Experiences with very small (

Our wedding was that size:

1. Whether you need a DOC depends on how complicated you make it. Ours was a ceremony in a synagogue, followed by a nice lunch in a restaurant. We had a few decorations for the ceremony, none for the reception. I can't think why we would have needed a DOC.

2. No one needs a rehearsal. Your officiant can tell you when to walk and where to stand just before the ceremony. People aren't going to fall flat on their faces due to lack of a rehearsal.

3. Honestly, you can cut out all of it, other than food and drink. With that small a wedding, people will entertain themselves by catching up with each other.

4. Of course it can fit within that budget. Typically, the reception is half the cost of the wedding. So with a $5,000 budget, you could spend $2,500 on the reception. With 20 people, that's $125 per person. You can get pretty nice food and drink for that.

1) If your venue doesn’t offer a DOC, hire one! Even with our 15 guests our DOC kept our timeline moving and our 2nd DOC ushered vendors and guests to the right areas.
2) Naw, not necessary with or without a wedding party (we didn’t have a wedding party or rehearsal either)
3) Good food & drinks are all you need. Guests don’t really care or notice decor so only do what’s important to YOU.4) Your budget seems doable but if you fall in love with venues outside your budget, ask about their 1) off-season rates and 2) small wedding packages. You may need to do a weekend brunch, or weekday evening to score an amazing deal but a great way to save budget and get a fabulous venue!

I am eloping and there will be 4 of us (5 if my brother does muster up the courage to walk me down the aisle)

Here would be my suggestions

- It was suggested to me to get a coordinator for at least the day of the wedding. That sounds fair to me? Save the money as that is a lot. I feel a small wedding is easy to handle if you have every planned any kind of event. See if your venue provides one or at least does set up.

- Do we really need a rehearsal for a tiny wedding? Are you having a large wedding party? I am sure you could consult with your officiant and they can work it out but if you have the money and the venue is close maybe so but not necessary.

- What other stuff is good to cut out for a fairly no-frills wedding? Centerpieces, florals...basically anything you would have no use for after the wedding. If you do favors maybe something edible or alcohol based.

- Can a wedding of this size fit in a roughly $5000 budget at most - and that's pushing it? Girl with that money I could do a lot lol. Find a venue that has an elopement package as often they cater up to $5,000. Also, look up elopements or micro weddings for your area as there maybe someone that plans everything for you at a reasonable. See if you can find a reasonable venue that has an affordable reception. I don't know where you live but avoid hotels as they tend to be pricier. Try bed and breakfasts, country clubs or look up beach venues. Hope this helps.

I think it is totally doable. We are having a very small wedding too. We are a little bigger... 28. We are only doing our immediate family and a couple friends as well. Our reception/ceremony venue is at a beautiful inn and the venue cost is about 5K. It is all inclusive with catering, wedding cake, linens, bar tenders, staff, tables, day of coordinator, ceremony location, etc (we are in an expensive area of the country). It doesn't include photographer, flowers or music and decorations or alcohol; and we are DIYing a lot of stuff so our budget is about 7k.

I would look for all inclusive venues if possible. Also since it is just immediate family see if you can do a Sunday or a weekday. Sundays can be cheaper or they won't have requirements like booking hotel room blocks. Also look for a venue that is BYOB so you can just do wine and beer or bring what you know your group wants (ie a signature cocktail or something).

I would prioritize what is important to you for your budget. We have family that are photographers and videographers so we didn't need to budget for that. So most of our money could go to a venue with great food. We are also not doing a DJ (seemed weird with just the small group), so we are going with digital jukebox and karaoke, but great live music for our ceremony was important so we are having a string trio for the ceremony/cocktail hour/dinner.

For Cocktail hour we are going to have lawn games - corn hole etc. We figure with a small group we can have more fun and interact in different ways than just a dance party.

We are doing some of the traditional events but are making them more laid back and including everyone who is coming to the wedding. Because everyone is dispersed across the country we actually decided to do it over Columbus Day weekend and make it a long weekend get together. So we are doing some other things over the weekend together as a group.... we are going to a local corn maze and having a bonfire and doing s'mores after. My FH's parent's are paying for the rehearsal dinner for everyone and we are having it a little Italian restaurant that specializes in family style dining, and is BYOB too.