COVID-19 restrictions boost popularity of micro weddings

What happens when wedding plans collapse because of a pandemic? For better or worse, you stop crying and survey the marketplace for alternatives. If you’re smart, you can save money big time.

Alex Shambaugh and Nancy Covarrubias are a case in point. The Bay Area couple had scheduled their dream wedding at Disneyland, a place they both loved. But fate intervened in the form of COVID-19.

“Everything started to fall apart,” Shambaugh said of their planned spring nuptials. The couple scratched the wedding, moving the date to fall and crossing their fingers. It didn’t help. The Happiest Place on Earth was still shut down. They turned to an alternative fantasy site in San Jose — the Winchester Mystery House.

“We’d always been interested in it,” Shambaugh said of the tourist attraction, a California historic monument and architectural maze rumored to be haunted. “Winchester has held a special place in Nancy’s heart since she was young. But it wasn’t in our price range originally. Then, because of COVID, they added a new option for a much smaller wedding. And we could afford it.”

Suddenly, mini-weddings are not only in style but mandatory because of pandemic-oriented health regulations. The downside is you can invite only a few BFFs and family members. The upside is you save money. Lots of money. For Covarrubias and Shambaugh, the savings were about $5,000 — enough to fund their move into new digs.

The pandemic has altered the $78-billion-a-year wedding industry just as it has affected many other industries. Besides creating a financial impact on florists, photographers and hoteliers, it has put a strain on engaged couples who have another decision to make — delay the big day or scale down the wedding. Last year, couples in the U.S. spent an average of $33,900 on their weddings; it’s anyone’s guess how far that number will fall this year.

Shambaugh said monetary savings were important but not the real reason he and Covarrubias went ahead with their ceremony. “We considered postponing the wedding again so people wouldn’t have to wear masks, but we’d been engaged for over three years. We wanted to start our life together. COVID or not, we were going to be hitched.”

With large events no longer allowed, hotels and other venues are scrambling to draw business, creating discounted packages for small groups. At Winchester, for instance, it costs as much as $11,000 to book a wedding for 300. Since the pandemic, the cost has dropped to $2,000 — ceremony only — and is limited to 30 guests.

Many mini-weddings are much smaller than that. There are often 10 or fewer guests, sometimes only four or five. It might not be the dream wedding couples have been planning, but like Covarrubias and Shambaugh, some people don’t want to wait.

Mini- and micro-weddings are available in many locations, including several exotic destinations that welcome U.S. citizens — Tahiti and Cancún, Mexico, for instance, or in romantic California locales such as Laguna Beach and Carmel. If a venue you’re interested in doesn’t advertise a package, call and ask. It’s a buyer’s market.

Rachel Mendelson and Tyler Garfield chose an oceanfront option. The Southland couple married Oct. 24 at Portofino Hotel & Marina in Redondo Beach, where packages start at $119 per person for a small private ceremony, followed by dinner, wedding cake, a Champagne toast and a night in an ocean-view room. Mendelson and Garfield plan to host a follow-up reception at the South Bay hotel in April.