For a small wedding in London or Kent, some of the best venues are council ceremony rooms: Chelsea Old Town Hall’s Harrington Room holds 8 guests, Islington’s Room 99 holds 20, Lewisham’s Evelyn Suite 40 and Bromley’s Ceremony Room 50. Some Kent venues offer small rooms too.
This guide covers guest numbers, the cheapest legal ceremonies, how a small room looks on camera and how much coverage you need. It is part of our guide to weddings in London, Kent and Surrey. If it’s just the two of you and two witnesses, read how to elope in the UK as well.
How many guests is a small wedding?
There is no official definition, but rooms fall into four rough bands. Small is common: according to the Bridebook UK Wedding Report 2026, 41% of receptions have fewer than 60 guests.
| Guests | What it usually means | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| 2 witnesses | The legal minimum | A statutory register office room |
| About 10 | Parents, siblings, a best friend each | The smallest town hall rooms |
| About 20 | Close family and a few friends | Mid-size town hall rooms; a private dining room for lunch |
| 30 to 50 | Family and friends | Larger council rooms, or a country venue’s small room |
Very small weddings are rarer: Tagvenue’s 2026 cost index says micro weddings of 20 or fewer guests fell from 10% to 5.5% of its enquiries.
What is the cheapest way to get married in London?
A statutory ceremony: the two of you, two witnesses and a registrar, in the register office’s statutory room, often on set weekday mornings. Most London councils we checked charge £62 for it from 6 April 2026 (2026/27 fees, checked October 2026). On top, you pay £46.50 each to give notice and £12.50 for a certificate.
| Where | Statutory ceremony | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Greenwich (Woolwich Town Hall) | £62 | Residents only; a wait of 6 months or more |
| Islington | £62 | Residents only |
| Lewisham | £62 | Wednesdays only; room for 4 |
| Hackney, Tower Hamlets | £62 | |
| Camden | £74.50 | Tuesday mornings |
| Westminster (Harrow Road) | £84.50 | Includes one certificate; selected Wednesdays |
| Bromley | £62 (national fee) | Two mornings a month |
In Kent, the county council’s basic registration, with up to four guests, is £62 in 2026/27. Sittingbourne Library offers basic registration for up to 10 guests at £156 on Thursdays and £200 on Saturdays. Medway’s Statutory Room takes up to 6 people including the couple, for £62 (no year given).
Small register office rooms in London
For 8 to 50 guests, a town hall room is often the simplest choice. Council figures, checked October 2026; fees change every April.
| Room | Guests | Example fees |
|---|---|---|
| Harrington Room, Chelsea Old Town Hall | 8 | Weekday mornings: £300 Mon to Thu, £315 Fri |
| Rossetti Room, Chelsea Old Town Hall | 12 | Summer 2026: £450 to £470 Mon to Thu, £515 to £555 Sat |
| Paddington, Marylebone and Soho rooms, Old Marylebone Town Hall | 8, 12 and 13 | Soho Room: £953 Mon to Thu (2026/27) |
| Primrose and Regent’s rooms, Camden Town Hall | Couple plus 4; 20 | £305 Mon to Thu, £430 Sat (April 2026 to April 2027) |
| Room 99, Islington Town Hall | 20 | Summer: £331 Mon to Thu, £478 Sat; winter from £269 |
| Lanchester Suite, Hackney Town Hall | Up to 30, including photographer, videographer and children | £325 Tue, Thu, Fri; £405 Sat (2026/27) |
| Evelyn Suite, Lewisham | 40 in total | £304 Mon to Thu, £440 Sat; no Sundays (2026/27) |
| Ceremony Room, Bromley Civic Centre | 50 | £400 Mon to Fri, £525 weekends (2026/27) |
Our London register offices guide compares every borough, and our Bromley, Beckenham and south east London guide covers our home patch. For bigger rooms, see our older list of London wedding venues.
Intimate wedding venues in Kent
Kent County Council runs seven register offices, including Danson House in Bexley. Its capacities exclude the couple and registration staff, and these fees run from 12 October 2026 to 31 March 2029, plus an £85 booking fee.
| Fee band (weekday / weekend) | Rooms and guests |
|---|---|
| Small: £330 / £490 | Pugin Room, Ramsgate (8); Study, Canterbury (10, Mon to Thu only); Johnston Room, Bexley (12); Study, Maidstone (15); Wells Room, Tunbridge Wells (16) |
| Mid: £490 / £650 | Drawing Room, Canterbury, Augustine Suite, Ramsgate, and Sir John Boyd’s Room, Bexley (25 each); Grove Room, Tunbridge Wells (30); Manor Room, Dartford (35); Garden Room, Maidstone (40) |
Medway runs its own service: the Library Room at Medway Register Office in Rochester takes up to 50 guests, at £200 on weekdays and £250 at weekends plus a £60 booking fee (no year given on the page).
