Tell me about your small wedding please!!

[Flyingfish111]

Myself and DP are considering a small wedding next year, preferably a reception with a small celebration after, maybe a pub lunch! Open to ideas and looking for inspiration!

If you had a small wedding, tell me all! We are based North West England. Also are you glad or do you regret it?

If not too nosey - how much did it cost you approx?

Hoping to arrange something for an absolute maximum of 5k! (We have other priorities, buying a house and saving in prep for TTC)

We had a very lovely small wedding. Cost was about £3,000. Married in a pub by the beach in Cornwall. Close friends and family only so most people knew each other. No speeches or table plans. We had a live band in the evening. Got married at 2, meal at 4, band played from about 6. It was so stress free and fun. Lots of kids were there but they played on the beach and we had colouring, playdough etc for them to play with.

That sounds really perfect! If you don't mind, was it far for you to travel and how many guests did you have altogether? @cakeonthefloor

We got married in a high end restaurant on a night they are normally closed. Fewer than 30
people. The only people who had to travel were us and one set of parents who were retired and didn’t mind traveling or that it was a weeknight. We had cocktails and canapés in the bar, got married in one of the rooms, had a nice dinner in another. Post dinner drinks in the bar and then people headed home. It was very low key and very us. We had no desire to have a huge party with dancing. The focus was good conversation and good food.

I had the smallest wedding possible on Saturday. Was meant to be 30 people last year including 7 overseas guests (all adults bar 1 baby) but cancelled due to covid. We got married at the same venue in a 10 min ceremony with 2 witnesses and a celebrant and the 4 of us had lunch after. Total cost £1500 for dress, suit, flowers, lunch, celebrant and transport. Original budget was nearer £8000 but honestly we didn’t need a photographer or sit down meal for everyone. We will still have a party later and pay for venue / DJ but that’s it.

We had a small wedding about 5 years ago. Wedding in the local town hall. Then a pub lunch after with close family and a couple of friends.
I sometimes regret not having a little party after it but honestly would have hated both our families together. All my side don't get on so would be awkward and husbands side don't even speak to each other.

Christmas wedding 12 guests plus us

National Trust property £300
Registrar £300
Dress and suit hire £150
Meal afterwards £400ish (mum paid)
2 nights honeymoon (longer holiday to follow)

This was ten years ago but I can't imagine it would cost loads more now.

I think big weddings are such a waste of money!

We had a registry office ceremony, then went to the pub for some drinks, then a standard high street chain restaurant for lunch. We had about 12 guests, I wore a new dress but not a wedding dress, it was about £50. We spent £600 on rings (no engagement ring, just wedding rings), ceremony was a couple of hundred I think, we didn’t have flowers or a photographer or any wedding-y extras. Lunch was the most expensive part, can’t remember exactly but 14 people at an Italian chain restaurant so I guess about £800 ish including alcohol? We paid under £2000 total. We didn’t pay for drinks at the pub though (we would have, but I think DF and FIL split the tab).

Definitely don’t regret it. I don’t judge people at all for big weddings, but it just wasn’t what we wanted to spend our money on. I was pregnant at the time, plus we were buying a house so it was an expensive and stressful few months but even without that a big wedding wouldn’t have been for us.