Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions

Church or on-site Venue ceremony?

My FI and I have a dilemma... we want to get married in my grandmother's church. The church is about 30 minutes away from the venue. The venue has a $600 chapel fee. We are having trouble deciding where to do the ceremony. We are trying to take into account transportation, limo costs, how we'd get back to the hotel, the amount of time for pics/travel.... any advice?! The chapel is gorgeous and we would love to get married there, but there is sentiment behind the church. What do you guys think?
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Re: Church or on-site Venue ceremony?

  • I agree with PP, 30 minutes isn't too far to drive, as long as its not much longer than that. Also, make sure there are snacks and beverages at the reception venue for when they arrive, so they don't get hungry waiting for you.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_church-venue-ceremony?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:d78c79ce-5d77-44bb-9f5d-c358ff5df90aPost:6d95e961-7615-4044-b729-729f43f16b72">Re: Church or on-site Venue ceremony?</a>:
    [QUOTE]No one can make this decision for you.  You need to decide what you want for yourselves.  30 minutes is not too far for your guests to drive.
    Posted by CMGr[/QUOTE]

    <div>It wasn't really about how far the venue was.. I just wasn't sure what people preferred as far as on-site ceremony or church</div>
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_church-venue-ceremony?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:d78c79ce-5d77-44bb-9f5d-c358ff5df90aPost:aece1b5d-ba70-4283-a399-80444867b382">Re: Church or on-site Venue ceremony?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Church or on-site Venue ceremony? : It wasn't really about how far the venue was.. I just wasn't sure what people preferred as far as on-site ceremony or church
    Posted by mrsjmwolfe[/QUOTE]

    Different people prefer different things, so this is really a decision that's completely up to you.  It sounds like you'd prefer the church, so I'd say go with the church.  It's a reasonable distance and you can always skip the limo if it's cost prohibitive and use your own car. 
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  • edited December 2011
    Of course it's easier for the guests to have everything in one location. But that isn't the only consideration. It sounds like it's really important to you to have the ceremony at your Grandmother's church. So that's what you should do.

    Thirty minutes isn't far to travel from the ceremony to the reception. If possible, block hotel rooms close to the reception venue, so guests won't have to travel too far at the end of the day.

    Your picture time will be the same whether you have the ceremony at the chapel or the church, because all of you will be traveling the same distance. Most b & gs do their pictures during cocktail hour - so the guests will have something to do while they are waiting for you and the wedding party to arrive.

    I agree with jemmini on the limo. That would be one of the first expenses that I would cut.
                       
  • As a devout catholic, weddings outside churches  and secular "wedding chapels" just confuse me (except Jewish weddings, where there's a tradition for them to be outside). As a recovering evangelical, I'm not particular about what kind of church, as long as it has meaning for the bride and groom.
  • Is this a church you've ever attended as a member, or is it solely sentimental because it's where your grandmother went?

    I don't think there's anything wrong with either decision. But to be completely honest, if I'm going to a wedding for a couple that isn't particularly religious nor active members of a church, it just feels wrong when they have a wedding in a church (not to say that's the case for you guys, but just in general.)  I think weddings held in a house of worship are lovely and incredibly special when it's because the couple is religious. When it's not, it just feels like it's for show. So if that's the case, I would say go with the onsite venue. 
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_church-venue-ceremony?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:10Discussion:d78c79ce-5d77-44bb-9f5d-c358ff5df90aPost:1ad2d8db-b1a1-4d57-8f98-a3cbbc30c670">Re: Church or on-site Venue ceremony?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Is this a church you've ever attended as a member, or is it solely sentimental because it's where your grandmother went? I don't think there's anything wrong with either decision. But to be completely honest, if I'm going to a wedding for a couple that isn't particularly religious nor active members of a church, it just feels wrong when they have a wedding in a church (not to say that's the case for you guys, but just in general.)  I think weddings held in a house of worship are lovely and incredibly special when it's because the couple is religious. When it's not, it just feels like it's for show. So if that's the case, I would say go with the onsite venue. 
    Posted by saric83[/QUOTE]

    Thank you! My FI and I read this response together actually, and it definitey helped with the decision. Thanks for your input <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif" border="0" alt="Laughing" title="Laughing" />
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