How to Plan Wedding Venue Cost Based on Number of Guests
Why are we talking of venue here? You already know that the number of guests can make wedding catering cost to be high or low. Similarly, venue cost is determined by the number of guests. Venues come in sizes, and the cost of venues increase by the number of people they can contain (known as ‘seating capacity’).
When you go choosing venues, one of the first questions you will be asked is: how many guests are you inviting? More guests will require a bigger wedding venue space (which costs more).
To keep it simple:
- If you have a small budget, keep your number of guest small, so that a smaller venue size will work – so that you can spend less money on venue.
- If you have a huge or unlimited budget, you don’t need to follow any rule, because you can afford to pay for any size of wedding venue.
Before you go looking at wedding venues, you need to know how many guests you want to host. That’s aside from the need to know what to look for in a wedding venue. That way, you’ll be looking at a venue size that is big enough for that number of people (the venue should not be too tight or oversized, though). You also need to have a ceiling of the maximum amount of money you should not pay more than. That is your venue budget, which you can easily determine from doing a budget breakdown.
Event venues and halls are charged by size, some by square meters. The bigger the hall, the more expensive. Now, let’s look again at the scenarios above, now in terms of the guest list size versus reception size. Let’s assume that you found 2 venues and want to decide between a small city hall venue of N150k that seats 100 guests and there’s also a bigger events hall of N220k that seats 150 people.
My advice is to look at your budget – what can you afford? If you have a lean wedding budget, that could mean that you have to take another look at your guest list, as a smaller venue may not contain all of them. The truth is that you don’t have to invite everybody – cut down your list to your pocket. Besides, your wedding will look classy if you invite fewer people. Having more wedding guests (than you can cater for) means food will not be enough for all and some guests leave hungry or feel stuffy/ hot in the venue and will leave the wedding insulting you.
Extra Advice: In case you cannot afford any of the two venues, then choose the biggest venue that would give your guests a good amount of space to move around and dance, and bigger venues are airier.
But, Other Things Can Also Increase Wedding Costs
It’s not only the venue cost that is affected by the number of guests you invite to your wedding. Other costs that can increase (as you increase the number of guests) are food, drinks, invitation cards and even the souvenirs (more guests = more souvenirs = more money). You can go here to read more about how a guest list shoots up the wedding budget.
Any wedding planner knows that one of the easiest ways to reduce a wedding budget is to cut down the guest list. And it’s as simple as this: if you’re faced with an overwhelming big wedding budget, trim down the guest list and you’ll see how the wedding budget will drastically reduce – try it and see for yourself.
Takeaways on Calculating Wedding Costs Based on Number of Guests
When planning a wedding, I always say to start on paper with planning the numbers – set a budget and guest number. That way, it’s easy to see where you need to cut down on cost.
Usually, some couples get stuck when they start hiring and paying for vendors, and would be looking for ways to get extra funds or reduce their budget in order to afford for important things. My advice is this: reduce your number of guests, and everything will fall in place.
By reducing your number of guests, you can reduce both your Catering Cost and Venue Cost, which automatically reduces your overall wedding budget.
Here’s how your guest list number shoots up your wedding budget: the wedding venue can take up to 18% of your total wedding expenses, or more. Food and drinks at your wedding reception will be one of the biggest expense categories in your budget, costing up to 21% of your overall wedding budget. The number of people you invite to your wedding is what determines how much you will spend on the reception budget (food, drinks, venue). Few guests will eat less food and drinks and will require a smaller venue, translating to a significantly lower reception budget and a smaller wedding cost.
In a country like Nigeria, where everyone assumes that every wedding is an open invite, how do you control your guest list size? That’s a matter for another blog post but one of the ways that the young couples are using is to have a destination wedding – can be abroad or in Nigeria (a different state/ city/ far from your house) – to make it a bit difficult for the uninvited to attend. Stay tuned for more tips on how to cut down your wedding reception cost by controlling your guest list.
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- List of Things to Prepare for a Wedding in 6 Months or Less (21 Steps)
- How to Plan a Wedding in 3 Months or Less
- How to Plan an Inexpensive Wedding: Everything You Need to Know
So, that’s it from me on how to calculate your wedding food and venue cost based on how many guests you plan to invite. What are the ways you are using to arrive at your wedding reception (food and venue) costs? Let me hear them in the comments section below.
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