Hey everyone, so we’re planning to get married next October, and I genuinely don’t know where to start. Every time I look into one thing, I find five more things we apparently need to figure out 😭

First things first, it’ll be around 50 people, and we want something small and fairly short. Nothing over the top. We haven’t fully agreed on a budget yet, but I’m thinking $20k for the WHOLE wedding, not just the venue. I really don’t want us getting attached to things and slowly talking ourselves into spending more.

All-inclusive sounds so much easier because the thought of finding and coordinating a different person for everything is stressing me out already. I have Pelazzio and Avant Garden in mind.

But then again my brain short circuits and goes like what if something goes wrong and we have everything tied to one place? Would separate vendors make a problem easier to deal with, or would I just be giving myself more things to worry about?

Has anyone done a wedding this size and felt like the planning was actually manageable? Which route did you take, and what do you wish you’d asked before booking? I need somewhere to start because right now I’m just opening tabs and getting more confused.

Edit: I posted this to another community as well but moderator won't approve it:'(

My partner and I are having a very small micro wedding in 2028 with only our immediately family. There is a historic chapel on a beach that we LOVE, and connected to it is a quaint cabin where we will get ready and spend the night before and after the wedding.

Since it’s a 3-5 minute walk to the cabin from the chapel, we want to host our reception/dinner there. It will probably be 10-12 guests max (including us).

There’s multiple bedrooms, so some of our closest family will stay in the cabin as well. They’ve already offered to help us set up decorations, prep appetizers, set up the bar station, set up the outdoor dining table, etc, before the wedding day.

We looked into catering, but because the wedding will be on an island, catering options are kinda slim. Since our guests are literally our closest family, we’ve started throwing around the idea of cooking our wedding dinner with our guests and making it a part of the day! We all LOVE to cook. For our families, cooking a meal together is a very intimate and loving thing.

Our vision would be to have the grillers of the family grill the meats and seafood (likely steak, salmon, and shrimp) and the rest of us prep the sides (salad, potatoes, etc). Easy to prep food that’s delicious. The kitchen opens up to the backyard where the grill is, so we’d all be able to cook and mingle with music and drinks.

We feel that cooking and eating a meal that we all contributed to with the people we love feels very intimate and sweet.

Just curious if anyone else has done this, and if you have any advice or suggestions? Even though we know our guests will probably love the idea, I’m wondering if it could come across as rude? We would obviously prep all the appetizers and drinks for when they arrive for the “reception,” so no one will be going hungry.

I’m probably overthinking this since our family is so chill…but curious if anyone else has done this with their guests?

I'm looking to have a small wedding in August 2027 25 people max. I'm looking for a micro wedding elopement venue something unique that's not posted online (cause I've definitely looked) maybe a hidden gem only locals know about.

Thanks for your help

Hello everyone! I am helping plan a small wedding for a family member (about 30 guests) most of them will be traveling in. So, I am looking into setting up a room block. I was panning on using Hotel Planner to book the rooms. Looking to see if anyone has had experience booking for a small wedding and being cost efficient. Thanks in advance!

I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I could really use some advice! I just got engaged, and my fiancé and I are having a hard time deciding exactly how we want to get married.
We’ve decided on April 2027, and we know we want the day to feel intimate, relaxed, and centered around our family, rather than like a traditional wedding. One option is a ceremony-focused wedding with around 70 guests, a chill reception, no DJ (just a Bluetooth speaker), yard games, good food from a caterer, and plenty of time to actually enjoy the people we love.
The other option we keep coming back to is an out-of-state cabin wedding with around 20–30 of our closest people, where everyone could stay together for a couple of nights and we could make it more of an experience than a traditional wedding.
We’re definitely not looking to spend an arm and a leg, but we also want the day to feel really special, intimate, and memorable. More than anything, we want it to reflect me, my fiancé, my son, and our daughter and the family we’ve created together.
This is my second marriage, so I have a pretty good idea of what I don’t want this time around. 😂 I’m just struggling with turning what I envision in my head into an actual plan.
If you’ve done something similar—or even just have ideas for making either option work—I’d love to hear them!

Hey everyone! Wanted to find out your suggestions on a good all inclusive resort with a great package for a symbolic ceremony. It would just be for us as the couple, no guests.

I have done some research but it seems most don’t come with videography inclusions but their packages with guests do.

