Choosing a Small Wedding Venue

There has been a huge shift in the wedding industry over the last 18 months and smaller weddings are quickly becoming the norm. With tighter budgets and shorter guest lists, some couples fear their wedding will somehow be less special. However, that doesn’t need to be the case! When you choose a small wedding venue with experience in hosting smaller events, they know how to make it work!

Let’s explore this in more detail.

Say Goodbye to Multi-Venue Weddings

It was previously the tradition for big weddings to have the ceremony at one location, such as a place of worship and then moving on to a reception venue. However, with a smaller wedding, everything usually takes place in one venue which can be far more convenient for the couple and their guests.

How a Small Wedding Venue Works

When you opt for a small wedding venue you have the convenience of everything happening in the same location. This certainly doesn’t mean having to sacrifice anything on the big day. The majority of small wedding vendors we work with here at WhereToElope.com have a separate area for the ceremony. This might be a pretty spot outdoors, in a gazebo, or by a water feature. If indoors it is often in a smaller room or summerhouse. That means following the ceremony, your guests can be shown into the separate reception area for food and drinks. That way you still get to make the traditional entrance as a married couple.

However, there are some small wedding venues that do everything in the same room doing what is known as ‘flipping’ between the ceremony and reception. This means that you and your guests will be asked to wait in a ‘holding area’ such as a patio or garden area where you can enjoy hor d’oeuvres and a drink. Meanwhile, the experienced venue staff will quickly reconfigure the ceremony space in preparation for your reception.

Are you choosing a small wedding venue? Will it be flipping the space or providing a separate ceremony?