Question for those with very small weddings

[maddie80]

We are trying to figure out what the "order of events" should be for our very small wedding. We will have approximately 15-20 guests, and while we want to have a great event, we do not want things to be overdone or fake, considering the size of our group. So far we figured we would have our small ceremony, and then return to do a dinner probably with our group. Any other ideas for how we could handle a reception and what to do? Dancing/toasts, etc. seemed like a little too much with just our immediate families and best friends.

What has everyone else done who had a tiny group? Ceremony, pictures, dinner and goodbye also seems a little short! Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[jcrow]

i am not having a saml wedding, but i wanted to say that i wouldn''t cut out the toasting. that''s one of my favorite parts of the wedding/dinner rehearsal.

 

[selflove]

I think toasts would be appropriate, regardless of size.

You could play your ipod or laptop and do a first dance as husband and wife too!

 

[tanyak]

I think you should do what makes you and your FI comfortable, regardless of the size of your wedding. For example, we''re having about 80 people and we''re leaning heavily toward ditching the toasts because we both think they can be kinda cheesy (obviously not a popular opinion

).

Maybe after dinner, you can just have a little music playing for mingling.

 

[Mara]

we had 30 people in a destination atmosphere and we got married, then did the traditional reception but it was very informal...we went down to take pictures on the beach, everyone ate and drank and then danced for hours, greg serenaded us with his saxaphone, a few people said some nice things, our parents said some nice things and that was it! we didn''t treat the group any differently really other than because it was so small, it enabled everyone to really visit and have a good time. also because we did destination, everyone had been there for a few days beforehand so everyone knew each other and it was a very fun group. at one point absolutely EVERYONE was out on the dance floor, even grandma. at what wedding have you ever seen that? it was great.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 5/2/2006 4:43:46 PM
Author:madeleine

So far we figured we would have our small ceremony, and then return to do a dinner probably with our group. Any other ideas for how we could handle a reception and what to do? Dancing/toasts, etc. seemed like a little too much with just our immediate families and best friends.

What has everyone else done who had a tiny group? Ceremony, pictures, dinner and goodbye also seems a little short! Thanks for your suggestions!

My small (30 people) wedding was a summer wedding in July in Massachusetts, so we chartered a schooner and took everyone for a 2.5 hour sunset cruise with a catered dinner.

It was really nice and different; I think it gave us more time to mingle with our guests and just enjoy being with all of them.