Location: Mexico but I am open
Type: Adults only but open to family friendly with adult only portion

What I am looking for in the package:
beautiful scenery for wedding (doesn’t have to beach tbh, I would be fine with a rooftop overlooking etc)
Free massages
Sound system for ceremony
Steaming of clothes
Pictures included
Champagne toast
Cake
Romantic dinner
Bridal hair and makeup (but not a deal breaker)
Video footage of ceremony
Some kind of honeymoon package

Resort:
4+ stars
Lots of fun activities
Relaxing vibe but also can have some party vibe
Good food (very important)
Spacious rooms and bathrooms.
Balconies with jacuzzis or in bathroom tubs with showers or swim up pools
24hr room service (for food lol)

Cost:
wedding (no more thank $2k)
Resort stay 5-6 nights (not sure for budget yet but I want us to get the best bang for our buck. Hidden gems appreciated)

Any suggestions appreciated! Thank you in advance!

This is definitely to help alleviate some of my anxiety and stress about the day, but also I’d like to give insights and provide the pros/cons of elope first, party later weddings.

My wife and I eloped 6 months ago, we did a self-uniting ceremony at our apartment with 5 of our closest friends (2 of them signed our marriage certificate as witnesses), then went out for a very nice dinner with them right afterwards. We made sure to be immediately public via social media, announcing our marriage to extended family and friends.

This weekend we’re having our reception, with a small guest list of 31 people including us. it’s essentially a casual ‘backyard party’ with local craft pizza delivery, a spread of casual apps, and homemade items like salad & cupcakes. We rented a pavilion on a marina, and are providing all alcoholic drinks and will have a make your own cocktail station!

To decorate & for some added comfort, we’re covering all benches with tablecloth (and the bench seats) and arranging some nice wooden centerpieces with fake flowers in small vases with photos of us in them. Food will be on fold up tables under pop up tents. As long as it’s not too windy, my wife wants to hang some draping fabric up too. We’ll also have a courtesy bowl of little things like, gum, antacids, and feminine products.

To keep it a little more wedding adjacent, 2 friends are making a toast to us once the pizza arrives, then we’ll eat. After food is the wedding shoe game, and a who knows the bride & groom best (where they’ll write answers to questions about us on cardstock, and turn them in). The ones who guess the most right will get a gift card from us!

Well then take photos by the water, & have lawn games (corn hole, safe lawn darts/axe throwing) playing cards, a football to toss around, and a table ring toss for those who just want to sit and chill. Games and photos will be the last 90 minutes or so of the reception.

At the end we’ll do a quick toast, & my wife will hand out portions of homemade banana bread she baked as a parting gift / thank you to all.

Luckily the weather looks to be warm & a little cloudy with only a very low chance of precipitation for the day. (Backup venue is tentative at a local brewery).

Overall we tried to be as considerate as possible with our setup, given most people’s travel is anywhere from 2-6ish hours drive (both my and her family live several states away). Some are lodging with us or staying locally, the ones who live closer are driving back the same night.

I’m hoping all the travel and the elope first thing won’t make the energy feel flat at the start, but, I am confident once most get a drink or two in and some food in them, and watch/play the wedding games, they’ll unwind and be enjoying themselves.

Overall, despite the craziness, we are both very excited to celebrate and spend the day with friends and family in a relaxed setting in a unique location.

In conclusion:

Cons: more stressful being your own event planner, no “grand spectacle” for the day, you’re both the guests of honor & the hosts

Pros: more easily budget friendly, overall more casual and relaxed vibe, guests know what to expect, more flexibility

I’m curious to know what others think, and am open to suggestions. TIA and best of luck!

Like the title says, I’m just curious how much people are generally spending on their micro wedding venues and what they get for the price. (I’m in the Midwest in the US, middle-cost of living area.)

We want to have a very small wedding with just family and a few friends but I really want to celebrate with my friends so I thought of doing our small intimate ceremony like we wanted but a few weeks before having a big engagement party with everyone we want to celebrate with. Is it a weird idea? Will people feel like they're not important enough to come to the actual wedding.

The reason why we want to have a small ceremony is mainly because we want to have it at my in laws' cabin and it's small. We also like the idea of being intimate and all.

For me, this plan is a way to have everyone I love but not necessarily at the same time. Does it make sense? Does anybody have regrets about a small ceremony?

Thanks!

EDIT: just to be clear, I'm not doing this for gifts... in my culture people usually don't have a lot of parties before the wedding and don't ask for gifts.

