Add The Personal Touches
The best small wedding reception ideas come down to the personal touches. Having an intimate wedding means you get to put more energy into details that create a complete experience. The small things are what create the visual and emotional atmosphere.
There are so many ways to give guests a luxury experience. Try welcome gifts or champagne as they arrive. Interactive elements, such as the Atlanta Prosecco Van or Frothy coffee cart, make decadent experiences out of popular refreshments. Likewise, champagne towers with coupes and late night snacks will delight your guests.
Aside from food, dont hold back on florals, rentals, and linens that add comfort and elegance to your small wedding reception. It really is amazing what a difference cloth napkins and coordinating floral installations can make.
Would you like to see more small wedding reception ideas? Check out this intimate wedding at Meadowlark 1939!
Quiz: What Kind Of Wedding Is Best For Your Style And Guest Count
Find out what look and feel is perfect for you.
BridesThe KnotThe BashThe Edit Tracy Anderson Mind, Body, and Soul
When it comes to planning your wedding, the first stepbefore you even start making your guest list or sending out the invitationsis deciding what kind of wedding youre going to have. And, today, there are options. Instead of playing by the rules and hosting a standard wedding, more and more couples are forgoing tradition and throwing unconventional events that better match their style and preferences.
We are changing as humans, says Chanda Daniels of A Monique Affair and Chanda Daniels Planning and Design. Not everyone is connected to the formal grand wedding. Love is defined differently, and the way we tell our love stories is a reflection of that.
Not everyone is connected to the formal grand wedding. Love is defined differently, and the way we tell our love stories is a reflection of that.
There are so many different ways to express your unique relationship through the type of wedding you host. Want to run away together? Leaning towards a family affair? Eager to invite everyone you know? The options are endless.
Meet the Expert
Chanda Daniels is the owner of A Monique Affair and the creative director of Chanda Daniels Planning and Design, which are both based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Shes been working in the wedding industry for 22 years and has planned well over 500 events.
Here Are Affordable Wedding Reception And Food Ideas:
When you compare venues and food service costs, remember to compare apples to apples. All-inclusive packages may have a higher sticker cost, but a site thats a blank slate means you may need to bring in tables, plates, and linens, as well as the food. Calculate expenses for those items as well so that youre making a useful comparison.
Explore creative, low-cost catering options with a lower price tag:
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Invite More Guests Virtually
If your wedding is small due to COVID-19, you can always invite other guests to join virtually. This way, you can keep your actual event small and intimate, but include other family members and extraneous guests to watch your nuptials and feel a part of your big day.
Even outside of COVID restrictions, inviting guests virtually is one of the best small wedding ideas for those planning on a tight budget! You can keep your guest list small, but still make your guests feel included online. Send wedding favors to really make virtual guests feel special!
To livestream your wedding day, consider using social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram Live, or use tele-conferencing software like Zoom. Make sure the camera is focused on the bride and groom!
Personalized Stationary For Small Weddings
Send handwritten invites to your guests
Consider setting the intimate wedding feel from the start by sending a handwritten invite on beautiful stationary to your guests. You can add a touch of formality with a custom wax seal, too.
Use custom artwork for invitations
Hiring an artist to create custom artwork for your invitations takes it to a new level of personalization. You could have them recreate an illustration of your venue or perhaps an engagement photo of the couple.
Create Ultra-Deluxe Place Cards
Think extravagant place settings that are beyond paper. Oyster shell trimmed with gold? Carved wood slice? Custom mirror with calligraphy? The sky is the limit.
Create Personal Menus
Give each guest a personalized menu at their place setting with their specific meal choices
Use calligraphy for all your print pieces
Give each guest a personal note
Leave a handwritten note at each place setting addressed to that specific guest. Think of it like a personalized thank-you card.
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Creatively Trim Your Guest List
The smaller the list of invitees, the lesser the budget is. Keep your guest list shorter. Invite only close friends and relatives. A small wedding can save you on every item of your event. Plus, you can fully enjoy the moments with your loved ones you cant in case of a big event.
PRO TIP: Choose a smaller wedding venue or restaurant, and you can then hold a luncheon or brunch celebration after all the other guests you wouldve invited. You can tell your other guests that the wedding at the smaller venue/restaurant is your parents gift , which is why you are holding it there. You are still celebrating with them, but maybe in a different setting.
Invite Others To Virtually Attend
Another idea is to turn to technologyâespecially in light of coronavirus. “Have your ceremony on Zoom if you want to include more people or if some family members don’t want to travel and/or people don’t feel safe attending a social gathering,” Johnson says.
