Where to even begin?

Don't have experience in this as we are having approx 100 day guests, but i wonder if it would be worth contacting some of the smaller venues to ask if they can help you? I assume they advertise the big packages as they've found this to be the more common number of guests, but we found our venue were a lot more accommodating once we sat down with them. They may be able to recommend places if they can't help you themselves.

Also, our photographer had a smaller wedding and did it in a restaurant, their requirement was she hire the restaurant out to match what they could have earned that evening (late wedding midweek) and it sounded amazing. fingers crossed you have a bit more luck and things start appearing to you!

We’re having a small wedding too, with around 45 day guests. I think the problem you’ll have with a lot of venues is that they tend to have minimum numbers for day and evening guests. This is obviously because a smaller booking isn’t necessarily worth the expense for them (paying bar staff, chiefs, waiters, wedding coordinators etc.) and having to turn away business if there wasn't a wedding that day.

I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but if you are set on a certain type of venue you may have to pay for the minimum numbers regardless of if you only have a quarter of that amount of guests. Venues may be more willing to accommodate a smaller wedding if you have it mid week or out of season.

Your other option may be to look at getting married in your local registry office, where you pay based on the amount of guests, I believe, followed by a meal out somewhere. If you’re having a bigger reception say 70+ guests, you could probably meet minimum number requirements and would give you a bigger scope for choice.

Hello!

A lot of wedding venues cater for a goldilocks number of guests (60-100) and as such will have their costs based around that number of people.

You aren't alone, not only is it tricky to find somewhere for smaller number, weddings with more than 150 guests are outside of your typical wedding venue too.

You don't say where you are, but I'd look at boutique wedding venues, restaurants and weekdays.

£1000 is low. The registrars will be about £120-£200 depending where you live and that's if you go to them. If they come to you it'll cost more. I think. There's 25% of the budget gone already.

According to the Guardian it can be done though - https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jun/27/how-get-married-finances-wedding-costs

This is a really good point - I'm in Wiltshire and looked at the cost of registrars travelling to a licensed venue in Bath, Somerset & Bristol from all the relevant councils, and they were all around the £450 mark.

Depending on what you want, I would consider having your ceremony at the registry office, where you have 2 options:

1) a 2+2 ceremony, which is just the couple + 2 witnesses and the registrar, no guest. This is usually around £50, or

2) a ceremony room if you want people to see your actual ceremony. This option has been between £250-£350 in the registry offices I looked at, depending on the size of the room you choose. The ceremony rooms have generally been really pretty though.

Then you could book a function room at a nearby hotel or restaurant for your reception. This might just get you in around the £1000 mark, not including extra for things like flowers, outfits, cake, photographer, etc.

I've seen a few people do weddings like this, and they've looked lovely and intimate.