Ceremony only , no reception .. any experience

If guests are going to attend the ceremony, you need to have a small reception to thank your guests for attending the ceremony. It can be a cake and punch reception at the same site as the ceremony and can be very short with some mingling. It doesn’t have to be a grand reception with a dinner, dancing, and all the pomp and circumstance.

Whatever you do right after (e.g., a meal at a restaurant, get together at your house) would be the reception. Receptions come in all styles and price points. We got married at the courthouse with immediate family in attendance, and then treated everyone to lunch and cake at a nearby Mexican restaurant. No regrets; it was lovely.

If you're going to invite guests, even a small number, to your wedding, you should have some sort of get-together afterward, even if it's not a lot of pomp and circumstance. You could do a group meal together, either a nice dinner or a brunch. You wouldn't even have to go to a restaurant; you could do it at a family member's or friend's house.

That is a major faux pas. You need to serve at minimum cake, coffee, fruit and cheese platters and greet your guests for at least an hour.

I feel like it'd be weird to just say goodbye after the ceremony and have everyone go their separate ways. You don't have to do anything grand - but maybe finger foods and some sort of drink (lemonade, fruit water, etc.). -or go to a restaurant afterwards or have a small get together at your house with food.

You could even order a pizza and have everyone come to your house. I agree with others that you probably should do some sort of reception afterwards. The ceremony is for you and your fiance the reception is for the guests as a thank you for witnessing our union.

View Quoted Comment I can agree with most of the comments I look forward to the reception and have been planning it , just budget wise it’s a whole lot of money - dj, food drinks etc

View Quoted Comment For a small wedding you don't need a dj just a speaker and a music app like Spotify. You could get married early in the day and have the reception right after and just do like others said a cake and punch reception.