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Original poster

What would you consider to be a small wedding and what's average sized in the UK?

25 replies

AbsDuCroissant · 28/04/2011 15:16

This was after a couple of discussions I've had recently with a colleague and some friends. I told colleague that DP and I have started discussing getting married, but wanted to keep it as small as poss., which realistically is around 120 peeps (then DP's parents got involved and it looks like it will be muchos bigger). She mae

OP posts:

26minutes · 28/04/2011 15:19

120 is huge! We will have 11 people at ours (only 6 of those will be adults). DP and I don't know 120 people between us, let alone 120 people we'd want at our wedding.

JemimaMop · 28/04/2011 15:24

I had a small wedding, we had 10 guests during the day and no evening party.

Neither DH or I like fuss, and if we had gone the conventional route there would have been 200+ guests there (friends, family, friends of the family, no if you invite Auntie Gladys you have to invite Great Aunt Elspeth and then you'll have to invite Mrs Jones two doors down or she'll sulk...) which was our idea of hell.

I would consider less than about 50 as a small wedding.

Original poster

AbsDuCroissant · 28/04/2011 15:27

Interesting ...

DP's parents argument (which I'm coming around to ...) is that more people = more presents, and they'll pay for them. Nice.

DP's family is giant and 120 is just close friends, as much of my family as could realistically attend (they live all over the world) and then "close" family on his side and some of his parents friends (very close friends who are like aunts and uncles to DP).

I reckon the UK average is definitely below 200. I'm off to google.

OP posts:

oohlaalaa · 30/04/2011 14:38

To me:

Small wedding - circa 50 guests
Medium wedding - circa 100 guests
Big wedding - over 140 guests

The biggest wedding I have been to was 200 guests and the smallest 50 guests. My parents always prefer the bigger weddings, and I prefer the smallest. We are having to compromise with mine, at 120 guests.

darleneconnor · 30/04/2011 14:59

I wonder how people know enough people to invite to a 200+ wedding. I suppose some people have big families...

I cant imagine inviting more than 30people, dp prob c.50.
I wouldnt be surprised if 200 was average.

LaWeaselIsOupaLaDouffe · 30/04/2011 15:11

We had 80. I thought that was medium sized.

I think we'd've struggled to invite many more tbh!

Although it helps that I have very little family and neither of us have 'work friends' particularly.

pozzled · 30/04/2011 15:14

We had somewhere between 60 and 70, and I thought that was slightly on the small side of average. No way would I consider 120 as a small wedding!

Jbck · 30/04/2011 16:49

We had 70 during the day and 200 for the evening. Typical type of thing in Scotland. Would have had a few more during the day but ceremony venue couldn't hold more.

I've been to two very small weddings, 16 & 20 at each.

I think average is probably between one and two hundred

redundanttiara · 30/04/2011 17:01

We had 8 people at our wedding, including the judge, two trainee judges (or possibly random people that were just chatting with the judge before we arrived, as they were never introduced) and the translator.

cookielove · 30/04/2011 17:03

My sister had 10 at wedding and then for a sit down, and probably less then 30 for the evening do, however lots of her friends said they would come and then didn't bitches she had a fab day.

I am planning to have 30 or less for wedding, 50 for day and 100-125 for the evening do. We will see how many we can fit into the registry office. So i would class my sisters as teeny tiny and mine as small.

BlameItOnTheBogey · 30/04/2011 17:08

We had 120 at our wedding which I thought was quite a lot. DH is American and his parents asked me repeatedly why we were having such a small wedding....

PickleSarnie · 06/05/2011 08:52

We're having 27 - and I feel sick with nerves thinking about standing up in front of even such a small amount of people. Am scared now that 27 is too teeny tiny amount though?!

Pootles2010 · 06/05/2011 08:55

Small is under 50, big over 100. Pickle 27 is a lovely amount, it'll be really nice and intimate.

mousymouse · 06/05/2011 08:56

we had immediate family at our "reception" i.e. a nice meal in a restaurant.
parents, grandparents and siblings
20 in all
would be around 120 with cousins, their children, aunts and uncles.

LawrieMarlow · 06/05/2011 08:59

There were about 100 people at our wedding. Would say that was medium amount of people.

PickleSarnie · 06/05/2011 09:10

I hope so Pootles, I'm just so crap at mingling that I just want my bestest friends so I can just have fun instead of making small talk with Great Aunt Audrey that I haven't seen since I was 5 etc.

Would elope if my parents wouldn't sulk about it!

rubyrubyruby · 06/05/2011 09:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BetterTogether · 25/05/2011 21:20

We're having 80 which is bigger than I'd originally planned, probably what I'd call medium ish. I went to two weddings last year - one had 120 guests and the other 60.

Jajas · 25/05/2011 21:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

diggingintheribs · 25/05/2011 21:28

this is definitely cultural though

I have been invited to a wedding because I lived next door to the brides cousin (never met her!) - 800 invitees

I have also not been invited to a wedding where DH was best man - 30 invitees

Tommy · 25/05/2011 21:28

we had about 180 which was big
can't imagine that 20 is considered to be average TBH

Tommy · 25/05/2011 21:29

obvioiusly that was meant to be 200
20 would be small.....

raspberrytipple · 26/05/2011 22:18

We are having 35 to the ceremony then inviting about another 80 max for a party in the early evening. Bigger than we wanted but it just grows and grows....we aren't doing a sit down meal, married at 330 pm then canapés and drinks with buffet at 8pm for everyone. Even with only 35 people the thought of sitting them down for an hour or two and expecting them to get on is an impossibility.

melodyangel · 27/05/2011 14:36

We will have between 50 and 60 although, about 20 are kids of various sizes! Not too big not as small as I would have liked but then I'm not keen on being the centre of attention.

celebmum · 29/05/2011 19:06

We had 80 to a sit down meal and then 150 to the eve do, I considered that avg and it seems about right with the weddings I've been to in my adult life

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