The first venue quote will feel like a joke. Then the guest list grows by one household, and the whole day changes price.
Most wedding advice still starts from someone else's average and a Saturday ballroom. This book starts from money you actually have. It argues that guest count is the budget, that a room which already knows how to feed people beats a pretty empty hall, and that cheap is what happens when you cut food and photos to fund objects nobody remembers on Monday.
You will get a backward way to set the number, a method for cutting the list without writing a moral essay, questions that turn a per-person quote into a real total, and a clear split between what guests notice and what only looks finished in a photo. There are checklists for the pot, the names, the venue tour, the hires you cannot redo, and the hours of the day itself.
It is for couples who will pay for this themselves, who do not want a new debt as a wedding gift, and who still want the afternoon to feel like a celebration. Smaller is not a lesser wedding when the table is full and the meal is good.
Read it before you tour the barn. The cheapest decision is the one you never have to undo.