A Beautiful Finger Lakes Micro Wedding Planned in Just Two Weeks
Most Couples Spend a Year Planning Their Wedding…
We all know weddings take a lot of planning. Most couples spend well over a year hiring vendors, creating Pinterest boards, tackling seating charts, deciding what to DIY and what needs to be outsourced, sending Save the Dates and invitations…the list goes on. Honestly, it is exhausting just to think about.
Somewhere along the way, we started treating a long planning timeline as a requirement. Planning a wedding in anything under six months is often seen as slightly unhinged, and planning one in less than two weeks? Practically impossible.
Yet Max and Dandy planned their Hemlock Lake micro wedding in less than two weeks, and their day was anything but rushed. It was intimate, relaxed, full of love, and completely centered on the two of them. The decor complemented the natural surroundings rather than competing with them, every detail had meaning, and their 20 favorite people were there to witness it.
More than anything, the day felt real. It felt like them. And it proved that a beautiful Finger Lakes micro wedding or elopement does not have to take a year and a half to plan when the focus stays on what actually matters.
From a Backyard Proposal to a Hemlock Lake Micro Wedding
Just one week after Max and Dandy got engaged, I received a call from Max asking whether I was available the following week to photograph their wedding. I had already been hiding in their backyard to document his surprise proposal in front of the garden they had grown and created together, so this felt like the perfect next chapter in their story.
They had loved the thought and care I put into capturing the proposal and wanted that same level of intention carried into their wedding day. Of course, my answer was yes.
They initially described the day as an elopement, and in spirit it absolutely was: intimate, flexible, deeply personal, and focused on their relationship rather than on putting on a production. With 20 guests joining them, it also fit beautifully into the micro wedding category. Whether someone searches for a Hemlock Lake elopement, a Finger Lakes micro wedding, or simply a small wedding near Rochester, this day is proof that the label matters far less than creating an experience that feels right for the couple.
Planning a Micro Wedding in Under Two Weeks
With a guest list of 20 people, Max and Dandy were able to coordinate a date that worked for everyone without having to plan 6 to 9 months out, mail out Save the Dates, followed by formal invitations. All it took were a few phone calls. Once the date was chosen, their biggest decision was finding the right location.
They spent a couple of days visiting state and county parks, looking for a place that felt like them. When they reached Hemlock Lake, they knew they had found it.
From there, the rest of the planning stayed beautifully simple: securing their marriage license, buying a cake, renting 20 chairs, choosing the ceremony area at the park, and making dinner reservations. That was it. No giant seating chart, no overflowing spreadsheet, and no debates over napkin colors or center pieces.
Dandy found her dress at a local boutique, and I fell in love with it the second I saw it. It felt bridal without being overly formal, and its simplicity was perfect for an outdoor Hemlock Lake elopement-style wedding. It lended itself even more perfectly to her going barefoot, bringing in a natural feel to the ceremony, allowing her to feel more connected to the earth, and let’s be honest – providing the more comfort than any high heel ever would!
One of the smartest decisions they made was holding their micro wedding on a weekday. Weekend rentals and locations tend to fill quickly, and parks are naturally busier. A weekday gave them more privacy and helped preserve the quiet, intimate feeling they wanted. Their guests only needed to take part of the day away from work, which was also easier than trying to coordinate around everyone’s summer weekend plans.
Why Hemlock Lake Was Perfect for an Intimate Finger Lakes Wedding
It was important to Dandy to be married beneath a tall, mature tree. For her, the tree symbolized longevity, strength, and ancestral roots. They also wanted natural views and a peaceful setting, and Hemlock Lake offered all of it in one place.
Hemlock Lake is one of the quieter Finger Lakes. With restrictions on motorized boats and swimming, the lake tends to draw kayakers, people fishing, and visitors looking for a peaceful day outdoors rather than large crowds. That atmosphere makes it a beautiful option for a small wedding, micro wedding, or elopement near Rochester, NY.
On a weekday afternoon, the park feels especially calm. There is ample parking, actual bathrooms (which is a wildly underrated wedding-day luxury), a gazebo and pavilion area, mature trees, and a stunning view of the lake. The setting already has so much beauty and meaning that they did not need to transform it into something else
Another huge benefit is that the Pavilion at Hemlock Lake Park is free to use. It is first come first serve, with a high chance of it being available on a weekday during the day.
When the Forecast Called for a Storm
A couple of days before their wedding, we started tracking a large thunderstorm that appeared to be heading directly toward the park. It affected more than the outdoor ceremony plan; it could also have prevented us from flying the drones, which was important to Max and Dandy.
This is one of the biggest advantages of planning a micro wedding or elopement: the timeline can remain flexible. Instead of panicking or forcing the day to follow a rigid schedule, we watched the radar, created a backup plan, and gave ourselves a five-hour window in which we could move the ceremony earlier or later if needed.
Because we do not book another event on the same day as an elopement or micro wedding—and often protect the surrounding days depending on the location and scope—we can make last-minute adjustments with no trouble at all. The only truly fixed part of Max and Dandy’s day was their dinner reservation at 5:30 p.m.
