Small Weddings are the way of the future, but what does it mean to have a small wedding? Is having a small wedding different than choosing to elope? We understand that intimate weddings are a new concept for most people, so here is our expert breakdown of what is a small wedding!

How small is small?

There are so many conflicting sources out there that will tell you that you can have anywhere up to 50-100 guests!!! Let’s just take a second to think about this, does your ideal mini wedding of your dreams include 100 of your “closest” family and friends? If yes, then let me break it to you kindly — that’s a full size wedding!! If your dream small wedding is a tailored group of only the most important people then that, my friends, is a small wedding!

Read more about elopement weddings and small weddings here!

There are no official rules out there for how big your micro-wedding can be, so let us be the first to establish that distinction.

Small Weddings range from 0-35 guests.

So, why 35? I’m glad you asked! We recommend officially keeping it as small as you would like, on average we see about 15-20 guests at our elopement weddings. This is enough to invite your immediate families to participate without feeling pressured to invite people you hardly know. Some families are bigger and need a little bit more wiggle room to make sure everyone is in attendance that needs to be.

We strongly discourage you from exceeding 35 guests because this essentially opens the floodgates. By inviting more and more guests, you start down a slippery slope to where you have way more people than you ever wanted. It also will increase your costs the more people you will invite as you will need more chairs, meals, favors, or whatever else you plan to treat your guests to.

Not only will it cost more, but the more people you invite, the larger the expectations are for you two as the hosting couple. People will want to feel personally appreciated by you and expect your time and attention. They will expect you to come up with specific itineraries for them, they will have a lot of questions, and they will need you to keep them entertained. The less people you invite, the more you mitigate the stress levels.

Why should you do a small wedding? Find out here!

We don’t want to offend anyone by not inviting them!

Trust me, we completely understand how crucial this is! There may be people in your life that are extra special to you and close to your hearts that you may not necessarily invite to your small wedding. Make these people feel loved by telling them first! It is important that they hear the news directly from you after you have eloped instead of finding out through the grapevine or social media.

The best way to let them know you care is by sending them an announcement card! These are simple announcements sent after you elope to people so that they know you didn’t forget about them. You can even include a way for them to celebrate with you on these announcements by inviting them to a home town bash when you get back!

How to Include Family in your Elopement Wedding