Very small wedding ideas?

We're only having a small wedding too (24 of us) and I got a bit stuck trying to find something interesting to do, but not too expensive. We're having our evening meal on a boat going up the River Dart. I don't know if that's the sort of thing that would appeal to you? You could have a small ceremony somewhere (maybe a registry office) then you could go on a canal boat or a river boat.

Or what about a farm or a pub that does weddings? I think with a smaller wedding you have a lot more freedom to do what you want. Think about what you like doing and see if you can add it into your day. So if you like going to the beach, you could have a beach picnic after or a barbeque. The only thing that isn't super flexibe is the civil ceremony venue.

The link below might help you to find something. It's a list of all the approved civil ceremony venues in Northamptonshire.

https://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/community/bdm/pages/approved-venues.aspx

We are having a small wedding too (23ish) have you tried looking at hotels? Many of which have smaller function rooms that are licensed for ceremony's although they are not always advertised in the 'wedding' section of their websites (try looking at the private dinning/meeting/event sections) .....Unfortunately I found many of the smaller function rooms tend to be of a bit corporate/conference looking in nature but this is not always the case.

PS Hello and welcome to hitched ?

I like the idea of the boat too.

We had my daughters 18th on a lovely canal party boat. They served a pie and pea supper and provided a dj. It had a cute little licensed bar but we were still allowed to bring cake and champagne. It was a terrific party - different, intimate, relaxing and fun. Definitely worth looking into x

Hello and welcome to Hitched! I am from Northamptonshire too :-)

I'm in Northants too!

Nicest small wedding venues in Northants imo The Talbot Hotel Oundle which has a ceremony license and private dining rooms. Go for a non-Saturday and they will give you a great deal. Likewise the Mill at Barnwel: really beautiful for a small wedding.

Otherwise there are lots of lovely hotels/ins for a great meal if you want a registry office then a lovely meal: All the registry offices in our county are nice inside but not all have attractive outside space. The Guildhall is beautiful for a ceremony and you can go on anywhere for a lovely meal within the town centre.

Whereabouts are you?

Welcome to hitched!

I too was going to suggest private dining areas in a restaurant, hotel or pub. I'd check out reviews of restaurants then call to see if they have a private area or can make one for you. Look for places that hold functions/birthdays/celebrations etc If you arent bothered by having your own area, what about a restaurant with entertainment already there- piano playing, jazz music, band, belly dancing etc. Depends what you want. There are many review sites to help choose a restaurant though- qype, top table, trip advisor etc.

Definitely look outside the box. We were going to have a small wedding initially and looked into some of our favourite restaurants as reception venues. We would have married in the church regardless but I did look at venues with small ceremony rooms as an option. The list that was posted about licensed venues should also state the capacity of the licensed rooms.

We are now having our reception in the garden (with more guests). We have hired a marquee and are using a caterer who has done a lot of parties for the family to provide a BBQ. If you have space you could hire a small marquee or gazebo and bring in some caterers. Then you can add entertainment to suit your taste. A fancy family party!

Another idea is to rent a lovely holiday cottage/house and have a long weekend or week away with all your guests. You could have a beach location if you wanted. Get married locally and then have a party at the cottage or everyone pitches in for a picnic on the beach.

Whatever you choose, it sounds like a wonderful idea to have such an intimate wedding!

Sorry to come back tothis so late: I'm not sure whereabouts you are but the Danish Camp at Willington near Bedford does weddings overlooking the Great Ouse and then they can do a private dinner on their river boat.