From the start Courtney and Ben knew they wanted to share their new home state of Vermont with their closest loved ones (14 of them to be exact.) After looking at a few local inns they realized their perfect venue was right in their backyard, literally.

Having a micro wedding does not mean you have to compromise on the vision, details or experience – if anything it gives you more opportunity and flexibility to include elements you may have not been able to with a larger number of guests. Courtney and Ben proved just that – here are 6 things they included in their Vermont micro wedding that created a personal and unforgettable experience for both them and their guests.

1. Shared their love for reading

Reading is something that both Courtney and Ben share a mutual love for. So when designing their wedding we wanted to share that love with their guests. Ben and Courtney’s family friend hand built this library card catalog for them and guests left them love notes on library cards – something they will keep and enjoy for years to come. Guests were able to take a little book love home with them too – every place setting featured a handmade leather bookmark with the guest’s name – a beautiful place card turned practical keepsake.

2. Made dinner an experience

Because of their love for food and passion for fresh locally sourced ingredients we wanted to make their dinner an intimate and unique experience. The Hindquarter, a Vermont farm to table catering company brought the fire – literally. Their amazing team set up behind the couple’s barn and cooked an incredible family style menu over an open fire. Not only was every hors d’oeuvre, main and side incredibly delicious – but guests enjoyed chatting it up with the chefs, watching their process, and enjoying the smell of fire.

3. Honored a special place with a special tradition and surprise for guests

To honor their time living down south, Courtney and Ben planned a surprise for their guests based of a southern tradition. The tradition states that one month before your wedding, you should bury a full bottle of bourbon, upside down, at the site of your wedding. This tradition is said to bring you a rain-less wedding day and while it didn’t do quite that (yes there was a storm of heavy rain for a few hours as everyone was getting ready for the day) it sure brought sunshine and blue skies just before the wedding began – luck of the bourbon? Possibly. Right before dinner Courtney and Ben revealed this with guests, dug up the bottle, and everyone took a swig (yes even us!)

4. A fun surprise for Ben

From our first call Ben expressed that having the best tasting cake was priority number one (he may have only been half kidding.) And since they decided a chocolate-y cake probably wouldn’t be the most well-rounded option for their guests Courtney decided to surprise Ben on the day of the wedding with a special cake made for him by Blue House Bakeshop. The cake was designed as a maple tree with a sap bucket in honor of Ben’s loving for making his very own Vermont maple syrup. Ben’s reaction was priceless and he got to have his cake (and eat it too.)

5. Home made axe throwing

A laid back evening of drinks, a bonfire and tunes wasn’t enough for this fun crew, so the couple built their own axe throwing wall and had a friendly competition with their guests (and it was pretty epic._ The Hindquarter’s chef even stepped in and absolutely crushed the bullseye on his first try – good food and good skills.

6. Shared their home

Not only did their guests from around the world get to experience their new home state of Vermont, but they got to experience Courtney and Ben’s home, all of it. It was clear that everyone there felt grateful and honored to experience their expansive property with rolling views and the stream just through the wooded path.

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I’m often asked, “how do I make sure my guests aren’t bored at my micro wedding?” And while yes, axe throwing will help the reality is that the nature of a micro wedding is so personal, intimate and unique that you will find your guests enjoying themselves so naturally from start to finish. But if you’re looking for some ways to sprinkle in those personal details and experiential elements, you can take some notes from Courtney and Ben’s incredible Vermont micro wedding.

Vendor Team

Wedding Planner: Madden Made Events
Photographer: Compass Collective
Catering: The Hindquarter
Rentals: Undercover Tents
Cakes: Blue House Bake Shop
Florist: Blossoming Bough Flowers
Beauty: Blush Salon and Beauty Lounge

Stationery: Folmar Street