Why the small intimate wedding costs more per head

The advice is universal: cut the guest list to cut the budget. It works, but much less than people expect, and per head the small wedding is frequently the more expensive one.

Most costs are fixed

Photography costs the same for 40 guests as for 140. So does the celebrant, the videographer, hair and makeup, attire, the band or DJ, the lighting rig, the cake, transport, and most styling.

Halving your guest list halves catering and beverage, and leaves the rest untouched. For a lot of budgets that is only a third of the total.

Minimum spends do not shrink

Venues carry minimum spends, and a good venue's minimum may be built around a hundred guests. With sixty, you still pay the minimum — you simply buy more per person to reach it, or pay a room hire fee instead.

The same applies to catering minimums and to suppliers with a base call-out. A florist's minimum order does not fall because there are fewer tables.

Expectations rise as numbers fall

The reason people choose a small wedding is usually to do it properly. Better wine, a longer menu, a nicer room, better flowers per table. Those are good decisions, and they consume much of what was saved.

This is not a warning against it. It is a warning against expecting the saving to be proportional.

What actually saves money

• The day. Friday or Sunday is commonly fifteen to thirty per cent below Saturday for the same venue.
• The season. June and July in Melbourne are considerably cheaper and more available.
• The format. A lunch costs less than a dinner. Canapés cost less than a seated three course.
• The hours. Every supplier is priced by time.
• The beverage structure. Often the largest single saving available without anyone noticing.

Any one of those saves more than cutting twenty guests, and none of them requires telling anybody they are not invited.

Choose small for the right reason

A sixty person wedding is a genuinely different and often better event — you speak to everyone, the room feels intimate, the night is warmer. That is an excellent reason to do it.

Saving money is a weaker one. If budget is the driver, change the day, the season or the format first.