Couples can still implement the idea of a virtual wedding once gatherings become safe again too. If you’re trying to keep the headcount down, inviting people to dial in virtually is a wonderful solution. They still get to watch you exchange vows, and you get to keep your guest list small.
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Use One Really Large Floral Centerpiece
If you want to make a big statement but dont really want to cover the entire table, try decorating with one really large floral centerpiece. Options like this one below are short enough that you and your guests can still talk and see each other.
Image credit from top to bottom: Joel & Justyna, Nate Shepard, Evernew Studio, Sarah Meagan Photography
The University Club Of Toronto
Historical elegance is front and center in this building, which features Georgian architecture and décor that makes you feel as though youve stepped back in time to the early 1900s. Chef Patrick Desmoulins will be at the culinary helm of the event, working with you to craft a three or four-course meal that perfectly suits your tastes and dietary restrictions. In addition, the top floor of the club features 12 contemporary bedrooms offered to you at a very reasonable rate. If youre hoping to feel like royalty on your special day, the University Club of Toronto will provide the ideal backdrop.
Typical Cost: $6,750
Capacity: 400
Bonus: When the club is booked for a wedding, no other events will take place in the space that day, meaning you will have the full attention of the staff.
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Eat Your Favourite Things
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Most caterers will be happy to create something bespoke for an intimate dinner so plan out with your partner exactly what you both love eating the most. Dont be afraid to do something that might not even be very wedding-y: if you love a takeaway-style curry, ask for one of those if your favourite dessert is an apple crumble, dont hesitate to ask for big dishes of it with pots of custard that you can serve yourself from at the table.
Skip The Wedding Party
While having a wedding party is a long-standing tradition, you don’t have to have oneâespecially if you’re trying to keep the guest list small. “Allow yourself to a wedding party,” Johnson says. “Include only your closest family and your tight group of besties .” In lieu of a wedding party, focus on curating a list of the most important people in your life.
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Ask For Help With Food Instead Of Gifts
This is an excellent option for backyard weddings or local halls. Reach out to your foodie friends, or your aunt who makes ornate cakes for every occasion. Many people love to help in this way, and you wont know unless you ask. The key is not to expect positive responsessome people prefer to kick back completely when they attend a wedding.
Infuse Your Love Story Into The Wedding Menu
Fewer plates means more food options, so craft a menu that’s tailored to your love story. Include food inspired by your go-to date night restaurant, special family recipes or the location of your wedding. Or, simply create a menu full of your favorite foods. If you’re total foodies, book a few food trucks with different dishes for your guests to peruse. Or, if you love comfort food, serve your guests your favorite pasta or pizza dish. It’s another way to make your guests feel more connected to your love story.
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Small Wedding Ideas That Are Also Budget
You can do so many amazing things at a small wedding that dont require spending tons of money: personalized touches like custom napkins and centerpieces photo booths & scrapbook stations games like Horseshoes or Cornhole and passed hor dourves can save you on your overall wedding budget.
Ways to treat your wedding party
If you want to dote on your wedding party or bridal party, there are several ways to do so. First, you could provide your guests with small souvenirs for the occasion: a nice pen or notebook would make for lovely and thoughtful gifts that they can use after the wedding.
Another option is to create an experience rather than just gifting your wedding party members something physical like candy bars at their seats during dinner. For example, you might offer them spa services such as manicures and massages before or even on the wedding day. Another thoughtful gesture is to arrange accommodations in town at a fancy hotel where theyll enjoy free meals while getting ready with you or give each member a $100 gift card toward any service they want from their hairstylist.
What Is A Micro Wedding And Should You Have One
Heather Waraksa
Planning a wedding is a huge undertakingand an equally huge investmentleaving modern couples torn on whether its worth it. Weddings these days average well over $30,000, and the guest count? It may be dropping slowly, but most couples still celebrate with nearly 150 of their friends and family members . You and your partner may have joked about eloping, but if you know you cant bring yourselves to buck all tradition, theres another option: a micro wedding.
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Consider A Restaurant Venue
Fewer people on the guest list means the world is your oyster when it comes to choosing a nontraditional venue, and a restaurant may be the perfect fit. They’re unique spaces that have everything you need in one place, Meyer says. Consider a spot that you and your partner love to frequent. Just be sure you love everything about it, from the style and the menu to the existing décor, as restaurants often have restrictions on decorations.
