Billy and Crystal had a stunning micro wedding at Orlando Apopka Private Airfield last summer. The first couple ever to get married there, they had their legal ceremony a few days before at the courthouse and just wanted a small gathering with their favourite people for the reception. In total they spent $3,000.

“We’ve been driving past the airport every weekend for almost seven years on our way to go antique shopping in nearby Mt Dora”, the bride told us. “We love seeing the vintage planes and watching them take-off and land. When we saw that one of the hangars was also an AirBnB, we were sold and booked it for our wedding! We wanted to have a unique, memorable place to gather our families and celebrate our marriage and this venue was perfect. We had to send driving instructions to our guests to ‘yield to airplanes’ because it was an active taxi-way!”

This non-traditional wedding set up featured plenty of unique details, too. They gave their guests the choice between their favourite whiskey or champagne for the toast but rather than champagne flutes, they had tiny beer mugs. They asked people to leave them a note on beautiful stationery rather than a guest book and they ended up with lots of funny sketches which they’ve kept! In lieu of a gift list, they invited guests to buy something from a Amazon Wish List set up by the hospital where their daughter had spent some time the year before.

After nearly four years of engagement, the couple actually found wedding planning pretty straightforward. They put together all the floral arrangements themselves flowers and greenery purchased wholesale, and arranged them family heirloom vases. The bride also made all the appetizers but left the main meal and cake to the professionals.

“The planning process was actually very easy”, Crystal continued, “I loved every minute of it! I worked with reputable vendors who were excellent at communicating. The biggest challenge was to fit all our guests into a small space. We did get a few unexpected ‘plus-ones’ so we had to increase the catering and seating arrangements twice though!”

For others planning their weddings, Crystal advises, “Make a spreadsheet for everything! And definitely get event insurance. It’s a small expense for peace of mind. Also, there are plenty of underqualified and overpriced vendors for just about everything. Do your research!”