Though the average wedding today has 150 guests and costs thousands upon thousands of dollars, if you are able to keep your wedding small you will find there are a lot of special advantages. For example:

A tiny wedding can be held almost anywhere. If your heart is set on flying over the Grand Canyon, hiking to a summit or scuba diving as you say your vows, it can be done.

"Receptions" can be intimate parties rather than huge affairs. How many people were at the last wedding you went to? If it was anything like the average American wedding, there were so many people that the couple had next to no time to speak to their guests, much less enjoy them. In addition, there were probably a handful of people that neither the bride nor the groom recognized. Now there is the reason The Wedding Crashers is so funny-it could easily be true! If you keep the wedding small you get to spend quality time on your wedding day with the people who really matter to you.

You can have your event in so many cool places. Think of how many places you can have a party for 500. Now 200. 100. 50. 25. 10. Now, can't you think of exponentially more places to have your party as the number goes down? A major benefit to the tiny wedding.

You won't be stuck with "reception food." Catered food tends to be mediocre and overpriced. For a tiny wedding you can simply call in a big carry out order to your favorite restaurant. And if Aunt Nancy wants to cater for you, food for 12 is a way smaller responsibility than food for 100.

The event is more flexible. You have always hated the bouquet and garter toss. If you have 200 people, there will be disappointment if no one gets a chance to snag your bouquet and watch you get embarrassed as the garter is removed. If you have 20, no one will care.

Marie Esselstein
http://www.atinywedding.com