Why Small Weddings are fabulous on the West Coast

Some of the best celebrations I’ve ever witnessed have been the quiet ones. The intimate gatherings where you can actually hear someone laugh from across the room. Where there’s time to sit down and really talk. Where the day unfolds gently instead of racing past in a blur of logistics and timelines.

And here on the West Coast - where the light does something magical through the trees and the ocean seems to breathe with you - small weddings and elopements just make sense. They fit. They feel right.

More and more couples are realizing they don’t want the big production. They want something true to them. Something they can actually be present for. And honestly? That’s when the real magic happens.

Here’s why small weddings are so special - and why this coast is the perfect place for them:

It Gets to Be About You (Actually You)

When you’re not trying to please a hundred people or stick to a minute-by-minute schedule, suddenly the pressure just… lifts. You can breathe.

You get to build a day around what you actually love - not what you think you’re supposed to do. The music that makes you cry. The food you’d choose on any perfect day. The people who truly know your hearts. The moments that matter to you.

It stops being “the wedding” and becomes your day. Held gently. Felt fully. Never rushed.

Time Becomes Something You Actually Have

This might be my favourite part. With a small gathering, time opens up like a gift.

You can linger over breakfast in your pyjamas. Take a walk through the garden before you get dressed. Stand together without someone pulling you away for the next photo. Actually sit and eat your dinner. Have real conversations with every single person there.

No clock-watching. No frantic energy. Just the day unfolding at its own beautiful pace, with space to breathe between moments.

You Can Go Somewhere Incredible

The wild, secret, breathtaking places? They don’t accommodate a hundred guests. But they welcome two. Or ten. Or twenty.

Small weddings mean you can say your vows:
• In a forest glade with native birds overhead
• On a long black-sand beach with just the sound of waves
• Beside a glacial river that glows turquoise
• Under the stars with a table set for your favorite people
• At a secluded hideaway where you have the whole place to yourselves

These are the moments that become legend in your own story.

Every Person There Actually Matters

When your guest list is small, everyone knows exactly why they’re there. And they feel it.

It’s not an audience watching a performance - it’s your people, gathered close, sharing something sacred with you. A weekend of meals together, stories swapped, joy that’s genuine because the connections are real.

Everyone present gets to be part of it, not just witness it.

You Spend on What Matters (Not Just More)

Here’s the thing - smaller weddings often aren’t about spending less. They’re about spending well.

Instead of stretching your budget across 150 people, you might choose:

• A private chef who makes food you’ll actually remember
• A photographer whose work makes your heart stop
• Accommodation somewhere truly special
• Flowers foraged from the wild coast
• That one perfect bottle of wine you’ve been saving
• Details that feel like you

The beauty isn’t in the budget - it’s in the intention behind every choice.

This Coast Was Made for Moments Like This

There’s something about this place - the way the mountains meet the sea, the ancient forests, the light that changes everything it touches - that makes intimate celebrations feel especially alive.

The West Coast doesn’t shout. It whispers. And small weddings? They’re the same.

Enchanted was dreamed for exactly this feeling - a place where closeness matters more than grandeur, where warmth beats spectacle every time, where you can gather the people you love most and just… be together.

What You’re Left With

In the end, a small wedding isn’t about doing less.

It’s about creating more:
• More meaning in every moment
• More genuine joy
• More actual presence
• More of what matters
• More you

And here, with the wild coast holding you, those moments don’t just happen and disappear.

They linger.

Like the way the light stays golden long after sunset.

Like the tide that returns, faithful and sure.

Like love itself - quiet, certain, and completely yours.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​