Can't decide what type of celebration you want? Here's how each size of wedding is determined.
If you're newly engaged, then one of the first, and main things you'll need to do is determine what size of wedding you will have. But where to start? There's so many different options for getting married, from elopements and micro-weddings, to huge extravaganzas with 300+ guests.Which one is right for you?!
There is no one-size-fits all wedding—that fact holds true for your guest list, too. Your guest list is used as a foundation for many details in the planning process. From event space capacity to catering options—the size of your list directly affects your big day. Therefore we strongly recommend sitting down with your future-spouse, and intentionally curating a rough draft of your guest list before touring wedding venues or contacting potential wedding suppliers. This won’t be your final draft, so think of it as your dream list. When you close your eyes and picture your wedding, who will be present to witness your vows?
Weddings are almost back to normal, with no regulation on guest list sizes, but you might decide that a 15 or 30-person wedding actually suits you best. Below we've shared what each size of wedding means, and how its size will affect your big day.
How to Determine the Size of Your Wedding
A Small Wedding of 2 – 50 guests
If you're having a destination wedding or a civil ceremony, 50 people (and under) might sound like a lot, but think about it: You’ve got mum and dad (times two), grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and co-workers. The numbers are starting to get up there, aren’t they? The major pro of a small wedding is that you can make it extremely intimate and personal, and you'll be able to spend real time with each guest.
The obvious con of a small wedding is deciding who isn’t invited. It might be difficult to choose just some of your family and friends. That being said, you have every right to invite (and exclude) whomever you wish. If it’s important to you to have a small crowd, simply tell those who aren’t invited that it’s going to be an intimate, small ceremony, but you would still love to celebrate with them in some other way.
A Medium Wedding of 50 – 175 guests.
A medium wedding can either end up feeling small or large, depending on which end of the spectrum the guest count falls.
In general when planning your wedding size, you should consider the fact that you're combining two families. That includes those important in your life, your fiancé’s life, your parents’ lives and your future in-laws’ lives. A medium sized wedding allows you to invite all your “musts” and provides a little wiggle room. Still, it’s important to keep your budget in mind when you are determining guest count. There’s a big difference in cost between let's say, 125 and 150.
Large Wedding of 175+ Guests
If you want a major party, then you're probably going to opt for a large wedding! For those with large families and social circles, a larger wedding may be the only way to go. While this eases the stress of deciding who to invite and leave off the guest list, it might increase the stress in other areas, namely, the budget...
If money is an issue, then you may have to think of ways to cut back, like skipping the free bar, having a lunchtime reception, or a mid-week celebration. If you handle the budget wisely, you'll be able to stretch your pounds and allow for all the people you want to attend your big day.
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