In short
A micro wedding is usually defined as around 30 guests or fewer with a full ceremony and reception — the distinction from an elopement is that guests are actually invited and hosted. The planning shift is that per-head pricing stops driving the budget: at this size a venue's minimum spend, not your headcount, is normally what sets the floor.
- Wedding shape
- Micro wedding
- Price
- Free, no card
- Set-up questions
- 3 pre-filled
- Market
- Australia
- Reviewed
- August 2026
What changes at this size
Minimum spend replaces per-head maths
Most venues quote per person but hold you to a minimum spend for the room. Below roughly 40 guests you often pay the minimum regardless — so the honest question is what that minimum buys, not what each guest costs.
You can host properly instead of catering en masse
Small numbers make things possible that don't scale: a shared table, a real menu, a proper wine list, time with every person there. It's the main reason couples choose this size, and it's worth spending the saved money on.
The guest list is the hardest part, not the logistics
Cutting to 30 means conversations. Doing it early — before save-the-dates, before anyone assumes — is the single thing that keeps a micro wedding calm.
Some vendors price by day, not by guest
Photography, celebrant, music and styling barely move with guest count. Budget them at full rate and let catering be the line that shrinks.
A micro wedding is not a small version of a big wedding — it's a different set of decisions.
Answer six quick questions and get a checklist and budget built for a guest list you can actually name.
How Wedyesday plans a micro wedding
- 01
Answer six questions
Guest count starts at 25 and food, photography and the venue are already weighted as your priorities — move any of it before you finish.
- 02
Get a budget weighted for a small guest list
Your total is split across categories with your priorities boosted, and benchmarked against the real range for your region so you can see where you sit.
- 03
Track the list that has to stay short
Inside your workspace the guest list holds households, meal choices and plus-ones, and one RSVP link collects replies against the right person.
- 04
Seat one room without sticky notes
The seating planner draws on that same guest list, so a decline stops occupying a seat.
Your wizard is already set up for this
Start from this page and we'll skip the questions this already answers:
- A single ceremony and reception, rather than a multi-day arc
- Food, photography and the venue as your starting priorities
- Guest count starting at 25 — move it wherever your list actually lands
Nothing is locked — every pre-filled answer is editable, and there's a one-tap option to answer all seven questions yourself instead.
Questions couples ask
How many guests is a micro wedding?
Commonly 30 or fewer, though there's no official number — the useful line is the point where you stop catering to a crowd and start hosting a room. Some venues use 20, some 50.
Is a micro wedding much cheaper?
Cheaper, but not proportionally. Catering and drinks scale with numbers; photography, the celebrant, music, styling and your outfits largely don't. Expect the total to fall well short of half a 100-guest wedding rather than to a third.
Do venues take bookings this small?
Many do, and some price it as a minimum spend on a smaller room or a whole-venue hire on a quieter day. Midweek and off-peak dates are where small bookings are most welcome.
Thirty people, one long table, nothing watered down.
Free, and your answers stay in your browser until you choose to save them.