— Melissa, 23, FL (Cassandra Collective)

Once upon a time, betrothed couples delighted in the act of walking around a store scanning items to upload to their wedding registry. Today, digital wedding registries are springing up in its place. Following an uptick in wedding gift interest, one of Gen Zs favorite brands, Etsy, has joined the ranks of stores like Amazon and Pottery Barn, debuting a new online wedding registry feature where couples can choose vintage, handmade goods and customized items and share their registries with their loved ones.

Weddings have gone from celebrating the “Big Day” to the “Big Year,” as it’s become more and more common to have a proposal party, followed by the engagement party, the bachelor and/or bachelorette parties, and even, a will-you-be-my-bridesmaid party. Then it’s time for the ceremony and the reception, which may be bookended by extra events such as welcome drinks, a rehearsal dinner, and a morning-after brunch. Finally, the newlyweds plan their mini-moon to be followed by their honeymoon. The celebrations can seem endless, all stoking discourse centered around “the wedding sprawl.” and the pressure and expense to engage versus giving yourself permission to celebrate and indulge.

In contrast to the wedding sprawl, small, intimate “micro weddings” – defined as weddings with fewer than 50 guests, along with the minimony – have long been popular in an effort to be more environmentally sustainable. They increased in popularity during the pandemic and today, with inflation such as it is, couples have new reasons to consider them. Micro weddings can allow couples to enjoy all the opulence of their dream wedding but at half the cost. Benefits, beyond cost and sustainability, include the ability to host your wedding at more venues and the opportunity to spend more time with the smaller number of guests. It seems weddings are set to get even smaller, with “micro-micro weddings” – with just one or two guests or witnesses – also on the rise.