AirBnB Weddings: Why Couples Are Saying “I Do” to Smaller, Smarter Venues
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For years, weddings have been synonymous with grand venues, endless guest lists, and hefty price tags. But things are shifting. More and more couples are choosing intimate, personal celebrations that focus on experience and connection rather than tradition and extravagance.
The Cost Conundrum
Let’s face it - weddings aren’t cheap. In the UK, the average wedding in 2024 cost £23,250, up 12% from the year before (Hitched, 2024). And it’s not only couples footing the bill. Guests spend, on average, £451 per wedding, which works out at nearly 20% of a typical monthly income (Experian, 2024).
No wonder both couples and guests are rethinking whether the big, traditional wedding is worth it.
Enter: The Rise of Airbnb’s & Alternative Venues
Instead of hotel ballrooms or stately homes, couples are increasingly drawn to private rentals and short-term stay properties. Why? They tick a lot of boxes:
Cost Efficiency - Renting a private property can cut venue costs and free up budget for things that really matter, like food, music, or memorable experiences (IGMS, 2024).
Intimacy - Smaller venues create genuine moments with the people who matter most, without the pressure of hosting hundreds (Brides, 2024).
Flexibility - Many private rentals allow couples to choose their own caterers, entertainment, and schedules - a freedom most traditional venues don’t offer (IGMS, 2024).
Extended Celebrations - Why stop at one day? Private spaces often make it easy to host pre-wedding dinners, post-ceremony brunches, and weekend-long celebrations (IGMS, 2024).
It’s about making the day feel authentic and personal rather than ticking boxes on a traditional wedding checklist.
The Micro Wedding Movement
Alongside alternative venues, there’s been a huge rise in micro weddings - celebrations with around 20–50 guests. According to Hitched (2024), couples are increasingly choosing smaller guest lists in order to reduce costs, keep things personal, and focus on quality time with their closest circle.
Micro weddings offer the best of both worlds: the significance of a traditional ceremony but without the overwhelm of planning for hundreds. They fit perfectly with Airbnb-style and boutique rental properties, which naturally lend themselves to gatherings that are stylish, intimate, and deeply meaningful.
A Cultural Shift
This trend is bigger than weddings. It reflects changing values: prioritising authenticity, sustainability, and meaningful connections over excess and performance. Couples today are crafting memories, not just staging a spectacle.
What We Learned at Donnini
Here’s where things got interesting for us. We recently hosted an event at No.36 South Beach, one of our Donnini portfolio properties. And during that event, it struck us - this space could be the perfect wedding venue.
With its stunning coastal backdrop, beautifully decorated interiors, and welcoming atmosphere, No.36 feels a world apart from traditional function suites. While it’s not the place for a 300-guest wedding, it’s the ideal venue for smaller, more intimate gatherings of around to 50-80 people - exactly the kind of celebrations that are becoming more and more popular today.
The Takeaway
Modern weddings are evolving. They’re smaller, more personal, and more experience-driven than ever before. And while we haven’t hosted a wedding at No.36 South Beach yet, seeing how effortlessly it adapted to our own event was eye-opening. It showed us just how seamlessly a Donnini property can step into this new era of celebrations.
Because in the end, it’s not about extravagance. It’s about experiences, connections, and creating memories that matter. And with spaces like No.36 South Beach, we know we’re ready to offer couples something refreshingly different.