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kld1215
Savvy February 2018

Anyone else having a small/intimate wedding?

kld1215, on January 20, 2018 at 8:26 AM Posted in Etiquette and Advice 0 25
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Hi everyone! Just wondering if anyone else on here is having a smaller wedding and what your plans are for the reception? We should have somewhere around 60 guests and are holding the ceremony and reception at a country club which holds 50-150 people. We’ll have a cocktail hour, 3 course meal, open bar, DJ and dance floor. And I will go from 5:30-11pm. Our guests are mostly family and very close friends, which is how we wanted it to be.

I’ve expressed my anxieties here before about not exactly loving the wedding planning process/being the center of attention and all that. I would’ve loved to elope and then treat our immediate family and close friends to dinner, or done a restaurant brunch wedding, but my family insisted on doing the traditional type of wedding because they wanted to be able to dance and everything.

My concern is that guests will be bored or the dance floor will be empty. We hired a great DJ, but I am having a hard time picturing how it will go.

Tell me about your small wedding plans!

25 Comments

Latest activity by Dee, on May 2, 2018 at 1:56 PM
  • R
    Savvy July 2018
    Roxy ·
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    I am havibg the exact wedding... country club... cocktail hour... but no dj... and 20-25 people... 6pm-11pm. Honestly i think of my timely and i am not worried about cause its going to go fast...
    6p they will arrive.
    630p ceremony starts
    7pm cocktail hour
    8pm dinner
    About 930pm we will have drinks outside on the deck where i have fire pits set up. It's also a destination wedding. So alot to talk
    We have open bar too. With the bar set up outside.
    I just feel mote will happen. Us walking around during dinner saying. People wanting pictures. Dessert time. People exploring the country club cause like i said its a destination wedding.
    If your havubg a dj i think you will definitly have somethibg to do for people. My crowd is a little older which is why we didnt do a dj. They already have music that plays.
    • Reply
  • Kaye
    VIP October 2018
    Kaye ·
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    Having a smaller wedding here. 30-60. The venue doesn't hold more than 74 or 76 if we all want to sit and eat together.
    Noon wedding.
    Sunday Brunch reception with quiches, biscuit bar, sliders, children and waffles etc. Alcohol is a bloody Mary bar and mimosas. Cake and pies for dessert
    I'm planning on having a DJ and Cornhole outside. I'm hoping for a really relaxed vibe. If people want to dance great. If not, sit and rock on the covered porches over looking the mountains and river. Plan to wrap it up before 4.
    • Reply
  • JerseyGirl
    Master May 2017
    JerseyGirl ·
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    We had a smaller wedding (55 guests). Mostly DHs family and my close friends (I have a really small family). It was great!! Our venue room is capable of holding about 100-150. Our timing was the same. We had DJ, open bar, cocktail hour but we had buffet. Received a lot of compliments from people about how great everything was. We were able to actually sit and enjoy dinner. We didn’t have to do table visits as everyone was joining us on the dance floor even my 87 year old grandmother was out there for a few songs. We did do a mix of oldies and current music. People won’t be bored. Since it’s family and close friends when people aren’t dancing they will be catching up with each other. No worries. It will be great!
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  • Adrianna
    Expert June 2018
    Adrianna ·
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    Just make sure you don't sacrifice the wedding you want because of your families.
    We are having a small ceremony (about 15 people) and then a big reception (about 110 people) right after.
    Our families are very supportive and we couldn't be more excited!
    • Reply
  • FullerPartyof3
    Dedicated September 2018
    FullerPartyof3 ·
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    We’re having a small wedding too, around 30-60 people, including kiddos. It’ll be his family, my mother and our very good friends. Ceremony and reception will be at a beautiful ranch local to us with rustic barn in early fall with plated dinner but no bar. We’re still really early in our planning but that’s the current plan. Debating about setting up a DIY photo booth/selfie station.
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  • Allyson
    Devoted March 2019
    Allyson ·
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    We're trying hard to keep our guest count right at 50. Our venue is all outdoors but the cocktail hour and reception areas are right next to each other. Cocktail hour has firepits, there's a separate heated/cooled covered dance floor area, and a grassy knoll type area across the way. We'll have smores at the firepits, lawn games in the grassy knoll area, and a photo op for an instax guest book near the reception. I think there's just enough going on for everyone to explore and enjoy without getting bored or overly divided
    • Reply
  • Ella Marie
    Devoted May 2019
    Ella Marie ·
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    We are having a small destination wedding. 30-40 tops!!! But we didn’t want to have a huge reception after down at the beach. (We’re saving that for later on in the summer back up here at home, so we can really celebrate with all of our friends and the rest of the family who can’t make the wedding). So after the ceremony we are going to a resturant and having a dinner reception at the resturant. We’ll have a special menu to choose from and a 2 hour open bar..beer/wine. We wanted to just have a fun relaxing time with everyone who comes!!
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  • fallinthegarden
    Master October 2017
    fallinthegarden ·
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    We had 47 guests attend. We had a dance floor and DJ, people filtered on and off, which was fine with us because we weren't huge dancers. It was close family and our best friends who were our WP, so people wanted to catch up and talk more than dance. Everyone still had a good time, and almost everyone stayed until the very end.

