A friend of mine asked me for advice, and I'm really not sure what to tell her. I think what she's doing is okay, but I told her I'd ask E just to be sure.
She's planning to have a very small wedding with his parents, her parents, their siblings, their siblings' spouses, and their nieces (ages 9, 4, and 16-months).
Due to the size of their families, this brings the total to 20 people. They are not having attendants. Two of their siblings are going to serve as witnesses. The courthouse limit is ten people, so they're having the ceremony in the university chapel. They're taking everyone out for dinner and drinks afterward.
Is this still considered small enough for them to consider it a "small, private wedding"? Her mother wants to throw them an AHR a few weeks later, but my friend is worried 20 guests is too many to consider it an "intimate ceremony", even though it's truly immediate family.
She isn't having a shower or registering, and she isn't going to wear her dress to the AHR. They're going to have catered food, an open bar, a DJ, and a non-wedding cake. They do plan to have spotlight dances and cut the cake because her family really wants that, but that's as wedding-y as it gets.