The minute you get engaged, everything changes. All of a sudden, loved ones are asking you if you’ve chosen a date, your friends are sharing advice from their own wedding planning experience, and your social medias are filled with different wedding “trends” and inspo posts.
And somewhere in the middle of all that noise, you start to ask yourself: “What do we actually want?”
After photographing hundreds of weddings and elopements, we’ve learned that the couples who have the most meaningful celebrations aren’t the ones who follow the latest trends or check off every traditional box. They’re the ones who pause before planning and ask themselves what truly matters to them.
Your wedding isn’t about creating the perfect day. It’s about creating your entire experience. An experience that reflects who you are, what you value, and how you want to remember this moment for the rest of your lives.
Whether you’re dreaming of a multi-day micro-wedding with a handful of loved ones or a traditional celebration with your extended family, these ten wedding planning questions will help you go from what you think you should do to what your heart is actually asking for.
10 Questions To Help Guide Your Wedding Planning
- What type of celebration feels most meaningful to us?
- Who do we want to share this day with?
- How important is travel or a destination setting?
- Which traditions or rituals matter most to us?
- Do we want private or public vows?
- What’s the ideal timeline for our day?
- What do we want to remember most about our wedding day?
- How much planning help do we actually need?
- What do we want our guests to experience?
- What makes this celebration uniquely ours?
Wedding Planning Questions
1. What type of celebration feels most meaningful to us?
Let’s start with the big wedding planning question: elopement, micro-wedding, or traditional wedding?
- An elopement is typically just the two of you (or a very small group – think fewer than 10 people).
- A micro-wedding includes ~20-50 of your closest family and friends.
- A traditional wedding might mean 100+ guests with all the classic elements.
But what matters more than these labels is the kind of experience do you want to have. Do you want the intimacy of private vows in a remote location, or do you want to be surrounded by everyone you love? Do you want hours (or even days) to savor each moment, or do you want a single day filled with energy?
There’s no right answer. We’ve photographed two-person glacier elopements and 100+-person luxury hotel weddings, and both are equally beautiful when they align with what the couple truly wants.
From a photography perspective: Smaller celebrations give us time to explore, to document quiet moments, and to let the day unfold without rushing. Larger weddings often bring more energy, laughter, and candid moments with everyone gathered all together.
If you’re struggling to choose between intimacy and celebration, consider planning a two-day wedding experience instead. This gives you one day for connection with loved ones and another for adventure and quiet moments together. No rushing. No splitting attention. Just space to be fully present for both. Learn more about the differences between elopements and intimate weddings (and how you can have both).
