Large vs small guest count

I prefer smaller weddings as a guest and as a host. More intimate and I can actually speak to guests or the nuptials.

I also prefer smaller guest counts! We had a guest count of 50 and I can honestly say I had enough time to go around and speak to everyone. Where as I have been to weddings/know of couples who had bigger weddings and they mentioned that they couldn’t recall who all showed because there were too many people they didn’t have time to say hello or even acknowledge. I feel as though it’s cheaper to have a smaller wedding, but that’s just from personal experience!

I prefer smaller weddings. We had 54 people and it was the perfect size. We were able to spend time with every guest and that’s what we wanted.

I don't feel like the size of the guest list matters it's more so WHO is there.

for instance my bff's wedding was like 80-90 people and mine was 250. but hers was equally festive and fun because she had more party going guests where as a majority of mine were older folks.

My first wedding was almost 300 people and I can tell you that it was a great time but we weren’t able to talk to everyone that came. This time it will be smaller and more intimate.

View Quoted Comment That makes perfect sense.


I've attended weddings where they went all out with lowkey dj and whatnot and over 100 guests but only 5 or so consistently partying while the rest sat and chatted...and others with an equally low key dj but there were more partiers than chatters at the other with similar guest count.

In my wedding experiences, I have found smaller weddings (50-75 people) with a fun guest list the most enjoyable. That being said, if you are going for a fun/party vibe, I think the key lies in the guests themselves. I have been to weddings with 200-300+ guests that were incredibly dull. I have also been to a wedding with 40-ish guests that was the biggest “party” wedding I’ve ever been to! And everything in between! I don’t think it matters so much how many people you invite, as opposed to who you invite.

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I also agree with what pp mentioned about not being able to talk to everyone when you have a large guest list. i barely got to speak to anyone for long and so i definitely didn't even speak to everyone there

View Quoted Comment I agree completely. It's all about the people who are invited.

I prefer smaller it's more personal in my opinion

I think it depends on all of the people that come. My list so far is at 350 (big families). All the weddings I've been to have been 300+ and are always so much fun! I went to a friend's wedding and I think there were maybe 60 people there but it was still fun too. At all the weddings I've been to everyone gets out on the floor and has fun. It truly depends on the people that come!

View Quoted Comment I definitely understand that. Guests do realize that since it's typical for receptions to be so short (realistically there is no way to do everything in 4 hours if dancing is included but it can be pulled off with effort) that the couple won't have alot of time to chat beyond a receiving line or dismissing the rows and a few minutes of the cocktail hour. But that shouldn't be an excuse not to try. Or add extra hours at a venue that doesn't have a curfew to be able to greet those invited.

I think it really depends on your guests themselves. If you have a 10 person guest list, and all 10 of them are really fun people, you will have a really fun wedding. If you invite 10 boring people... well it will probably be a boring wedding.

We had 100 guests at our wedding and it was a blast! I have never really been to a "small" wedding.

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I agree with Melle that it's more of WHO is there. We had our minimony with about 35 people and it was fun. But I am definitely looking forward to our big celebration because my husband and I friends will be included in that and I know it will be an amazing time with us all together. We plan to have 100people AT MOST at the big celebration, I'm just looking forward to partying with our bridal party really lol

View Quoted Comment I do agree with this. It's all about who is invited.

I do think the guests themselves create the vibe. That said, I prefer medium/large weddings...100-200 people is the sweet spot.

My wedding had 57 people including the two of us. It was perfect! We were able to speak with everyone, and we didn't invite someone unless we'd spoken to them within the past year (not including +1s which everyone had) so really we invited like 40 guests and half of them brought +1s we didn't know too well (but we got to speak to everyone and be introduced! For us it was perfect. We also got to spoil our guests with a nicer $/pp dinner and wine and open bar and music and such.

That said, my brother had an almost 200 person wedding, and my best friend had a similar size. They were just as fun, but my husband and I just aren't as gregarious as other people we know.

I think that as long as you have sufficient space for guests to dance or sit out dancing and not be cramped, AND can afford to feed them, AND you'd be bummed if they weren't there, then those are the people you invite. I also think it's important that you should be able to speak to each of your guests, but that's me being old fashioned.

My fiancé is a firefighter & I work at a hospital. I have a large family but his side, not so much. If we invited all family, fire family & friends we were looking at 250+ which is something we did not want. We wanted that small, intimate feeling. We’re keeping the guest list to around 90 but might have to make cuts to that. My family is loud & fun. Our fire family is too. I can see everyone having a great time.

I prefer small weddings so that I know people that actually care about me are there and can witness my special day. It's also less expensive for us to have only 30 people there!