How many guests did you have at reception? Feel "empty"?

[fearthisinc]

Just wanted to get some insight from those who have had their receptions.. We invited around 115 people to our wedding and got many declines.. Right off the bat we knew some of the people were declines as they were courtesy invites.. We are looking at about 55 people as confirmed (including children) as the RSVP deadline has just passed.. We have a few stragglers so the number might bump up to 65 but we are not counting on it.. Most of the weddings I have gone to (NJ) are always big events.. I am getting a little nervous that 55 might seem/feel "empty".. The people that are coming are all people we really want to be there so we are happy with that.. But I just start thinking about the photographs and kept thinking that it would look like no one was even there.. And also that the atmosphere might not have the "party" atmosphere.. Just wanted to see what others felt.. Also curious how many people others had at their event..

 

[lurkyloo]

What venue are you using for your reception? We used a smaller venue for our smaller group (34) and it never felt empty. I think even a large space like Atlantic Dance Hall would feel fine with 55 people. I remember one bride had about 40 people there and said it didn't feel strange at all.

 

[fearthisinc]

We are using the Grand Floridian Ball room.. Cocktail hour is in the WhiteHall room and the reception is in the St. Augustine ball room.. Right now we have sections b-d which was given to us based on the planner figuring 90 people would show up.. So now that we are down to 55 I am thinking that at least 1 section will go..

 

[mb187143]

We are using the Grand Floridian Ball room.. Cocktail hour is in the WhiteHall room and the reception is in the St. Augustine ball room.. Right now we have sections b-d which was given to us based on the planner figuring 90 people would show up.. So now that we are down to 55 I am thinking that at least 1 section will go..

We had 59 guests. Our pre reception was in the Whitehall room and we had our reception in st Augustine a-b. Your planner will size the space down or have it arranged so it doesn't look empty. Our room looked great, not crowded but not at all like there was even really room for more people. If you haven't updated your numbers with your planner, it would be a good idea to do so.

 

[sambycat]

Including us it was 29 people? WP/WH. was not empty feeling at all.

 

[julierocks]

We had around 50 people at Atlantic Dance Hall. DFTW did a good job of arranging tables/chairs to fill the room up. We had 6 tables and the dance floor in the middle.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We invited 56 and had 36 at Ariels and the DJ kept it jumping! It was really nice. Guests actually had probably more interaction with each other than if there was a larger group. You will be "A OK"! Enjoy the planning!

 

[Beast913]

We had around 50 people, including the wedding party, should have been around 60 but some people couldn't make it last minute because of travel issues.

That being said, as others have pointed out, the room is arranged to make it feel like the number of guests fit the space. We never felt the room was empty and everyone in the room was dancing and having a good time, our reception was a blast.

I'll say this, one of the reasons we did a destination wedding was that if we did one at home the reception would have been huge, probably 150-200 people if not more, most of whom were friends of my parents who I didn't know that well. This was 50 of my closest friends and family, and my wife's family, and it meant more to me that way. But everyone has their own thoughts on this.

That being said, if you're dropping from 115 to 55, you're going to save a ton on the food/beverage costs!

 

[MiaSRN62]

That being said, if you're dropping from 115 to 55, you're going to save a ton on the food/beverage costs!

Great point! Think of all the little xtras you can add now----those non-attending guests will be sorry!!!! We added a couple things xtra when our guest list dropped too (upgraded table center piece.....added Mickey ice cream bars which were a HUGE hit......and upgraded as a surprise the couple's transportation to a vintage car). The possibilities with Disney are endless

 

[elphie101]

We will be having 72 guests at Atlantic Dance Hall, with 55 on the dance floor (not including us at a sweetheart table). I can let you know how that feels in about a month!

One of the biggest things I took away from our site visit at ADH was that the space in person feels way more intimate and not nearly as massive as it appears in photos. I had been nervous that it would feel like a massive mostly-empty ballroom but it really did feel intimate inside, in case anyone else was wondering.

 

[iluvasoldier]

We had 55 total in 2012 with me, hubby, bridal party, and guests. The only reason ours felt "empty" was because maybe 15 people were into dancing. Many of our guest just sat at their table and talked :/ we loved the DJ so oh well if they didn't like the DJ. In the end we danced and just ignored that most our guests sat out.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We had 55 total in 2012 with me, hubby, bridal party, and guests. The only reason ours felt "empty" was because maybe 15 people were into dancing. Many of our guest just sat at their table and talked :/ we loved the DJ so oh well if they didn't like the DJ. In the end we danced and just ignored that most our guests sat out.

Same with my daughter's wedding in April! Maybe 15 people really got in to the dancing---one was my 89 year old aunt who put everyone to shame!!! It was the first time meeting of the two families so I think that had something to do with it. We are from PA. My daughter went to school in Florida (FSU) and met her now hubby so having 1,000 miles between the two families made it hard to get to know eachother. Our DJ was awesome though (Steve Weinstein).

 

[MrsHappilyEverAfter]

21 people at The Living Seas- had an amazing day, not empty feeling at all