By the morning of the wedding, the forecast showed that the worst of the storm would arrive later and miss us almost completely, leaving behind only some wind and very dramatic skies. The day was a little muggy at first, because Western New York enjoys keeping us humble, but it was absolutely stunning. And we only started a half hour earlier than originally planned!
The Little Details That Made the Day Theirs
A meaningful and beautiful wedding does not require a crap ton of decor, centerpieces, seating charts, trinkets, and traditions that mean nothing to the couple. Sometimes less truly is more, and that was 100% the case with this micro wedding. The details they chose mattered because each one reflected who they were.
The Location
Choosing a location that feels energetically aligned can make all the difference. As woo-woo as that may sound, we have all walked into a place and immediately felt more at ease. It might be a favorite restaurant, a hiking trail, a quiet bench in a park, or a tiny boutique that somehow feels like home.
When the location already feels right, there is far less pressure to cover it with decorations or turn it into something it is not. Hemlock Lake felt right to Max and Dandy, and the landscape did about 90% of the aesthetic heavy lifting for them.
The Guest List
Their guest list included 20 people: the people who meant the most to them. Everyone was there because they genuinely cared about Max and Dandy and wanted to witness their marriage, rather than due to obligation or a random plus one.
For another couple, the right number might be three guests, 35 guests, or no guests at all. There is no universal number that makes a wedding meaningful. The right guest list is the one that allows the couple to feel supported, present, and fully themselves.
Because the group was intimate, Max and Dandy were also able to take a beautiful photograph with every guest and couple. Those images became individual keepsakes of the people who shared the day with them rather than a rushed list of formal combinations.
The Ceremony Setting
This is where the location came through again. Beneath the mature tree, all they added were simple white chairs with bows. The 20 chairs were arranged in pairs along the aisle, allowing the tree, the lake, and the surrounding landscape to remain the focus.
The result was elegant without being overdone and intentional.
The Cake
After the ceremony, Max and Dandy cut a small cake on a round stone table nestled among the trees. It was the perfect size for the 22 people there and incorporated elements of their Chinese culture, adding another layer of meaning to a detail that could otherwise have been chosen simply because weddings are supposed to have cake.
Capturing Their Micro Wedding Through Photo and Video
Having both photography and video was important to Max and Dandy because each preserves a different part of the experience.
Photography documented their day, froze emotions of joy and laughter, and help capture every detail that had meaning to the couple. Before the wedding, we talked through what mattered most to them, and I created a list so they could stop mentally tracking everything and simply be present. They did not have to wonder whether a certain person, detail, or moment was being documented. That was my responsibility.
Video added movement, sound, atmosphere, and a completely different sense of the place. The drone footage was especially important because Dandy wanted to show the sheer scale of the tree beneath which they were married and its relationship to the lake. A ground-level image can show the beauty of a location, but an aerial perspective reveals how all the pieces fit together.
Fun fact: we had two drones in the air during the ceremony so we could capture two very different perspectives the couple had hoped for at the same time. Leave it to Kalika to find a way to fly two drones at the same time, and do it well! We will do nearly anything for the shot—within reason…ish.
Together, we told their story from multiple perspectives, creating art they can return to and relive not only what their Hemlock Lake micro wedding looked like, but what it felt like.
Micro Wedding or Elopement: What Would Feel Most Like You?
Deciding whether to elope or not can sometimes be a difficult decision. We know in our hearts what we truly want to do, however breaking through all the noise of expectations and traditions isn’t an easy task.
My question for you is: What would your day look like if all expectations disappeared? If the only thing you were focused on is what is important to you and your person?
Let yourself imagine it through all five senses. What would you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel? Would there be a gentle breeze coming off a Finger Lake and birds in the background? Would you hear 20 of your favorite people cheering beneath a giant tree? Would you be somewhere completely private with only the two of you, or surrounded by a larger group in a place that feels like a fairytale?
Use this to determine what is most important to you, and then go from there. You most likely already know what you want, sometimes it’s hard to speak it, especially if you’ve grown up putting everyone else’s needs before your own <3.
Planning a Micro Wedding or Elopement Near Rochester or the Finger Lakes?
If the above exercise has you and your person leaning towards a micro-wedding or elopement, but you’re overwhelmed with all the options this opens up for you, I can help!
The options are endless, and decision paralysis can easily set in. However it doesn’t need to be a daunting task! Planning your elopement should be FUN and EXCITING. I help couples create days that feel effortless, meaningful, and entirely like their own unique love story. We help with every detail from beginning to end. Your only job? To dream big with me, and trust me <3
So if you’d like to share your dream with me, please send me a message! You don’t need to have anything figured out ahead of time, other than who you are marrying, and I think you’ve already got that covered!
If you are dreaming about a Hemlock Lake micro wedding, a Finger Lakes elopement, or an intimate wedding near Rochester, I would love to hear what the two of you are imagining.