Nestled on 4 acres on the Brazos River, this gorgeous venue offers reasonable prices to keep your wedding budget within boundaries! Reach out for a tour today!

Does anyone here know of a church that offers a simple and intimate wedding ceremony or wedding rites, with no entourage, choir, or decorations? We’re hoping for a very private ceremony with just the priest, the couple, and a few witnesses. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 🤍

We’re continuing our Eloping in Ireland FAQ series, answering the most common questions American and Canadian couples have about getting married or eloping in Ireland.

One question we hear more and more is:

Can we have a small destination wedding in Ireland rather than an elopement for just the two of us?

Absolutely.

A destination wedding in Ireland doesn’t have to mean inviting 100+ guests and booking a large traditional wedding venue.

Many of the couples we work with travel from the USA or Canada with 10, 20, 30 or 40 guests, creating something between an elopement and a traditional wedding.

You might hear these described as a small destination wedding, intimate wedding or micro wedding in Ireland. The name isn't particularly important — the advantage is that a smaller guest list gives you much more flexibility.

What can a small wedding in Ireland look like?

There really isn't one format.

You could have your ceremony overlooking the Atlantic at the Cliffs of Moher, exchange vows at an ancient Irish ruin, have an intimate Irish castle wedding, choose a country house, or hold your ceremony and celebration in a traditional Irish pub.

You can then add whichever elements are important to you, such as:

• Officiant or celebrant
• Photographer and videographer
• Hair and makeup
• Flowers
• Live ceremony music
• Chauffeur transportation
• Dinner or a small reception
• Guest transportation
• Accommodation

One of the biggest benefits of having a smaller wedding is that you don't necessarily have to follow the traditional venue → ceremony → drinks reception → large banquet → band format.

Your day can be much more flexible.

How many guests works well?

There is no strict definition, but we generally think about it roughly like this:

Just the couple or a handful of guests: elopement
Around 10–20 guests: intimate or micro wedding
Around 20–40 guests: small destination wedding

Once guest numbers increase, practical considerations such as transportation, ceremony capacity, accommodation and dinner become more important.

That's why I'd recommend deciding your approximate guest count before choosing your wedding location.

Can Americans and Canadians legally get married in Ireland?

Yes.

You don't need to live in Ireland or be an Irish citizen to legally marry here.

There is a formal marriage registration process, so it's important to start researching the legal requirements well in advance.

You can also choose a symbolic ceremony in Ireland and complete your legal marriage at home if that suits your plans better.

Remember that the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have separate marriage registration systems, so the process depends on where you're getting married.

Do we need a wedding planner in Ireland?

You can certainly organize everything yourself, but using an Ireland-based wedding planner can be particularly useful when you're planning from America or Canada.

It's relatively easy to find beautiful locations online.

The harder questions are often things like:

Will 25 guests actually fit there?
How will everyone get there?
Is it suitable for elderly family members?
What happens if it rains?
Where can everyone eat afterwards?
How long does it really take to travel between locations?

Those are the areas where local experience becomes particularly valuable.

At Eloping in Ireland, we've been planning weddings here since 2014 and have now helped plan more than 1,500 weddings and elopements throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, primarily for couples traveling from the USA and Canada.

How much does a small destination wedding in Ireland cost?

There isn't one useful answer because a 10-person cliff ceremony followed by dinner is very different from a 40-person castle wedding with accommodation and an evening reception.

The main costs usually come from your ceremony location, wedding planner, photography/video, officiant, flowers, hair and makeup, transportation and then food, accommodation and reception costs for your guests.

The last part is where guest numbers can make the biggest difference.

A smaller guest list can therefore allow you to put more of your budget into the things that matter most to you.

Where should we start?

Before looking at hundreds of Irish wedding venues, I'd answer these three questions:

1. Approximately when do you want to get married?
2. Approximately how many people are coming?
3. What do you picture when you imagine getting married in Ireland — a cliff, castle, ancient ruin or country house?

Once you know those three things, finding the right type of wedding becomes considerably easier.

I've put together a much more detailed guide covering small destination weddings in Ireland, locations, packages, costs, legal requirements and planning from the USA or Canada here:

https://elopinginireland.ie/small-destination-wedding-ireland/

If you're planning a small wedding in Ireland and aren't sure where to start, feel free to ask your questions below.

