Weddings come in many shapes and sizes. Some are small, intimate affairs with less than 20 guests – while others are sprawling extravaganzas with over 200.

The million dollar question that you need to answer for your wedding is: What size would be perfect for you? Unfortunately that can be difficult to answer and it will largely depend on what you want.

Right here and now we’re going to help you figure that out with 5 important questions:

1.   How Big is Your Budget?

Large weddings can cost a lot. Aside from the fact that hiring a large venue is more expensive, you’ll also end up paying more for the catering, decorations, accessories, alcohol, and various other rentals.

A wedding of 150 guests can cost anything from $25,000 to $40,000.- so if that figure makes you balk you may want to consider something smaller. Try using a wedding venue platform to estimate how much it will cost.

By determining how big your budget is, you can figure out how large of a wedding you can actually afford.

2.   Where Do Your Priorities Lie?

Just because your budget is large enough to cover a large number of guests that doesn’t mean that you need to have a large wedding. If you prefer you choose to have a smaller wedding and spend the excess on improving the experience.

For example, you could hire live band, stock up on champagne or other drink options, or get catering from a top-class restaurant.

To put it simply – don’t just figure out how large your budget is, but also whether or not you want to spend it all inviting more guests or on other areas.

3.   Is it Important To Have Everyone You Know At Your Wedding?

Some couples would like to have absolutely all their family and friends attend their wedding, while others may prefer to have their wedding be smaller with just immediate family and close friends.

There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to this question and it is largely up to you and your partner to figure out which you prefer. However keep in mind that some people may view it as a snub if they aren’t invited and you’ll need to be able to cope with that.

If you are hosting a small wedding and don’t want to invite everyone – it may help to call people you’re close to buy aren’t inviting and explain that to them. Some may still be angry, but at least you tried.

4.   How Large is Your Family and Social Circle?

If you have a large family and social circle then your wedding is probably going to be larger – assuming you’re close to them, and want them all there. In some cases you can trim down the guest list by making it adult-only, not giving everyone plus-ones, and simply excluding people who you may not be that close to.

Another alternative is to have a small wedding ceremony, but invite more of your extended family and social circle to the evening dinner. Or you could even keep both small but have a separate celebrations with different groups of people later.

5.   Do You Want a Destination Wedding?

Destination weddings generally limit the number of people who can attend and will trim down your guest list simply because not everyone will be able to make it. On top of that it may end up costing more due to additional travel and accommodation costs – which will mean you may need to consider a smaller wedding.

Keep in mind this type of wedding will likely exclude a lot of elderly relatives who may find it difficult to make the trip and be away from home overnight. That could make it a deal breaker if you’re close to them.

Conclusion

Hopefully answering these questions will help you to hone in on the type and size of wedding that would fit you and your partner best. Based on that you can start to draft a guest list and see exactly how many people you will need to invite – then trim it down if necessary.

Always remember that the perfect size for your wedding is whatever size you feel comfortable with – not any larger, or any smaller than that.