Planning An Intimate Wedding: A Guide To Small Receptions

Planning a small wedding reception is a great way to make your wedding day more about interpersonal connections and the couple's love for each other. It also gives you more flexibility with your budget and more time to personalise your loved ones' favours. You can still include traditional wedding elements like cake cutting, toasts, and first dances, but you might want to swap out some of the other traditions for something more unique, like a picnic or an interactive seating chart.

Entertainment: live musicians, lawn games, or a DJ

Small weddings are more about interpersonal connections and the couple's love for each other than the venue, food or decorations. With a small wedding, you'll have more room in your budget for entertainment, such as live musicians, lawn games, or a DJ.

If you want to create a relaxed atmosphere, lawn games are a great option for your cocktail hour and/or reception activities. If you want to create a more intimate setting, you could hire live musicians to provide ambient music for your reception and ceremony. Alternatively, if you want to get people dancing, you could hire a DJ.

If you want to make your small wedding reception memorable, you could consider a picnic, either traditional or luxurious, with floral arrangements, candles and place settings. You could also swap traditional paper escort cards for individualised welcome drinks that are part of an interactive seating chart. To end the night with a bang, you could put on a fireworks show.

Florist: floral installations or bouquets

When it comes to flowers, you can either opt for a florist who can create beautiful bouquets for the bridal party or go for a floral installation. If you're having a small wedding, you might decide not to have bridesmaids carrying bouquets and instead invest that money into a statement floral installation.

Floral installations can be a great way to add a unique and memorable touch to your wedding. They can be used to create a romantic and intimate atmosphere, especially if you're having an outdoor wedding. You can work with your florist to design an installation that fits your vision and budget. Whether it's a floral arch for your ceremony backdrop or a hanging installation over your reception tables, flowers can be a great way to make a statement.

If you'd rather stick to bouquets, you can still make an impact by choosing unique and seasonal flowers that reflect your personality and style. Discuss your ideas with your florist and ask for their suggestions based on your wedding theme and colour palette. They can help you create bouquets that are not only beautiful but also meaningful.

Don't forget to consider the other floral elements of your wedding, such as centrepieces for your reception tables and flower petals for your ceremony exit. Your florist can guide you in choosing the right flowers and creating arrangements that will enhance your special day.

Food and drink: a picnic, or an interactive seating chart with individualised drinks

Small weddings are more about the couple's love for each other and the connections between them and their select guests. With a small wedding, you will have more room in your budget to spend on food and drink, and more time to plan and personalise your loved ones' favours.

One idea for a small wedding reception is to swap traditional paper escort cards for individualised welcome drinks that are part of an interactive seating chart. Each attendee rings a bell, prompting a gloved hand to serve them their individual cocktail. This will work well with a small group, as everyone will be able to get their drinks in a timely manner.

Another idea is to have a picnic, either outdoors or at a venue, hotel or Airbnb. You can go the traditional route with a large blanket and cushions, or hire a planning company that specialises in setting up luxurious picnic spreads with elaborate floral arrangements, romantic candles, and dazzling place settings.

If you want to include some traditional wedding elements, you could have cake cutting, toasts, and first dances. You could also end the night with a bang by having a fireworks show.

Budget: more room to personalise

Small weddings are more about the couple's love for each other and the connections between them and their guests. With fewer guests, you will have more room in your budget and more time to personalise your wedding.

If you are looking to save money, you could opt for a picnic reception, either at a venue, hotel, or Airbnb, or go the traditional route with a large blanket and cushions. You could also hire a planning company that specialises in setting up luxurious picnic spreads with elaborate floral arrangements, romantic candles, and dazzling place settings.

Another way to save money is to cut down on the number of bridesmaids and invest that money into a floral installation instead. You could also swap traditional paper escort cards for individualised welcome drinks that are part of an interactive seating chart. Each attendee will ring a bell, prompting a gloved hand to serve them their individual cocktail.

If you have more room in your budget, you could hire an artist to paint custom portraits of each guest during the reception. You could also include some traditional wedding elements such as cake cutting, toasts, and first dances. For entertainment, you could hire live musicians to provide ambiance music for your reception and ceremony, or opt for lawn games during your cocktail hour and/or reception activities.

Venue: outdoors, a mini reception, or a hotel

When it comes to the venue, you have a few options for a small wedding reception. You could opt for an outdoor venue, which is a great choice if you want a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. You could have a picnic, for example, with a large blanket and cushions, or you could hire a company to set up a luxurious picnic spread with floral arrangements, candles, and special place settings.

If you'd prefer an indoor venue, you could plan a mini reception at a hotel or Airbnb. This is a good option if you want a more traditional wedding reception with all the usual trimmings, such as a cake-cutting ceremony, toasts, and a first dance.

With a small wedding, you'll have more room in your budget to personalise your venue and add special touches. For example, you could hire an artist to paint custom portraits of each guest during the reception, or you could swap traditional paper escort cards for individualised welcome drinks that are part of an interactive seating chart.

Remember, with a small wedding, the focus becomes more about the couple's love for each other and the connections between them and their guests, so choose a venue that reflects this and allows for quality time with your loved ones.

Frequently asked questions