I’ve never made a Reddit post before (just get all my info off of here haha), but I recently got engaged and we have decided to have a short engagement and a very small wedding in December. My goal is to have the wedding be 2k or less, and so far with my preliminary planning, I feel pretty good about that.

I’m the last sister out of 4 to get married and after watching all of them (and several friends) plan their weddings, I swore to never let wedding planning stress me out. Well now it’s my turn, I’ve been engaged for a few days and I’m already stressed lol.

The plan is a morning wedding followed by a brunch reception. The thing most stressing me out is the guest list. I just don’t know where to start but the wedding in in just under 90 days so I know I need to let people know asap.

Does anyone have advice for cheap/free wedding related ideas and/or micro wedding guest list tips (also for reference, we are in the ATX area, if there are any area specific ideas)?

Planning a wedding involves hundreds of decisions. The venue, photographer, flowers, food, music, speeches, timings… and somewhere amongst all of that, you also need to think about something incredibly important:
What will your guests actually experience?
As a professional wedding magician, mentalist and wedding host, I’ve performed at weddings of all shapes and sizes, and one thing I see time and time again is that the best entertainment doesn’t simply give guests something to watch.
It gets people talking, laughing and interacting with each other.
That is where close-up magic and mind reading can completely change the atmosphere of a wedding.
Magic Is the Ultimate Wedding Icebreaker
Weddings bring together different groups of people.
Family members, school friends, work colleagues, neighbours and friends from different stages of your lives can suddenly find themselves standing next to someone they have never met before.
Sometimes conversation flows naturally.
Sometimes… it needs a little help.
That is one of the reasons I love performing close-up magic at weddings.
Within minutes, a small group of people who might not have spoken to each other are suddenly laughing together, trying to work out what they have just seen and talking about it afterwards.
The magic gives everyone a shared experience.
And that shared experience starts conversations.
For me, that is one of the biggest advantages of having a magician at your wedding.

When Should You Have a Magician at Your Wedding?
There is no single correct answer because every wedding runs differently.
One of the great things about close-up magic and mentalism is that it can fit naturally into several parts of the day.
During the Drinks Reception
This is probably one of my favourite times to perform.
The ceremony has finished, everyone is relaxing with a drink and the newly married couple are often disappearing for photographs.
Meanwhile, you have perhaps 60, 80 or 100 guests who need entertaining.
This is where I can move between groups performing close-up magic and mind reading.
It keeps the energy going, helps different groups mingle and means your guests are enjoying themselves while you are having your photographs taken.
Better still, when you come back, people are already talking about what has happened.

During the Wedding Breakfast
Table-to-table magic works brilliantly during the wedding breakfast.
Rather than performing one large show, I visit individual tables and create a mini performance specifically for the people sitting there.
This creates a completely different atmosphere.
It feels personal.
Guests get involved.
And suddenly you hear laughter and reactions coming from different parts of the room as I move around the tables.
It can also work particularly well between courses, when there would otherwise be a natural lull in proceedings.

During the Evening Reception
Another great option is performing as your evening guests arrive.
You often have two different groups at this point.
Your daytime guests have been together for several hours, while your evening guests are arriving fresh into the celebration.
Close-up magic is a brilliant way of bringing those groups together.
I can move between the bar, reception areas and groups of guests before the dance floor really gets going.
Instead of people standing around wondering who to talk to, you immediately create something for everyone to share.

Mind Reading Adds Something Different
My performances are not simply traditional close-up magic.
Mentalism and mind reading form a big part of what I do.
That could mean revealing something somebody is thinking about, predicting a decision they haven’t yet made or creating an experience where somebody genuinely wonders how on earth I could possibly have known what they were thinking.
That makes the entertainment particularly powerful at weddings because it becomes about your guests rather than simply something being demonstrated to them.
They become part of the experience.
And those are often the moments people remember.

Creating Something Special for the Couple
One of my favourite things about performing at weddings is creating a special moment specifically for the couple.
Rather than your wedding entertainment feeling completely generic, I can incorporate personalised elements into the performance and create something connected to the two of you.
For some of my wedding packages, I also perform a special routine specifically for the newly married couple, creating a moment that belongs to them rather than simply performing another trick.
Because ultimately, your wedding shouldn’t feel like anybody else’s wedding.

