9 Great Reasons to Have a Small Wedding

As a little girl, I often imagined what my wedding day would be like. There would be a perfect ceremony, flowers everywhere, cake, presents, and lots of love. One thing I never thought to consider before we got started planning our wedding was the size of the guest list. I suppose I always had an idea that I would have a giant wedding, because even just inviting my Mom's family gets right up to 200 guests, and that's not including any friends, or the fact that my future husband would be likely to have a family he would like to invite as well. We ended up having just 38 guests in attendance for the ceremony and following festivities. Here are some of the reasons (in no particular order) I decided to have such a small wedding...and LOVED it!

Children of the couple can feel more comfortable playing a larger role in the wedding if there are less people they don't know watching the show. It can also be easier to explain the significance of different events at the wedding, such as the unity ceremony, and give the kids a chance to participate in these exciting moments as well.

If you're working with a small or tight budget, you'll be able to stretch your money a little farther. You'll notice you can do a little more or a little nicer than what would be possible for a larger group. For example, for a guest list of 300, you might not be able to afford the quality of food you'd really like, but for a party of 40, or even 75 or 100, that can become an option.

A small wedding is a great chance to get creative! You'll have a manageable number of invitations, so break out that card making, scrap booking arsenal and create your very own uniquely fabulous invitations, thank yous, decorations, anything you need.

There's less chance of drama occurring outside the natural drama that goes with having a wedding, and a better chance that everyone in attendance is really there for you. Everyone we invited to our wedding was either family or friends that feel like family, and it created a wonderfully loving atmosphere.

In searching for an outdoor ceremony venue, I found there were many more options (at least in my area) for a smaller size wedding party. There was only a handful of locations that would've worked for a large group, and if you're interested in one of them during a typical wedding season, be sure you apply to use the site early, because they do fill up. It can also help to choose a ceremony time that isn't typical. Most weddings are in the late afternoon or early evening. We chose early afternoon, and were able to get our ceremony site with no problem and our officiant was able to do a second ceremony in the evening.

Another benefit to a small wedding (especially outdoors) is you can save money on flowers! There are less people to get flowers for, and less area to decorate. If you get married outdoors, you can get by with just getting flowers for the bridal party!

If you're not into dances, a small wedding is a great chance for an alternative, especially if there's a lot of children in attendance. Plus, having a dance with only 40 people wouldn't be that great of a party. Some ideas you might investigate include inviting the wedding party to a hotel with special features like a game room or water park.

Don't feel like you'll be leaving any one out of your wedding, you can always have an open house sometime in the weeks following the wedding, similar to if you had a destination wedding. If you schedule it right, you can have pictures back from your photographer from the wedding. Put a slideshow up on the wall with a laptop and a projector, and it will feel like you're reliving the day.