Elopement vs. Micro Wedding vs. Intimate Wedding- ???
These are all hot topic key words in the wedding industry in 2025, and no doubt you're confused between the difference. Honestly, I am too, because there's a lot of overlap. While an "elopement" used to mean a sneak away marriage where the couple didn't tell anyone they were marrying until after the fact, it's evolved to generally mean a guest count of no more than 10 people. This could mean just the couple and an officiant, or the couple and immediate family members. As long as it's under 10 people total, the wedding industry and wedding photographers generally recognizes this as an elopement, whether secret beforehand or not.
The term "micro wedding" really gained popularity in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Venues that still allowed weddings were placed under major restrictions for health reasons and were only able to let a certain number of guests attend. This guest count is usually about 10-40, less than a traditional wedding, but more than an elopement. A wedding of greater than 40 guests is generally just considered a traditional wedding, with inviting extended family, friends, and follows a more standard day of ceremony, cocktail hour, reception.
Now to really confuse things, an intimate wedding can mean either an elopement or a micro wedding. It's really just a description rather than signifying a specific guest count, at least in my personal experience as a wedding photographer. It's the opposite of a grand celebration, it's intimate, personal, and a more laid-back.
A micro wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse
What Kind of Wedding Can I Have at the Santa Barbara Courthouse?
The Santa Barbara Courthouse is one of the most stunning locations for an elopement or wedding in California. With Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, lush gardens, and ocean views from the clock tower, it’s an iconic and romantic place to say, “I do.” Since the architecture and gardens are stunning on their own, you are able to save money on extensive decorations or florals.
Option 1: The reason courthouse elopements have historically been so popular is because there at most city courthouses there is a deputy commissioner of civil marriages on staff who is legally allowed to perform a marriage ceremony, meaning you do not need to find or hire your own officiant beforehand. This is the case for the Santa Barbara Courthouse, although you do need an appointment beforehand. To have the simplest legal ceremony possible, you must make an appointment for a civil ceremony, where you will then pay for and receive your marriage license, and be married by a deputy commissioner of civil marriages. You do not need your own officiant for this option.
Option 2: This option requires that you have your own officiant, as one is not provided by the Santa Barbara Courthouse. You may choose to pay and reserve a space at the Courthouse in which to host your own micro wedding. The two locations available are the Courthouse Garden, and the Courthouse Mural Room. Both require a reservation and payment to reserve the space, and each has their own rules and regulations as found on the County website. Click here for information on the Courthouse Garden, and here for information on the Mural Room. Although the maximum capacity of the Courthouse Garden is 250, and the Mural Room capacity is 100, there is no available getting ready, cocktail hour, or reception location, and this is still a public government building with tourists and onlookers frequently wandering by. I have seen beautiful traditional and large ceremonies at the Sunken Gardens, but as a Santa Barbara wedding photographer I do think the Courthouse grounds lend themselves better to smaller and more intimate celebrations.
Option 3: From the County of Santa Barbara website: "For small wedding ceremonies with 15 or fewer participants, we have identified six suitable locations outside of the reserved spaces, free of charge, primarily along the Anacapa and Figueroa Street lawn areas. These locations (A through H) are non-reservable. These locations will provide a place for small wedding parties with the architectural treasure of the Courthouse buildings and landscaping as a backdrop." This option is for guest counts of 15 or fewer, which I would generally consider an elopement for all intents and purposes, especially since the area cannot be reserved officially. The major plus of this option is that it is free, and you get to have the Courthouse as your backdrop, the con is that you are on public grounds, and if you choose to do this on a weekend there may be other parties doing the same thing close by you. See the official map below to understand where areas A through H are.
Can we finally see pictURES?
Eve and José
In January I met Eve and José to photograph their elopement at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. With a guest count of 15 including me as their Santa Barbara wedding photographer, they were eligible to use Option 3 above and chose area F, which is the beautiful stone staircase and architecture shown above. They brought their own officiant, who conducted a beautiful ceremony for them before legally pronouncing them man and wife. We then ventured around the courthouse to take wedding photos, before meeting up for a small private dinner at Convivo near the Pacific Ocean. I photographed this wedding on digital and 35mm film, as always. Eve's beautiful dress is from BHLDN.
January was an absolutely perfect month for an elopement at the santa barbara courthouse.
