Wedding I don't know what I want but know what I don't want

[Fressia123]

We're having our religious wedding this year (getting legally married in April). However I'm already extremely frustrated as I don't know what I want, but I know what I DON'T want.

We have no local friends nor family and in all honesty most guests will be from our congregation. They're a bit senior so not massive party people. I still want more or less a traditional wedding but what the sense of party to it. How can I achieve this with not that many guests? I think if it was a piss up I could invite a lot of people from work, but to the ceremony well that would feel out of place.

Given most of the non congregation guests come from far away I thought of a hotel, but DP doesn't think we'll have enough people staying there, that people promise to come and they don't, and we'd still have to pay the bill.

We thought of a village hall BUT I want it to have a garden, and once you have the the catering, decoration, etc... I think it would add up. Also my DP originally thought that friends and family could help set it up. But we don't have many of any and I think that cheapens the whole thing too.

Sorry for the rant but I don't know where else to vent my frustrations.

One of the nicest weddings I went to was one that was almost entirely the church congregants, who put on cake and fizz in the garden-y bit of the churchyard under a gazebo and bunting.

The congregation did all the setting up as their present to the couple (and I think many of the cakes were gifts too)

Beautiful sense of community and support.

This was a little while ago, but I think something along these lines wouid withstand many layers of covid restriction.

Thank you! Yes I think something like that would be lovely but all of our services are at a SEN school as we're too small to have our own synagogue.