A Pop-Up What? I had never heard of it, and that’s hard to believe since I live, eat, and breath the wedding world every day. My good friend, Wedding Planner, Amanda Buchanan, brought the Pop-Up Wedding to me and I said “Huh?”. Come to find out, Amanda is the front-running go-to Planner for this kind of wedding in the Outer Banks area, so I was in good hands to be educated. You will find her insight helpful, too, even if this style of wedding is not your own.

For the Bridechilla or Groomchilla (ya know, the bride and groom who are totally “Keep Calm and Get Married”), the following motto is all too appealing….”Screw the stress, have a pop-up wedding!”

I’ve known that there are a lot of couples who feel that way, and the traditional route seems so stressful and laborious, but Amanda brought to light there is a very real option for those couples. An option that has been brewing in Australia and has recently made it’s way to America. The pop-up wedding is perfect for the couple who are not interested in the traditional planning route, but also don’t want to get married in a sterile magistrate’s office. That middle ground option is where the Pop-Up thrives.

So what is it? Very simply stated, it’s a wedding where a couple hire’s someone like Amanda at Simple Day to plan and pull off the whole event without having to make even one decision. I know, you’re saying “No Way!”. But listen, for lots of couples it makes sense. They don’t want to plan a wedding, they just want to celebrate! So they hire a Pop-Up Wedding specialist like Amanda, who gets to know the couple (their likes, dislikes, personalities, etc.) and then takes care of EVERY decision from there on. I mean everything: florals, colors, venue, music, cake, drinks, and on and on. There are no weekends full of potential vendor meetings to choose from. No late nights deciding on shades of blues for the table settings. No stressful weeks putting together playlists. The Pop-Up Planner takes care of every detail for a flat fee, and the couple just shows up to the party. Wow, maybe I need to make a place for Pop-Ups in my Packages.

These weddings are typically small, usually 25 guests or fewer, but can be as large as 50. The concept is very intriguing to me because I know there are tons of couples this would fit. Not just the meliinials, but older couples who have already been there and done that, and now just want to come and celebrate. Again, it’s not for everyone, but I’ll bet we are going to see this hybrid grow in the years to come. Like Amanda says, the benefits of a Pop-Up are “Save Money. Avoid Stress. Be Awesome.”

If you want to know more about Pop-Up Weddings, contact Amanda via email at hello@simpledaync.com, or on FaceBook at facebook.com/simpledaync/. I’ve know Amanda for many years and very impressed with her planning knowledge, but even more so by her passion for taking care of couples. She and I have our first Outer Banks Pop-Up wedding planned for 2018 and I can’t wait to see it first hand.

Photo Credits:
photo on beach with birds: Natalie Heim Photography
photo of couple on the stairs: Chris Bickford Photography