Smaller size weddings

What location are you looking in?


You could check places that aren't traditional wedding venues, like banquet halls, parks/pavilions, winerie/brewery.
A lot of the places with minimum people want a minimum payment, so you may be able to upgrade food/bar packages to hit that minimum.

Our venue didn't have a minimum body count, just a minimum food and beverage dollar amount. We were $500 shy of that, so we added this amazing fruit and cheese tower to the appetizers and a signature drink for the bar area. (We had 45 people attend.)

I agree with seeing if you can make up the minimum another way with food or decor upgrades. It really is the money these venues care about. Other than that, you can post in local pages on here and on Facebook (like search for “name of city brides/weddings”). Smaller weddings have been very popular post-covid, so there are definitely plenty of venues catering to that. You can also try venues that have multiple spaces available because then they’re more likely to have smaller locations for smaller groups.

Have you considered not getting married on a Saturday? Not sure where you're located but I'm in upstate NY where every venue has a minimum head count on select days of the week. Because we were looking at a Saturday, most places wanted us to commit to a guest list of 150 people. Friday & Sunday weddings had much smaller headcount minimums. This was also true if you got married on a holiday. After going back and forth, we decided to ditch the traditional venue options and get married at home. It's much more cost effective and everything is on our terms.

Keep in mind that Friday, Saturday, Sunday may have larger headcount for venues than weekday weddings. If you're considering destination weddings, a week day can be the way to go to accommodate a smaller number as well as decrease overall cost. Our wedding was a Monday since we were destination.

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This is a fantastic suggestion. See what the $$ amount minimum would be and then add upgrades to make that amount. Then you're not restricted with your venue choices!