where i do

Choosing a wedding venue by guest numbers

How to match a venue to your guest list, from intimate weddings to receptions for 300 or more, with every Victorian venue that publishes a capacity in each size.

6 min readFigures from venue details last checked 14 November 2026

Brown Brothers, a wedding venue in Milawa
Pictured: Brown Brothers, Milawa, in High Country

Your guest list decides more about your venue than any other choice. Too small a room means cramped tables and no dance floor; too big, and the room feels empty. This guide helps you size it right, then lists every venue on Where I Do that publishes a seated capacity, grouped by size.

  • 149venues publish a seated capacity
  • 7seat up to 60
  • 52seat 61 to 120
  • 51seat 121 to 200
  • 39seat more than 200

Work out your number first

  • Start with the "must invite" list, then add a realistic share of everyone else. Many couples find a share of invited guests cannot come, especially for weddings that involve travel.
  • Count the people who need a seat: children, your celebrant, photographer and other suppliers who stay for dinner often do.
  • Leave headroom. A venue that seats exactly your number may leave no room for a dance floor, a band or a cake table.
  • Decide early between a seated dinner and a cocktail reception. It changes which venues fit.

Seated or cocktail?

A cocktail reception, with standing, roaming canapés and a few high tables, fits more people into the same room. Across the 98 venues that publish both figures, the cocktail capacity is on average about 1.6 times the seated capacity. A seated dinner suits speeches, older guests and a longer evening. Many couples choose a mix: a seated main course with roaming dessert, or seated tables for family and standing space for everyone else.

Capacity figures are the most a venue says its largest space can hold. Ask how that changes with a dance floor, a band, a long-table layout or a ceremony in the same room.

Up to 60 seated

Intimate weddings, elopements and long-table dinners. Restaurants, wineries, cottages and private rooms come into play, and venue hire can be better value than a package with a minimum number of guests. Filter all venues by guest numbers.

Yarra Valley

Inner Melbourne

Gippsland

Macedon Ranges

Dandenong Ranges

Ballarat

61 to 120 seated

The most common size of Victorian wedding. Most winery, estate and restaurant venues can do it, so you will have the widest choice. Filter all venues by guest numbers.

Melbourne CBD

  • Fable MelbourneMelbourne · 70 seated · 100 cocktail · Venue hire from $1,000
  • Garden RoomsSouthbank · 80 seated · 150 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • Commune WineSouthbank · 80 seated · 150 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • LongsongMelbourne · 80 seated · 100 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • St Andrews ConservatoryFitzroy · 120 seated · 160 cocktail · Price on enquiry

Western suburbs

High Country

Geelong

Daylesford and Hepburn

Yarra Valley

Mornington Peninsula

Rutherglen

Inner Melbourne

  • Chapel 1885Collingwood · 70 seated · 100 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • Nini's HawthornHawthorn · 120 seated · 250 cocktail · Price on enquiry

Eastern suburbs

Bellarine Peninsula

Macedon Ranges

Bendigo

Ballarat

  • Ivory PavilionBuninyong · 100 seated · Venue hire from $8,700
  • Scrub HillNewlyn · 120 seated · 140 cocktail · Venue hire from $2,500

South Eastern suburbs

Great Ocean Road

Gippsland

Northern suburbs

  • Chapter PlaceCoburg · 120 seated · 150 cocktail · Price on enquiry

Phillip Island

Surf Coast

Bass Coast

121 to 200 seated

Larger receptions need a room or marquee that seats everyone with space for a dance floor. Check where the ceremony goes and how guests move between the two. Filter all venues by guest numbers.

Yarra Valley

Inner Melbourne

  • POST OFFICE HOTELCoburg · 130 seated · 250 cocktail · From $70 per person
  • The Grand RoomSouth Yarra · 150 seated · 250 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • Quat QuattaRipponlea · 170 seated · 400 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • Studley GroundsKew · 180 seated · 350 cocktail · From $105 per person
  • Diagora EventsNorth Melbourne · 200 seated · 300 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • Ormond HallMelbourne · 200 seated · 300 cocktail · Price on enquiry

Bellarine Peninsula

  • Oneday EstateCurlewis · 130 seated · 200 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • 360QQueenscliff · 140 seated · 250 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • Soho Estate BellarineDrysdale · 150 seated · 150 cocktail · Venue hire from $12,000
  • Terindah EstateBellarine · 160 seated · 200 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • Scotchmans HillDrysdale · 200 seated · 200 cocktail · Price on enquiry

Gippsland

Melbourne CBD

  • LuciMelbourne · 130 seated · 250 cocktail · From $295 per person
  • Alto Event SpaceCremorne · 150 seated · 400 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • Canvas HouseSouth Melbourne · 200 seated · 300 cocktail · Price on enquiry

Macedon Ranges

High Country

Dandenong Ranges

Eastern suburbs

Bendigo

Great Ocean Road

  • Wye Beach HotelWye River · 150 seated · 200 cocktail · Price on enquiry
  • The PeakLorne · 160 seated · 250 cocktail · Price on enquiry

Mornington Peninsula

Western suburbs

Northern suburbs

Geelong

  • Rocklea FarmStonehaven · 130 seated · 150 cocktail · Price on enquiry

Ballarat

Phillip Island

Rutherglen

Surf Coast

Shepparton

Bass Coast

More than 200 seated

Big weddings narrow the field to ballrooms, reception centres, large hotels and estates with marquees. Ask about parking, coaches and the layout for the speeches. Filter all venues by guest numbers.

Melbourne CBD

Inner Melbourne

Eastern suburbs

Yarra Valley

Western suburbs

Mornington Peninsula

Northern suburbs

Bellarine Peninsula

Dandenong Ranges

Geelong

Surf Coast

Mildura

  • Willow and IvieNichols Point · 250 seated · 300 cocktail · From $175 per person

Shepparton

Not on these lists?

Only venues that publish a seated capacity appear here: 149 of 418. Plenty of others will fit your numbers, so if you like a venue, ask. Questions to ask a wedding venuecovers what to check about numbers, minimums and layout, and small wedding venuesfocuses on the smallest rooms.

Try it for your wedding

Venue matchNot sure where to start?Five questions, then a shortlist of venues that fit, with the reasons why.Start Cost calculatorWhat will a venue cost?A realistic range for your guest numbers, from the prices venues publish.Work it out

Venues to start with

Browse all 418

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