Mason Jar Photo Display
Source: Jessamyn Harris
Mason jars are great containers but they also make for charming wedding accents. Use them as holders for vintage pictures of family members to be displayed on the welcome table. Add a few floral arrangements around the pictures to nicely bridge the wedding decor to this idea.
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Strategically Plan Your Guest List
A small wedding is only so if the guest list is as small as possible. Look through your text messages and calls, and only invite those youve spoken to within the last three months, says Jove Meyer of Jove Meyer Events. We speak to those who matter mostits that simple.
If you’re having a hard time narrowing down your guest list, consider if you would take this person out for a several hundred-dollar dinner or have them as a guest in your home for the weekend. “Thinking about how close your relationships are will help ensure you are truly comfortable with those you surround yourselves with on your wedding day, says Aleah and Nick Valley of Valley & Company Events
Wedding Stage Decoration Ideas
No matter what kind of wedding music entertainment you’ve booking, from a DJ to a live band, these performers will likely be the focal point of the wedding reception as deserve to be highlighted as such. Although their equipment needs come first, you’ll still have a chance to decorate the wedding stage to make it an eye-catching piece de resistance. Let these wedding ideas for reception stages inspire your big day plans.
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Minimize The Size Of Your Guest List
A smaller guest list means a lower-cost wedding for so many reasons. You book a smaller venue . You also have a more modest cost for food, beverages, service, tables and table settings, linens, and invitations.
There are positives to big and small weddings, but because youre opting for a small one, lets focus on those! Smaller weddings allow you to relax and enjoy the day with your nearest and dearest, rather than a sprawling guest list that includes your mothers book club besties. And while you love your friends from work, theyll understand that you are keeping the event intimate.
Some experts suggest making a guest list and cutting it by 20 percent, and then cutting it by another 20 percent. Others start at zero, add parents, siblings, grandparents, and then a couple of close friends apieceand then shut down the list to new additions without exceptions.
Youll probably need to talk with friends and extended family who arent on the guest list no matter where you draw the line. Most people will understand if you dont have the budget for a large wedding.
Only Invite Your Personal Vips
You need to be very selective with a small guest list and your guests will understand this. You are perfectly entitled to say no plus ones, no children, and no extended family. Every single person you invite to a wedding this size should be someone that is close to you and you can’t imagine marrying without them there. Often couples ask: have we seen this person in the last six months ? Would I want to go for a coffee one-on-one with this person? If the answer is no, then they don’t make the cut.
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Destination Wedding At The Location Of Your Choice
A destination wedding can be costly, particularly if you intend to travel out and host a large number of guests. However, a destination wedding is a fantastic way to keep your wedding small. Because many guests will be unable to travel to a wedding that is far away, destination weddings tend to be smaller in size. Perhaps you and your significant other have a dream vacation destination in mind. If this is the case, now is the time to check it off your to-do lists. Plus, your honeymoon won’t require you to travel far.
Giving Your Guests A Welcome Basket Is One Of The Best And Most Thoughtful Small Wedding Ideas
A welcome basket is a nice touch for your wedding guests, and youll have more room in your budget if youre having a small wedding. Some great items to include in your basket are a bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, a small fruit basket, tea or coffee packets.
P.S. Gifts and small wedding ideas are even better when theyre local and reflective!
Add local items from your area, such as honey from the city you live in or a particular fruit jam from where youre getting married.
- Include a few favorite recipes for guests who might want to cook them after they return home.
- Incorporate items that you and your fiancé love or bring influences from your wedding location or planner.
- Include something from a local vendor or some sweet treats.
- Table numbers should be included on the welcome basket, too. Include table names and where people will sit at each table, so guests know which food is theirs without having to ask another guest what its called.
- Have someone from your family or wedding party help you create these welcome baskets.
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Small Wedding Reception Ideas You Can Implement At Home
Weddingsare a lot of fun, but we often make the mistake of making such memorable eventsway too large for comfort. With hundreds of guests on the list, youll probablygo into debt and not have as much fun as youd like. This is one of the reasonswhy more couples are now looking for ways to have a small intimate reception athome.
Ifyoure one of them, youre in the right place! Here are some ideas to make thissmall wedding a delight:
Montreal Restaurants & Terraces
Our restaurants have really taken a hit this year during the pandemic and the ones that have managed to survive have found ways in which they can host a variety of their services online. Here are a few restaurants I urge you to look at when planning your smaller, more intimate wedding you can go small with BIG impact with your guests. Ive chosen a few without a terrace, and tried to find a few that could host a wedding outside if the restrictions require it!
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