Having a small service only wedding, what’s the etiquette around going to a pub afterwards?

[Glugglejugforest]

Hi, I’m planning a small, last minute wedding, probably around 15 guests. I’m pregnant and the wedding date is only a few weeks before my due date, so we’re just having the service and will hopefully have an anniversary/wedding reception type party sometime down the line. We booked the church a year ago, decided to postpone the whole the thing when I got pregnant, but never got round to cancelling the church and when we realised a couple of weeks ago it seemed like a fun idea just to go ahead and get married no fuss on the original date. I’ve no idea how I’m going to be feeling at that point being so heavily pregnant, but I’m worried that when we finish the ceremony we might regret not planning in some time to socialise with the guests and wondered what the etiquette was for booking some tables in a pub just for drinks, should we tell them we’re a wedding party? We’ll be finishing the ceremony mid afternoon so not a peak pub time, but it’s quite a touristy village and can get quite busy. Or any other ideas for an informal feeling thing to do for a an hour or two after the ceremony?

I don't think you have to tell the pub other than just booking it, in fact I probably wouldn't in case they started trying to sell me stuff. Sounds like a dream wedding, enjoy!

We got married a week before my due date and I felt fine. We just took our witnesses for lunch, but booking pub tables sounds good, too.

Does the pub have a side room that could be reserved for you?

With only 15 guests and not a peak mealtime I am sure it would be fine to just turn up. I'm part of a group of friends who regularly go on country walks at weekends so have regularly been part of a group of 15-20 who "just turn up" at a quiet country pub midafternoon on a Saturday.

It is usually fine and we just crowd in. But sometimes each of the (usually two halves) sections of the pub has one or two quiet people already there and they grumpily relocate to where we aren't. Sometimes the landlord is alarmed enough by our arrival that he politely asks if we'd mind occupying the garden (assuming that there are plenty of tables and it isn't raining) instead.

I think it would be a kindness to give the landlord a heads-up. No need to mention it's a wedding. Just say "we are meeting up with a couple of families for a get-together on (date) and we want to end up at a pub for a couple of hours midafternoon, just for drinks, but as there will be 15 of us I just wanted to check that would be ok?"

If it were me I would stretch to ordering 6 portions of chips to go with the beer.

I'd suggest taking them for lunch and booking tables. It will make more of an occasion of it - I know you're planning a party in the future, but this will be your one and only wedding day, so you should make it as special as you can.

I had a small register office wedding followed by lunch for 20 people and had a great day.

If you tell the pub its a wedding, it's likely they'll think of it as a party booking. I've worked in pubs and think most of them would insist on doing this. Meaning they might try to sell you a package or put a charge on a room.
I'd just turn up to be honest. It's a pub, they hope for a roaring trade, makes a shift go by quickly and it's unlikely 15 people will drink a place dry so they don't need warning for stock levels.

I had a religious ceremony for around 20 people in the UK after a civil wedding in the country where I live. I called up the pub and said that I’d like to book part of the pub. They offered a separate room for a fee or just to book out part of the main pub for free. I booked out the part of the pub and ordered a small buffet and put some money behind the bar. It was brilliant. We had a lovely time and we got lots of congratulations from other people in the pub including a little girl who asked her mummy if she could “say hello to the princess” ❤️ We were very much a family group with kids, parents and grandparents and it went swimmingly. Definitely would do it again - everyone said afterwards how lovely it was.

Thanks everyone it’s really reassuring to hear other people have done similar and had a good day. I was beginning to doubt myself but feeling excited again now! I think we will call the pub in advance just in case.