In short: A micro wedding in Europe usually means 10 to 30 guests over two to five nights. The French wedding guide French Wedding Style prices that size at about €8,000 to €29,000 all in for France in its line-by-line table, and an elopement for two to ten people at €4,600 to €16,000. Legally, Denmark, Portugal and Croatia let visitors marry; France and Spain tie a civil marriage to living there, so couples there hold a symbolic ceremony. Photo or film for a small day is usually 5 or 6 hours, from €1,390.
What counts as a micro wedding
There is no legal or industry standard. Planners use the words loosely. French Wedding Style, a French wedding-planning site (updated May 2026), sorts small weddings like this: an elopement is 2 to 10 guests, a micro wedding is 10 to 30 guests over 2 to 5 nights, and an intimate wedding is 30 to 60 guests. We use the same bands in this guide because they match how coverage and budgets change.
- Mini wedding or intimate wedding: usually the same idea with a slightly larger list. Ask any vendor for the guest number they have in mind, not the label.
- Micro wedding versus elopement: an elopement is the two of you, with at most a handful of witnesses. A micro wedding has family and close friends, a meal and often a second day.
Manuela & Konstantin · Zakynthos · see the full wedding →Elopement or micro wedding: how to choose
| Question | Elopement | Micro wedding |
|---|---|---|
| Guests | 2 to 10 | 10 to 30 |
| Length | A few hours to one day | A weekend, 2 to 5 nights |
| Main cost | Photo, film, outfits, travel | Venue stay, food, travel for guests |
| Photo and film | 5 hours is usually enough | 5 to 8 hours, or a full day |
| Best if | You want the day to be quiet | You want your people there |
Many couples start with an elopement budget and find they want their parents there. That is the moment it becomes a micro wedding. It is a small step in planning and a large one in logistics: rooms, meals and a plan for each guest.
decide the guest number first, then the country. Ten people can marry almost anywhere. Thirty people need beds, a kitchen and a venue that is happy to host them for more than one night.
Can you elope in Europe, and how
Yes. There are two routes. In the first, you marry legally in the country, which needs official paperwork and sometimes a waiting period. In the second, you marry on paper at home and hold a symbolic ceremony abroad, with vows and rings but no legal effect. Our guide to where foreigners can legally marry in Europe compares 12 countries with their official sources. The steps for either route are the same:
- Choose legal or symbolic.
- Pick a country and a date, then ask the registry or your venue for current rules.
- Book the photographer, the venue and a celebrant or registrar.
- Order documents with their stamps and translations, if the legal route needs them.
- Plan the day around the light and the opening hours of the place.
Our guide to the best places to elope in Europe compares locations by month, crowds and access.
Best countries for a small wedding in Europe
As of November 2026, these are the facts we confirmed on official pages. Each cell has a source in the paragraph below the table. Fees and rules change, so ask the registry before you pay for anything.
| Country | Legal for visitors? | Official fee we found | Small-group fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Yes, with a certificate of marital status | DKK 2,100 (stated for EU/EEA couples) | City hall, then a restaurant or small venue |
| Portugal | Yes, start at a registry at least 1 month ahead | €120 | Quintas and small hotels |
| Croatia | Yes, ceremony 30 to 45 days after the declaration | €27.87, plus an extra fee outside official premises | Any location in the country |
| France | Not for two visitors in a town hall | Not applicable | Symbolic in a château or mas |
| Spain | The file opens where one of you is domiciled | Ask the registry | Symbolic in a finca or villa |
The sources: Denmark’s Agency of Family Law gives DKK 2,100 and four months of validity for the certificate on its page for couples who are both EU/EEA citizens. Couples from the US, UK, Canada or Australia follow its route for citizens outside the EU/EEA, must show they are legally in the Schengen Area (new documentation rules since 10 April 2026), and should confirm the fee with the Agency. Portugal’s Ministry of Justice says the process costs €120, should start at least one month before the date and leaves six months to marry. Croatia’s government portal gives €27.87 for a civil ceremony, a date 30 to 45 days after the declaration and a free choice of location, with an extra fee outside official premises. France’s Service-Public says two foreigners who do not live in France cannot marry in an ordinary town hall and may use their own consulate. Spain’s government guide opens the file where either of you is domiciled.
Italy, Greece, Norway, Iceland, Scotland and Montenegro also welcome visitors, with more paperwork. Our guide to getting married in Denmark shows the lightest route in detail.
Kyrisma & Benjamin · Positano · see the full wedding →Small wedding venues in Europe: what to look for
We do not list venue prices for the whole continent, because no reliable public price list exists. Here is what to look for, with the one source we trust. French Wedding Style names these types for 10 to 30 guests in France: small châteaux with 2 to 8 bedrooms, Provençal mas and bastides, vineyard guest houses, manors with cottages that sleep 8 to 20, and historic apartments in Paris and Lyon for under 15 guests. Similar houses exist in Italy, Spain and Portugal under other names: villa, agriturismo, finca, quinta.
Questions to put to any venue:
- Do you take a group of our size, and is there a minimum spend or a minimum number of guests?
- How many people sleep on site, and for how many nights is the venue ours?
- Can we bring or choose our own caterer, celebrant, florist and photographer?
- What is the rain plan, and where does the ceremony move?
- When must music stop, and are there noise rules after 22:00?
- Is a symbolic ceremony allowed on the grounds, and is a legal one possible at all?
