taylor turned the tables
Which is exactly why the Swift-Kelce wedding has caused such a stir. While so many couples are scaling down, Taylor scaled all the way up, and then some. Reports suggest the couple wore custom Christian Dior Haute Couture, with the bride’s look created by Dior’s creative director Jonathan Anderson. The couple didn’t opt for a traditional wedding party either. Instead, Taylor’s brother Austin Swift stood as her Man of Honour, and Travis’s brother Jason Kelce served as Best Man, a lovely, personal touch on an otherwise enormous night. Neither had a bridesmaid or groomsman in the traditional sense, and that’s what makes it that much more special. There is no one way that fits all, your day is unique to you, and at South Farm every space is available to couples and their guests only. We may not have a hidden entrance through a tent like Taylor had for her celebrity guests, but no one needs to worry about that, because the entire venue and the 20 acres of land is exclusive to couples and their guests only.
Taylor and Travis’s wedding was not a micro wedding by any definition. It was an enormous celebration, and by all accounts, an incredible one. But strip away the scale and the celebrity guest list, and the heart of it is the same as any wedding, big or small: two people, their favourite people, and a day built around love.
The right size for you
Whether you’re looking for a small intimate affair or a larger scale wedding, we have the space for it… well, not quite for 1,000 guests. Here at South Farm, we love that weddings come in many sizes, and our venue has many spaces to suit each occasion. If you are dreaming of something small and intentional, spaces like the Drawing Room, Old Dairy or the Granary give couples and wedding parties a setting that feels intimate and completely their own. If you are thinking bigger, the Tudor Barn and the Summer House can comfortably hold a much larger celebration, without ever losing that sense of character and connection that comes from getting married somewhere that still feels like it’s your very own.
We may not be hosting a thousand guests at Madison Square Garden any time soon, but whether your day is a quiet gathering of twenty or a larger celebration, South Farm has a space that fits. That is what being Distinctly Different really means to us: not a fixed idea of what a wedding should look like, but the flexibility to make it yours.
Are you looking for a small intimate wedding venue in Hertfordshire?
If you’re searching for a barn style wedding venue in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and would like to discuss the size of your special day, we’d love to hear from you. At South Farm we offer a private tour of the grounds from stunning seasonal gardens to in-door and out-door ceremony spaces and breathtaking backdrops.
Call us on 01223 207581 to arrange your visit or click on the link to book your viewing with our friendly team.
FAQs
What is a micro wedding? A micro wedding is a small, intimate celebration, typically with between ten and fifty guests, that still includes a ceremony, meal and reception.
Can South Farm host a micro wedding? Yes. Spaces such as the Drawing Room, Old Dairy and the Granary are ideal for couples and wedding parties looking for a smaller, more intimate celebration.
Is South Farm exclusive to one wedding at a time? Yes. The venue and grounds are completely exclusive to the couple and their wedding guests.