A wedding with twenty, forty or sixty guests does not have to feel like a smaller version of a large wedding. London has private dining rooms, historic interiors and hotel spaces where the scale of the room is one of its attractions.
These small wedding venues in London are worth looking at if you would rather gather everyone around one table, have a ceremony somewhere unexpected or spend more of the celebration enjoying the city together.
Sketch, Mayfair
Around 30 for dinner in the Glade, or 48 in the Lecture Room & Library
The interiors at Sketch are a reason to choose the venue in their own right. The Glade has the atmosphere of an imagined woodland, while the Lecture Room & Library is a more formal, food-led option. These are places for a celebratory meal rather than a conventional wedding breakfast followed by ballroom dancing.
At the time of our visit, Sketch was not licensed for legal marriage ceremonies, making it a natural choice after a register office wedding elsewhere.
Chiswick House & Gardens, Chiswick
The Red Velvet Room: around 20 for a ceremony
Chiswick is one of the few places where a tiny ceremony can feel at home in an architectural setting. The Velvet Rooms are richly coloured, quite unlike the larger Garden Pavilion used for many of the venue’s receptions.
Decide early where the meal would happen afterwards. The gardens are open to other visitors beyond the areas hired privately for the wedding.
Corinthia London, Westminster
12 comfortably on the Mezzogiorno mezzanine, or 18 in the Rosetta private dining room
For a very small wedding, two rooms at Mezzogiorno by Francesco Mazzei offer very different levels of privacy. The mezzanine keeps you connected to the restaurant’s atmosphere; Rosetta is a separate enclosed room. The events team advised that each could seat a couple more guests in a tighter configuration, but the comfortable numbers are the better starting point.
A long lunch or dinner here could follow a ceremony nearby without taking over a large hotel event space.
Little Banqueting House, Hampton Court Palace
Up to about 50 for a ceremony or seated dinner
The Little Banqueting House sits beside the Thames within the Hampton Court Palace grounds, with one highly decorative room and a walled garden. It offers a different experience from the palace’s Great Hall or State Apartments, with a sense of intimacy that is difficult to achieve in a large historic building.
Accessibility needs discussing at the outset, because this venue is not fully wheelchair accessible.
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Knightsbridge
Loggia: approximately 50 for a seated event
The Loggia is a more intimate side of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, with natural light, large windows and views towards the park. It has the assurance of a major hotel but without needing to fill the main Ballroom.
Its quieter atmosphere comes with tighter music restrictions, so it suits couples planning a dinner or ealier evening celebration more than a late party.
Explore Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.
Medieval Palace, Tower of London
Up to 40 for a ceremony or seated dinner
This is for couples who want their small wedding to be defined by its setting. The Medieval Palace’s historic rooms and battlements can be combined with the Tower’s Ceremony of the Keys for a really memorable evening.
The timetable is strictly controlled, and there is no dancing. Historic staircases also mean the space is not wheelchair accessible. For couples drawn to the atmosphere, it can still be a remarkable part of a wider wedding day.
The Goring, Belgravia
Garden Room: around 44 for a seated wedding breakfast
The Goring appeals to couples looking for a smaller London hotel with a residential feel. Its Garden Room opens towards the hotel’s private garden, giving a wedding lunch an unusually green setting for central London.
A smaller guest list allows the dining and the time together to take centre stage rather than asking a ballroom to feel intimate.
Bvlgari Hotel London, Knightsbridge
Sette private dining room: approximately 18 for dinner
A small wedding at Bvlgari does not have to use its principal Ballroom. The private dining room at Sette offers an Italian restaurant setting; Nolita Social can provide a different atmosphere for drinks or a separate evening gathering, subject to hire arrangements.
The spaces are operated differently from the hotel’s Ballroom, so confirm which team is managing your event and exactly what is included in the reservation.
A few questions worth asking
For small weddings, exclusivity can matter more than maximum capacity. Will the dining room be closed to other guests? Can the same space host a legal ceremony, or will you marry elsewhere? Is there a room that genuinely suits the table layout and the style of gathering you want?
If you are still deciding which part of the city suits your celebration, start with our guide to wedding locations in London. If your plans include dinner after a ceremony elsewhere, see wedding reception venues in London. For a larger guest list, see large wedding venues in London.
All guest numbers are room-specific estimates and should be checked for your chosen layout.