Reimbursement for over estimated guest count?

My fiancé and I planned for a 50 person wedding. We genuinely thought all 50 people would come, because it’s such a small and intimate wedding. Almost half of my family has declined, so we are now closer to the 40 person mark.


The wedding venue had us pre-pay in instalments for the 50 people we estimated. We are 2 months out from the wedding and will have an official final guest count for the venue at the end of august (about a month before the wedding). Plates are $170.00 each. The venue doesn’t have a 50 person minimum, so would they be obligated to reimburse us for the 10 people we over estimated? We haven’t given them the final guest count or even picked the menu yet. Please let me know if anyone else has had experience with this. $1,700 can go a long way if we get it back.