u/Cgiannetti

So I fell in love with this outdoor garden/museum and knew that was where I wanted to get married. The price tag smacked me in the face when they said reception minimum was $25k. Thankfully they do ceremony only packages for $4k regardless of guest count or $1,500 for under 20 guests. Regardless of whichever I chose the reception following the ceremony is at a restaurant 50mins away. Guest list for the reception is a bit bigger - 35.

Was debating just having 8 people at the ceremony, keeping it very intimate that way I dont have to worry about 30 people driving all around. Or should I just have everyone come to the ceremony?

Is that too far to make people drive? I was thinking of having some sort of transportation available but need advice/input.

Was thinking potentially a party bus that would pick everyone up from the ceremony & drop at the reception- cost was $200-$250 after gas/gratuity. I was thinking I would also include a QR code for Uber so people could uber to the ceremony & home at the end of the night (or to the hotel) at no cost to them.

I would include all of this information on the invite.

We are only inviting 30 guests so realistically it will probably only be 20-25 in attendance.

What would be the best option for the smoothest transition between the two?

I am learning a lot about weddings through this process and I finally feel excited about the plan I worked so hard to come up with to keep it under budget but still feel special.

My question is: Do to the budget, the venue is very strict about the number of guests. Our current guest list sits at 30, which is the max of this venue allows for the micro wedding package we selected, which in turn keeps the cost down. My fiance called his best friend from across the country, (wedding will be on the east coast & his bestie lives in CA), to make sure he can come! While on the phone he asked if his friend was still living with/dating the same girl and his friend said “no i am currently single”. So now, I am not sure if we should include a +1 for him. Because it is so intimate with so few people I really dont want a complete stranger there who neither of us had met. I was fine with his friend inviting the long term partner seeing as my fiance has met her and she was in their friend group. My fiance thinks we should give him a +1 since he would be traveling so far he is more likely to come and enjoy the trip if he can bring a lady friend along.

I just worry about the awkwardness with such a small group. If it were up to me I would say NO because it’s our special day I dont want to share it with just anyone and I feel very strongly about that. However my fiance is already feeling a bit discouraged as his mom will be his ONLY family member there and he feels like he wants some support on his side for this day - as it stands now my side of the guestlist is 20 and his is 10. HELP!!