If you would rather have grounds, Lympne Castle near Hythe offers intimate, twilight and chapel weddings Monday to Wednesday, and Bradbourne House in East Malling has its Drawing Room for an intimate wedding breakfast of 40. A registrar at a Kent approved venue costs £640 on weekdays and £840 at weekends, plus the £85 booking fee. See our guide to Kent castle and barn venues.
Just over the border in Surrey, Painshill’s Crystal Grotto takes 16 guests between May and September; see getting married in Surrey.
Does the photographer count as a guest?
In a room for 8 or 12, it matters, and councils differ:
- Islington: one professional photographer doesn’t count; videographers do.
- Hackney: the Lanchester Suite limit of 30 includes the photographer, videographer and children.
- Wandsworth and Greenwich: photographers count towards capacity. At Greenwich’s statutory Register Office, a photographer can attend only as one of your two witnesses.
- Westminster and Southwark: their pages say a professional photographer doesn’t count, but check, as both pages are older or undated.
Ask before you finalise your guest list.
How does a small room look on camera?
Close. With 15 people, every face is in the frame at some point. The trade-off is space: there is usually one good position for the photographer and one for the filmmaker, so we agree them with the registrar and stay put.
Light comes from one or two windows, and we never use flash during the ceremony. Voices are quiet, so we put small, discreet microphones on you before you go in. Many registrars have rules about photographing the signing, and some stage a posed signing afterwards.
Plan where you go next. Bromley’s Ceremony Room is on the first floor of a working office block with no green space, so we walk somewhere nearby. Lewisham has an accessible patio garden, and Tower Hamlets (with small rooms for 10 and 20) suggests its grand staircase and rear gardens. See our register office photography guide for a 30-minute plan.
How many hours of photography do we need for a small wedding?
Our minimum is two hours, which suits most register office ceremonies. Add time for a lunch or dinner if you want the toasts and speeches. If you want film too, our simple wedding film is one filmmaker for up to four hours: your ceremony in full, the speeches uncut and a two to three minute highlight film, delivered within four weeks.
Monday to Thursday weddings cost less with us, as do many town hall rooms. See how to spend less on photo and film and our wedding photographer cost guide.
A sample two-hour plan for 20 guests
A Saturday 12:00 town hall ceremony, then lunch nearby:
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 11:30 | We arrive, photograph the room and your guests gathering |
| 11:45 | You arrive; microphones on for the film |
| 12:00 | Ceremony and signing, within the registrar’s guidance |
| 12:25 | Confetti outside, where the council allows it |
| 12:35 | Five or six family photographs |
| 12:50 | Twenty minutes of portraits on a nearby street or in a garden |
| 13:15 | Arrive at lunch: the table, the room and the first toast |
| 13:30 | Two hours done, or stay on for speeches |
In mid-December, sunset is around 15:50, so a midday ceremony still leaves daylight for portraits.
From behind the camera
At a small wedding nobody is hidden at the back, so every reaction is right there. What I watch for is the clock: town hall ceremonies run to the minute, and in a small room there is no second chance to move to a better angle. That’s why we arrive 30 minutes early, learn the room and choose our spots before anyone sits down. See how we approach intimate weddings and elopements.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to get married in London?
A statutory ceremony at your register office, with just the two of you and two witnesses. Most London councils we checked charge £62 for it from April 2026, plus £46.50 each to give notice and £12.50 for a certificate. Some charge more, places are limited and some are for residents only, so check your own borough’s fee table.
How many guests can you have at a register office wedding in London?
It depends on the room. Statutory rooms usually take the couple and two witnesses, small rooms take about 8 to 20 guests, and larger town hall rooms take 30 to 100 or more. Chelsea Old Town Hall’s Harrington Room holds 8, Islington’s Room 99 holds 20, Lewisham’s Evelyn Suite 40 and Bromley’s Ceremony Room 50.
Does the photographer count towards our guest numbers?
At some register offices, yes. Islington doesn’t count one professional photographer but does count videographers. Hackney’s Lanchester Suite limit of 30 includes the photographer, videographer and children, and Wandsworth and Greenwich also count photographers. In a room for 8 or 12, that matters, so ask your register office before you finalise your guest list.
Keep reading
- How to elope in the UK: the legal steps for a wedding with just two witnesses.
- Register office weddings: great photos in 30 minutes: making a short ceremony slot count.
- London register offices compared: which town hall, borough by borough.
Planning something small? Get a price for your date, or book a call and tell us about the room.