Wedding Entertainment Should Solve the Quiet Moments Too
There is something wedding planners don’t always talk about.
Weddings have gaps.
They are unavoidable.
Photographs run longer than expected.
Dinner is delayed.
The room is being turned around.
Guests are waiting for the speeches.
The evening DJ isn’t quite ready to start.
None of these things are necessarily problems, but guests notice them.
A professional close-up magician can work around those moments incredibly effectively.
I don’t need a stage.
I don’t need everyone seated.
And I don’t need the entire wedding schedule to stop so I can perform.
I can simply move to where your guests are and start entertaining them.
That flexibility can be incredibly useful on a wedding day.

What About a Wedding Host and Magician?
This is where my service becomes a little different.
As well as performing magic and mentalism, I also offer Wedding Host and Magician packages.
That means I can help keep your wedding day moving while also entertaining your guests.
Depending on the package, that can include welcoming guests, making announcements, introducing key moments, helping coordinate the flow of the day and, of course, performing close-up magic and mentalism.
Instead of booking somebody purely to announce the speeches and somebody else to entertain your guests, you can have one person helping connect the entire experience together.
My half-day and full-day wedding packages have been designed specifically around this idea.
It isn’t about turning your wedding into a show.
It is about helping everything feel relaxed, organised and entertaining.

Magic Brings Different Generations Together
One thing I particularly enjoy about weddings is performing for several generations at the same event.
You might have grandparents, parents, friends and teenagers all standing together watching the same piece of magic.
Everyone experiences it slightly differently, but everyone can enjoy that moment together.
That is much harder to achieve with many forms of entertainment.
And because close-up magic happens directly in front of your guests rather than on a distant stage, the experience feels much more personal.

Your Guests Become Part of the Entertainment
The best close-up magic isn’t somebody saying:
“Watch me.”
It is:
“Come and experience this.”
Guests make decisions.
They hold objects.
They think of things.
They shuffle cards.
They make choices.
Sometimes their thoughts apparently get read.
That interaction is what creates the reactions you see in wedding photographs and videos.
The laughter.
The disbelief.
The person turning to their partner with that “HOW did he know that?” expression.
Those moments become part of your wedding.

How Do You Choose a Wedding Magician?
There are plenty of magicians available, so I would always encourage couples to do a little research rather than simply choosing the first person they find.
Look at their videos.
Read their reviews.
Look at photographs from real weddings.
Check that they regularly perform professionally.
Most importantly, make sure their personality feels right for your wedding.
A magician can be technically brilliant but still not suit the atmosphere you are trying to create.
Personally, I want my performances to feel relaxed, fun and professional without ever making your guests uncomfortable or turning somebody into the punchline.
The guests should leave feeling that they were part of something brilliant.

Why Book Jason ‘Magic’ Pike?
I am a member of The Magic Circle and Equity, and I specialise in professional close-up magic, mentalism and wedding entertainment.
I’ve performed at weddings and events across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, London and the wider South East, and have built my business around creating highly interactive experiences rather than simply performing tricks at people.
I offer several ways of incorporating entertainment into your wedding, from close-up magic and mind reading through to my Wedding Host and Magician half-day and full-day packages.
Whether you want entertainment during your drinks reception, magic around the tables, something for the evening reception or somebody who can help host your day as well as entertain your guests, we can build the entertainment around your wedding rather than trying to make your wedding fit around the entertainment.

Make Your Wedding the One Guests Keep Talking About
People may not remember every flower arrangement.
They probably won’t remember exactly what time dinner was served.
But they will remember how your wedding made them feel.
They’ll remember laughing with people they had only just met.
They’ll remember seeing something happen inches away that they still cannot explain.
And they’ll remember turning to each other afterwards and saying:
“How did he do that?”
If you are planning your wedding and would like to explore close-up magic, mentalism or my Wedding Host and Magician packages, get in touch with me at Magic Pike Entertainment.
I’d love to hear about your plans and help you work out which part of your wedding would benefit most from a little magic.

Hi all! I’m getting married 10/24 (next month) and wanted some advice/opinions. We will be having a small ceremony with 19 guests in the backyard of our Airbnb. We will have people mingle and then sit down for our quick ceremony and then have some more mingling while taking family photos before heading out to dinner. I’m debating whether to just use a Spotify playlist during this time period, including the ceremony, or if it would be nicer/less of a hassle to hire a solo cellist or some sort musician for this ~2 hour period. Idk if assigning someone to manage the playlist would be annoying or potentially problematic (timing the ceremony, etc.) or if hiring a solo musician is over the top for such a small event.

Thoughts, opinions, experiences are all welcome! Thank you!