Small intimate weddings

Apparently, the average cost of holding a wedding and reception party in the UK is now £11,000 pounds. That's a lot of money, and we've all read about couples who splurge madly on a dream'celebrity style' wedding, only to find that they're crippled by debt for years after they've forgotten how it felt to ride in that glass coach.

But it seems there's a growing trend for small, intimate weddings. The days of the big meringue dress, the assembly-line guests and the conspicuous consumption might be numbered. Goodbye caviare canapes and Moet et Chandon fizz, hello good food and wine shared with good friends and close relatives in an interesting venue.

If you limit your guest list to nearest and dearest, you can afford to wine and dine them attractively and actually get round to talking to everyone that attends. Also, you can concentrate your budget on your surroundings. With a smaller guest list you can look at cosier, less grandiose venues that actually have signficance for you, such as your favourite restaurant, the hotel where you enjoyed your first weekend together, even your local pub. Or you can hire a small nightclub for the evening and have a private party. An intimate wedding can even be held at home - your home, your parents' home, or the home of a friend.

Or, if you want to celebrate your wedding further afield, thinking smaller means that you could fly away to the tropics, or Palm Beach, or Goa, or Iceland, with a handful of family and friends, and have a holiday no one will ever forget. More worthwhile than that glass coach, don't you think?

Have fun planning whatever size wedding, and don't forget to come back to Henry Kaye when you're buying all your lovely wedding accessories!

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