How to Find the Best Small Wedding Venues in Melbourne
If your idea of celebrating your wedding is to have… well, as few people celebrating as possible, you’re not alone. Whether it’s a personal preference or a budget constraint, there has been a significant trend towards smaller and more intimate weddings over the last few years – and Melbourne venues have responded with enthusiasm.
There are so many excellent benefits to choosing a more intimate wedding over an extravaganza. You can engage with your nearest and dearest more intimately than you may be able to with a more extensive guest list; you’re able to adhere to a smaller and stricter budget, and you can potentially splash out more on your honeymoon.
Chief amongst these benefits for smaller weddings is that the world of venues is a little bit different, and in some circumstances, you’re going to find a broader range of options. Venues that are specifically designed for weddings tend to offer large ceremony and reception spaces, and packages with a set minimum number of guests. However, intimate weddings open up the option for non-traditional wedding venues that are perfect for a smaller invite list.
Check out our guide to finding the best small wedding venues in Melbourne, and then get in touch with one of our VenueCrew Venue Specialists to get started on securing your perfect intimate wedding space.
Venue Specialist Tip No. 1: Finalise Your Guest List
This might seem like an obvious piece of advice, but it’s an important step. In your heart – and on your Pinterest board – you might be lusting over an intimate ceremony and reception space, but when you finally tally up the distant cousins and ex-work colleagues, your guest list might have crept higher than those venues will allow. Generally, anything with less than 50 guests is considered a small wedding – 25 people from each side of the wedding couple.
This can be difficult for people who come from large families. If you need to condense your guest list, a few helpful suggestions are:
- Have an A and B list in case any of your first-round people can’t attend
- Have just your immediate family – parents, siblings, and some comfy front-row seats for Gran and Pa
Venue Specialist Tip No. 2: Small Doesn’t Mean Claustrophic
Melbourne has thousands of hole-in-the-wall venues, and especially in the inner-city, you’ll find that many of the reception and ceremony spaces are entirely indoors. However, many venues cleverly bring the outdoors in so that your intimate ceremony or reception space won’t feel stuffy.
For incomparable Melbourne city views, the Southern Point Room at Eureka 89 is a flexible and intimate ceremony and reception space. With a capacity of 40 for seated dining, there’s still plenty of room for a dancefloor – that’s if your guests can tear themselves away from the view over Port Phillip Bay, Albert Park Lake, and the Botanical Gardens. Download the Eureka 89 brochure to see how you can make this jaw-dropping space yours.
Venue Specialist Tip No. 3: Outdoors Can Still Be Intimate
On the flip side, some couples are wary of booking one of Melbourne’s many outdoor venues for a small wedding because they fear they won’t be able to ‘fill’ the space.
At Levantine Hill in the Yarra Valley, your wedding ceremony can be customised for your small guest list, without having to sacrifice the dreamy view of the vineyards. After your ceremony is finished, your guests can sit down in the gorgeous Storrier Room, a modern private dining area with wood panelling and contemporary light fixtures. For more info, download the Levantine Hill wedding brochure.
