Small Wedding Reception

I believe JoRocka had a small reception and hers was pretty great. You may want to ask her.

Also, if you invite 50 people, please prepare for 50 people to attend. You don't want to be scrambling at the last minute to find a bigger place because you didn't expect as many "yes's" as you received.

My first bit of advice would be to come to a compromise with your FH about the reception you want.

My second bit of advice is to *always* expect and plan for 100% attendance. If you're inviting 50, plan everything for 50. Do not assume only half will show up, ever. It's better to have more than to have less.

You can absolutely do a small reception. My aunt's was 30-35 people with the ceremony and reception in the same room.

It really just comes down to what you and your FH want.

I did three weddings last week, and they were all under 50 (12, 32, 25). They were fabulous; all at lovely restaurants with a great officiant (you knew that was coming, lol....) music, wine, photographers. I have to say that these are among my favorite weddings; they feel just as gracious and gorgeous as big ones, and the bonus? You can actually interact with everyone in a meaningful way.

When all is said and done, yes, it will be less expensive but the planning is still planning.

First, come to an agreement on style. Then find a great restaurant. Then look for vendors; you really only need a photographer for a couple of hours and that may be hard to find in prime season on a Saturday. Same with music. Officiants, not so much if you're flexible on your timing.

It will be just lovely. And I do hope Jo will weigh in, because her wedding is among my absolute favorites.

I totally get your concerns! We are having a destination wedding too and I just sent out invitations and we will be lucky to have 35. We are having a catered dinner in a dock under a tent next to the ocean. The whole nine yards with a dj and everything. A small reception like that is beautiful and very intimate too! It is pricey or can be pricey to do but I think it is worth it.

Hey #teamsmallwedding!!!!

Sass- thanks for the shout out!

I had 32 invited (which is twice what I wanted) but we had a great time- we had no dancing- no speeches- no DJ- and I think we had a beautiful time- there are things I would have changed a little- but all in all- it was wonderful and felt like a very intimate feeling dinner party rather than a full blown wedding reception.

Here's a link to my BAM- which is absurdly word heavy (more for me than you all) but you can get the whole word and visual picture here.

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/bam-bishes-bam/eab6641a4ef685dd.html?page=1

I will agree with Celia- the planning is the planning- despite the smallness of my wedding- I still rented a venue- and hired a catering company- and florist. It was NOT a restaurant.

So unless you say we are doing a ceremony- then go to a restaurant and we have a fixed menu- no flowers- no catering- none of that- then you're going to be doing half the work- but it doesn't matter how big the wedding is- if you have catering company- if you have a florist- and you have other vendors- you still have to deal with them- if you have 10 guests or 100.

Soooooooo yes- there is still work- and there are still invites- and all that shit- but you gotta do it.

I am doing an elopement/intimate wedding with 8 guests, and I still had a pretty involved planning process. I booked a 5-star resort for both the ceremony and reception, with a nice 5 course dinner. I hired a photographer, a florist, and HMUA, and I rented chiavari chairs. I'm doing the decor myself because it's only one table and I made DW gift bags for everyone. Total for the dinner itself is around $7k, but for the whole trip and wedding (vendors, accommodation, attire and accessories, gifts, etc.) is $15k.

My advice is to look for elopement or intimate packages with a resort if you want the whole reception. We chose our resort based on the semi-inclusive package. Restaurant receptions are nice, but it sounds like FH wants something more, so look at traditional venues to see what they offer.

Thanks to all! It is good to hear that others have planned a full reception for so few people. I plan on hiring a wedding planner since it is destination and I just don't have time to do it all myself so that should help me with planning.

We had 31 guests. We invited around 40, but my family from Wales was unable to travel. We didn't have a DJ, dancing, or any of that jazz. Our ceremony was at 1030 and most people left around 230 or 3. We had a four course meal, cocktail hour, and tons of alcohol. We had toasts as well. I loved it and don't regret it at all. Our reception was around 2500 for the venue, food, alcohol or, tax and tip.

You can still have dancing, we just didn't want to, which is why we did a morning ceremony.