One word comes up again and again in the requests couples write to us: “intimate”. Fewer guests, not less of a wedding.
Here is what a private estate changes when you marry with 20, 30 or 40 people, and what it does not.
Intimate, in numbers
Manoir Blackswan hosts 20 to 100 seated guests. With 30, the tent is half empty, and that is a gift: the reception can be held in the grand salon, in front of the fireplace, or under the tent with a single long table down the middle. With 30, you do not have a seating plan. You have one table.
And of those 30 guests, 14 sleep at the Manoir. Nearly half the room wakes up under the same roof on Sunday morning.
On Friday, nearly everyone is already there
For a wedding of 100, Friday belongs to the family: the 14 who sleep on site have supper together, the others arrive on Saturday. For a wedding of 30, Friday night already looks like the wedding. Supper for 14 on the Manoir's period tableware, the others arriving for a drink, and the next day, no one is introduced to strangers.
One table, one menu
With 30 covers, the meal changes in nature. A chef can serve a menu in several courses, to the minute, which a caterer does not do for 100. The wines are chosen to the bottle. The table is set as for a big family celebration, not like a banquet hall.
That is where the budget of an intimate wedding goes: into the plate, into the glass, into what sits on the table. We explain elsewhere what the venue provides and what you choose.
What thirty guests change, and what they do not
| A wedding of 100 | A wedding of 30 | |
|---|---|---|
| The table | Round tables of 10 | One long table |
| The ceremony | In the garden or under the tent | In the garden, or in the grand salon by the fireplace |
| The meal | Plated service for 100 | A menu in several courses, served to the minute |
| Nights on site | 14 people out of 100 | 14 people out of 30, nearly half |
| Friday night | The family | Nearly all the guests |
| The price of the venue | $15,000 | $15,000 |
The price does not change with the guest count
This is the point to know before the visit. The estate privatization starts at $15,000, for 20 guests as for 100. There is no reduced formula for a small group, and no one-day formula: the product is the entire estate, for a weekend.
A wedding of 30 therefore costs less than a wedding of 100 in food, table and flowers, but not in venue. If the venue must stay a small share of your total budget, a hall sized to your group will suit you better. If the venue is what you are giving your thirty closest, you are in the right place. We talk about budget plainly.
Where to begin
With the list of the 14 people who will sleep at the Manoir. With 30 guests, that is nearly half the room, and they are the ones who will share Friday supper and Sunday brunch. That list sets the tone of the weekend. The rest, the table, the menu, the ceremony, is decided with us, one visit at a time.
Emmanuel HébertManoir Blackswan