Europe micro wedding cost: what it adds up to
A micro wedding is not a tenth of a big wedding. The venue, the planner and the photographer cost nearly the same for 20 guests as for 100. What shrinks is catering and drinks. What stays is almost everything else.
The best public breakdown we found is French Wedding Style’s table for France. It is a business describing its own market, so read it as an indication, not a statistic. Rings, attire and travel are excluded.
| Cost line (France) | Elopement, 2 to 10 | Micro wedding, 10 to 30 |
|---|---|---|
| Venue, 1 to 2 nights | €1,500 to €5,000 | €3,000 to €8,000 |
| Symbolic celebrant | €600 to €1,500 | €800 to €2,500 |
| Catering and wine | €300 to €3,000 | €2,000 to €8,400 |
| Photography (their figure) | €1,200 to €3,000 | €1,800 to €4,500 |
| Florals and styling | €400 to €1,500 | €800 to €3,500 |
| Hair and make-up | €600 to €2,000 | €600 to €2,500 |
| All in (their total) | €4,600 to €16,000 | €8,000 to €29,000 |
A note on the totals: the elopement lines add up exactly. The micro wedding lines add up to €9,000 to €29,400, which the page rounds to €8,000 to €29,000, and its own summary further up gives €8,000 to €25,000. Plan with the higher end of the range.
The same page says Provence and the Côte d’Azur run 20 to 35% higher than the Loire, Dordogne or Burgundy, and a peak Saturday in Provence costs 50 to 80% more than a weekday or shoulder-season date. For other countries, our destination wedding cost guide goes country by country.
The photo and film line with us. Photography is €1,390 for 5 hours and €1,590 for 6 hours. Film is priced the same. Photo and film together start at €2,780 for 5 hours. We charge no extra travel fees anywhere we work. Our wedding photographer in Italy page shows weddings and elopements we have photographed in Positano and Sorrento.
How much does it cost to elope in Europe
Add the lines you need. A legal elopement in Portugal, as an example: the registry process at €120 plus our 5-hour photography at €1,390 is €1,510, before any weekend surcharge, documents and translations, flights, a stay, rings and outfits. In Denmark the certificate fee of DKK 2,100 (for EU/EEA couples) is roughly €280 at the fixed krone rate of about 7.46 to the euro, our own conversion and an estimate. A symbolic elopement has no official fees, but it needs a celebrant. French Wedding Style puts celebrants at €600 to €1,500 for two to ten guests in France.
Europe elopement and micro wedding packages: what to check
Packages sold as “all inclusive”, “with airfare” or by year (2025, 2026, 2027) are bundles from planners. We do not sell planning packages and we name no planner here. Our packages cover photography and film only. If you compare bundles, check these points:
- Which exact lines are in the price: venue, celebrant, photographer, flowers, hair, transport.
- Whether flights and the stay appear in the total, or only as a promise.
- Whether the legal paperwork is included, or only a symbolic ceremony.
- How many hours of photography and film, and how many edited photos.
- What happens to the money if you change the date.
A micro wedding weekend plan
| Day | Plan | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Friday | Arrivals, welcome dinner for everyone | Optional |
| Saturday, 16:00 to 23:00 | Getting ready, ceremony, aperitivo, dinner, first dance | 6 to 8 hours |
| Sunday, 11:00 | Brunch, slow goodbye | Optional |
Our guide to welcome party and after-brunch coverage explains how we cover two or three days.
Manuela & Konstantin · Zakynthos · see the full wedding →Photo and film for 10 to 30 guests
| Coverage | Photo or film | Photo and film |
|---|---|---|
| 5 hours | €1,390 | €2,780 |
| 6 hours | €1,590 | €3,180 |
| 7 hours | €1,790 | €3,580 |
| 8 hours | €1,990 | €3,980 |
| Full day, no time limit | €2,190 | €4,380 |
For a small group, 5 or 6 hours usually covers the ceremony, the portraits and the first part of dinner. Choose 8 hours or a full day if you want getting ready, a long lunch and the evening. A 20% deposit holds the date. Book any package and change it later if your plans change. What matters is locking the date, and you can run the numbers on our prices page.
FAQ: micro weddings in Europe
How many guests is a micro wedding?
Usually 10 to 30 in French Wedding Style’s definition. There is no official limit, so confirm the number with every vendor.
What is the difference between a micro wedding and an intimate wedding?
Mostly size. The same source puts intimate weddings at 30 to 60 guests. Both words are marketing terms, not legal ones.
Can we elope in Europe?
Yes. Marry legally where the rules allow it, or marry at home and hold a symbolic ceremony abroad. Check the registry of your chosen place first.
Which country is easiest for a small legal wedding?
From the pages above: Denmark, Portugal and Croatia all let visitors marry. The official fees we found are €120 in Portugal, €27.87 in Croatia (more outside official premises) and DKK 2,100 in Denmark for EU/EEA couples. Ask the registry for the full list of documents for your nationality.
Is a small wedding cheaper?
Cheaper than a large one, but not proportionally. Fixed lines such as venue, celebrant and photographer do not shrink with the guest list.
How many hours of photography does a micro wedding need?
Five or six hours for the ceremony to dinner, eight if you add getting ready. See the guide to how many hours of coverage you need.
Planning yours?
We are a team of six photographers and filmmakers with one documentary style. We document your day rather than stage it. Photography and film packages from €1,390, and no extra travel fees anywhere we work. A 20% deposit holds the date, and you can book any package and change it later.
Send us your date and country on the contact page. We reply within 24 hours.