How many people at my destination wedding: is there an ideal size? This is one of the questions that future brides and grooms often ask themselves…. I’d like to give you some advice based on our 10 years’ experience of accompanying our brides and grooms at Château la Beaumetane.
How many people at my destination wedding: is there an ideal size?
As always, I would say that your wedding should reflect your image and how you ideally see your wedding.
Some people imagine it to be pompous with lots of people, while others are looking for a more intimate setting to celebrate their union. There is no right or wrong choice.
Certain criteria will also influence the size of your wedding in Provence. Here is a selection:
Are you both very family-oriented and how big is your family?
What do you understand by family? Direct family or extended family?
How big is your circle of friends?
Do your friends belong to different spheres of your life and do you want them all to be present at your wedding?
What about your colleagues and work relations?
If your parents are contributing to your wedding, are there people they also want to invite personally?
And of course, all this is affected by the distance between the place where your wedding will be held and the place where the people attending the wedding live…. So this is even more relevant for a wedding overseas. It’s possible that not everyone can take the time to go and celebrate a wedding in Provence because their friends or relatives are getting married abroad. The day or time of year can also influence this.
Château la Beaumetane is known for its rather intimate weddings. The smallest we had was 17 people. On average, there are around 70/80 people at a wedding at La Beaumetane and the maximum we accept is 120. The average size for our destinatio weddings in Provence at the Chateau is more about 30to 40 people (this is also because we can accomodate up to 45 people here on site).
It’s also very important to have an idea of how many people you want at a wedding so that you can choose a venue that matches that size…. And then you have to stick to it….
A wedding with a small number of people in a huge hall is difficult to organise, and a small reception venue will be limited in size. So this is one of the criteria you need to think about.
La Beaumetane’s experience
I’m only telling you about what I know, and in our house, as I said earlier, we do rather intimate weddings.
When we have a maximum capacity of 120 people, you have to bear in mind that this means that the bride and groom will spend two hours together if they want to speak for one minute to each of the guests…. And the day flies by….
In the end, it’s not so much the number of people that counts for a good, warm atmosphere at a wedding, but the bonds that exist between the guests. The stronger these bonds are, the warmer the atmosphere will be and the more happiness will be expressed through words, dance or even just the atmosphere.
How many people should be invited to a wedding?
Admittedly, there is often a discrepancy between the number of guests and the number of people present at a wedding. Various factors influence this wastage rate. However, professionals agree that it is between 10 and 20%.
This information can be important when choosing the reception venue you book for your wedding, or for your budget.
