Small Wedding, Full Party

By DJ Nate Burgoyne

If you’re planning a small wedding, you might be wondering whether the party will feel as big as you hope. Maybe you’ve pictured a crowded dance floor, and now you’re looking at a guest list of 30 people and asking yourself if it’s going to feel quiet or awkward. I hear that worry a lot, so let me give you the short answer right away. A small guest count doesn’t hold your wedding back at all. The night can run just like any other wedding, and the energy can be just as awesome.

The smallest wedding we’ve ever done was 20 people, and that count included the vendors. That was during the COVID restrictions, and it was still a real wedding with a real celebration. So whether you have 20 guests or 50, here’s how the Frobaby Productions DJ team runs a small wedding reception, and why I think a small group has some real advantages.

The night runs the same, just a little closer

A small guest count doesn’t change how we run the night very much. Your reception still has all the moments you’ve planned, and we still keep everything moving and fun from start to finish.

What does change is my style on the mic. As your MC, I get a little more personal and a little more friendly with your guests. I don’t need to be loud and boisterous, because I don’t have to project across a huge room for everybody to hear me. I tone things down and make the feeling more intimate, so it feels like I’m talking with your guests instead of announcing at them.

That’s the whole adjustment. I don’t see a small wedding as a negative in any way, and I don’t think you should either.

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Same gear, same effort, every time

Here’s something couples are often surprised to hear. We use the same gear for a small wedding as we do for a large one. Whether you have 30 guests or 150, the equipment is the same, and we bring dance lighting and an appropriate sound system either way.

We also don’t charge based on guest count. You’re hiring us to deliver an excellent service, and that level of service doesn’t change whether there are 20 guests or 300. We’re there to perform at an elite level no matter how many people are in the room.

We never show up thinking that 30 guests means we can coast. It’s 100% every time. Your wedding is just as important as anyone else’s, and your guests deserve the same great night.

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Getting a small group on the dance floor

Just like at any wedding, we let dancing happen naturally. Nobody gets dragged out there.

With a small group, your guests are usually mostly married couples and family. That gives us an easy way to get things started. Opening the dance floor with a slow dance for all the couples is a great way to ease people in. It feels sweet instead of pressured, and once a few couples are out there together, it’s much easier for everyone else to join in and keep going.

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The best part of a small wedding reception

My favorite thing about a small wedding is how much better I can connect with your guests. I can say hi to everyone, make eye contact, and actually greet people as your DJ and MC. With a large group, I don’t really have that luxury.

That connection matters, because it helps the whole night feel warm and personal. Your guests feel like part of the party from the start, and that makes them a lot more likely to be on the dance floor later.

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Give your guests a few fun things to do

The most common worry I hear from couples planning a small wedding is that the energy will feel awkward. It won’t. There is one thing I like to suggest, though. With a smaller group, it’s nice to add a few more activities for you and your guests, simply because there aren’t as many people to mingle and chat with.

A shave ice station, a lei-making station, or lauhala bracelet weaving gives people something to do together. A caricature drawing station, temporary tattoos, a photo booth, or a live painter all work well too. If you want a show, a hula performance or a fire knife performance is a great addition. Any of these gives your guests something to enjoy and talk about between the big moments of the night.

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Choose a DJ who’s confident with a small crowd

I’ll tell you what I tell every nervous couple. Relax, because it’s going to be great. As a DJ, a small wedding doesn’t intimidate me at all.

Some DJs do get nervous with small groups, and I understand why. With 120 people in the room, a DJ can count on a certain percentage of guests liking the music, so there will usually be people on the dance floor. With a small group, you really have to connect with everybody to get the floor going, and that takes skill and confidence.

That’s why I’d encourage you to hire a great DJ who isn’t nervous about a small wedding and isn’t making excuses. If you talk to a DJ about your small wedding and they say something like maybe people will dance and maybe they won’t, and it doesn’t really matter, that’s probably not the DJ for you. You want someone who walks into your wedding with confidence and expects a great night, because that’s exactly what a small wedding can be.

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Talk with the Frobaby Productions DJ team

If you’re planning a small wedding reception on Oʻahu and want it to feel like a full party, the Frobaby Productions DJ team would love to hear about your plans. We’re super transparent about our pricing, and you can see all of our packages at pricing.frobabyproductions.com. If you’d like to talk it through, grab a zero-pressure, ask-me-anything chat with the Frobaby Productions DJ team at chat.frobabyproductions.com.