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  • bluevelvet
    Devoted October 2017
    bluevelvet ·
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    42 people attended, 55 invited

    11am wedding in an arboretum, lunch reception at our fave restaurant, open bar

    no dance, we had a pro musician friend play guitar in the background - he was a true highlight!!!

    Done by 3pm, I would do it all again the exact same way

    No theme, no favors, no color scheme, bridal party was three guys, my two kids and groom's cousin

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  • kld1215
    Savvy February 2018
    kld1215 ·
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    Sounds like it will be a lovely day!
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  • kld1215
    Savvy February 2018
    kld1215 ·
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    Sounds like a dream ❤️
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  • kld1215
    Savvy February 2018
    kld1215 ·
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    Thank you. I’m overthinking it!
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  • kld1215
    Savvy February 2018
    kld1215 ·
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    Too late, I already did and ours is next month 😑 but they’re paying for a lot of it so I came to a happy medium with keeping it small but still having the traditional for them.
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  • R
    Savvy July 2018
    Roxy ·
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    Thank you. I hope it will be... its in lake tahoe Nevada... been there a handful of time... i love it there.
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  • earias
    Champion December 2017
    earias ·
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    We had a small wedding with 40 guests. We focused on hospitality and giving our guests the weekend experience of a lifetime. We kept our guest list small so we could splurge on them. Since we only had 40 guests we paid for their accommodations at the Fairmont in Sonoma Christmas weekend where our reception was held. The guests were greeted with a welcome box of snacks, water, toiletry items, bottle of wine and a handwritten card. We hosted a welcome dinner on Friday the day before, and a goodbye brunch the day after.


    After the ceremony the guests were greeted with champagne at the valet as they arrived at the reception and had complimentary valet parking. Cocktail hour was amazing with the set up on the connecting patio. We had string lights, firepit with chairs, blankets and pillows and a mix of tables and chairs for guests to enjoy socializing. We hired a guitarist to play music for cocktail hour. We had several passed apps as well as a charcuterie station, a cheese station and brie wheel. We had a premium open bar all night.

    As guests entered the room for dinner, they were directed to find their ornament on the Christmas tree which served as their escort card and favor. Each one was personalized with the guest's name. The plated dinner included filet mignon with lobster tail, truffle stuffed chicken breast and salmon and was accompanied by a band that played Rat Pack music. My best friend gave a toast and then a 2nd, larger band got the dancing started.

    We had a photo booth which was a huge hit even for a small group of 40. We had a candy bar, smores bar, hot chocolate and cider bar and a late night snack of grilled cheese.

    The weekend was perfect for us and exceeded my expectations. I'm so glad we kept the guest list small so we could really enjoy each other's company and pamper our guests.
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  • C
    Just Said Yes February 2019
    Christine ·
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    Second marriage for both of us and had no big to-do our first times. Looking at a small ceremony as well, just close fam and friends, about 40.
    So far since our announcement everyone has been telling me to do what we want, it’s our time and to not give in to what is traditional. And as I’m searching around for ideas, it’s so true now more than in past. Looking at beach scenic ceremony with restaurant reception, no deco, maybe even no cake, but haven’t decided that yet haha!! We looked at reception halls but didn’t feel it, it didn’t make me smile inside.
    So I say do what makes you happy! And it will always be right, for YOU!
    Good luck!!
    • Reply
  • Lacy
    Super December 2018
    Lacy ·
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    Ours will be fairly small too, between 50-60 people. We're going to have loads of food, open bar, DJ and lots of dancing so I expect everyone will be very entertained. I think it's the quality of the party you host, rather than the amount of people there, that leads to everyone having a great time.
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  • FutureMrsS
    Expert October 2018
    FutureMrsS ·
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    We are having a smaller wedding as well maybe around 75 people and will be having a buffet style meal, dessert bar, and a dance w/DJ. Most of the people in our families don't really dance, but our friends all do! I think it will be fun! I'm not a big dancer, but I know I'll have fun just watching everyone have a good time Smiley smile

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  • Andrea
    Just Said Yes June 2018
    Andrea ·
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    I've had this same thought myself, we are having 50 guests. But after some though I realized that our families love us and trust me, close friends and family, with some tunes and love in the air.... everyone will have a great time. It's a moment of happiness and love.

    Everyone will have a great time sharing this special moment with you and your soon to be groom.
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  • Ashley
    Super February 2018
    Ashley ·
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    27 days until my wedding and we are getting married in a garden of sorts. 35 guest including me and my love and we are having it all too.

    I think the important part is, is to have the DJ play a mix of all types of music, especially dance music or music that everyone will hear and be like I HAVE TO DANCE to it.

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