£1000 ceremony for 12 people??

[MafaldaGregorovitch]

Due to family politics and mental health problems (we both suffer with anxiety), we'd love a small ceremony. Including DP, DSD and I we've so far got a guest list of 12 people and that is likely to be the maximum rather than the minimum. I don't want to just go to the local registry office and would rather somewhere that means something. We've found a local venue that means something but it's around £1000, they don't do food or reception or anything so it'd just purely be for the ceremony. Would we be mad to spend this much?

And yes I know weddings are expensive but everything else we're trying to keep cheap(ish) and less traditional

If it’s within budget then no, not mad at all. However, you’ll probably want to feed your 12 guests and put on some sort of ‘celebration’ so maybe price this up also.

If I were doing this sort of wedding I would look for a nice restaurant in a pretty (maybe historic) building. Or look at local museums/art gallery’s/ function spaces.

There are lots of places which would offer a ceremony space and then a small dinner for 12 people (maybe even a buffet).

Xx

Thanks @HattieRabbit we've looked into local restaurants and think it'll be about £600 for food/ drinks although will budget a bit more just in case people drink more than we're expecting.

With the ceremony space I think there are probably cheaper ones but we want somewhere that means something to the 3 of us. DP has said he'd be happy for us to pay that much even if there was just the 3 of us and 2 random witnesses but I'm still at the cost for the sake of say 30 mins or so.

If it's a stunning/popular venue then yes I guess it could cost that much. It is a lot and the registry office would be cheaper but if the venue means that much to you then it sounds worth it.

Are you looking at prices on a Saturday?

If you are only inviting 12 people, it could be possible to have a midweek wedding for much cheaper? With only 12 people to organise, it’s more likely they could arrange time off work etc?

I got married on a Monday in a lovely hotel with a fantastic meal and we practically had the place to ourselves.

That sounds lovely @noblegiraffe. As far as I can tell from the brochure, £1000 is the cheap price (low season) and they only offer weekends. We haven't been in touch with them yet as I'm we're still umming and ahhing because of the cost. It seems a lot of money for a short period of time but then equally we want it to mean something iyswim

Thanks @Banhaha it is an absolutely stunning venue and one that has personal significance to us all.

I know you said you didn't want to get married in the local registry office, but what about looking at one a bit further out? Our local registry offices are sooo ugly so we are going for one about an hour away from home, it's an absolutely stunning building and only £235, boarders a gorgeous park too for some nice pictures.

We're then hiring a small private room in a nearby hotel to have a meal and drinks etc, there's only 11 of us and will come to about £500.

Thank you @MrBrown That sounds so lovely. DP has said he wants to get married in church so we're looking into that at the minute. A further away registry office is definitely something to consider though. I know with churches you're limited on where you're allowed to marry but with registry offices can you marry in any one?

Yes, so you just have to give notice to marry in your own borough where you live and then you can get married wherever.

I'd love to get married in a church because they're really beautiful buildings but I'm just not religious so it wouldn't feel right lol.

We did our midweek summer wedding for 12 people (including us) for £1850 in total, including ceremony, food, booze, hotel, my dress, DH suit and basically everything else except flowers. My sis is a florist so our flowers were her gift to us. So although I think is £1000 is expensive for venue alone, if its within your budget then go for it.

Would it be possible to use the same venue for the reception, with outside caterers bringing the food in? We did this and it worked perfectly.
We only wanted a small wedding, and had a similar number of guests. Had a small but beautiful venue. After the ceremony, while we were having the photographs taken, the venue hosts set out chairs and tables and laid out the buffet. So we had longer to use and appreciate the building, felt that we got better value for money and the guests didn't have to move onto a different place for the reception. We had to pay a little bit more for the extra time there, but it was worth it and the day worked out brilliantly.

Sadly not @BigGapMum it's literally a very tiny venue. However problem potentially solved as DP has decided he'd like to go back to church and therefore marry in church. Your wedding sounds absolutely lovely.

That's so good @Myusernameismud If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your dress from?