Distance from ceremony to reception How far is too far?

kisaval · November 2010

I have found my venue for the reception and want to have the ceremony at my own parish church. How far is too far to expect guests to drive? I think it will take 45 minutes in Friday evening rush hour traffic to get from the church to the ceremony. I am afraid a lot of guests (my family is not very religious) will skip the ceremony. I would hate that and am thinking of moving the ceremony to a closer church. A pretty church but not mine,

aerinpegadrak · November 2010

Can you shuttle your guests? 30 minutes in traffic is usually the limit of what I'm willing to drive, but if someone else is doing the driving and I can just kick back and relax, I don't mind a longer trip. If that's not an option, I'd decide which of the two venues is more important to you and ditch the other one in favor of something closer. You're right, people are likely to skip the ceremony if it would be overly inconvenient to attend.

JuneMaggie · November 2010

30 in traffic is the max- but Friday rush hour traffic can be brutal, so I would be concerned it could be even worse.

MacFreitas7 · November 2010

I moved my church closer to the reception site for this very reason.
I wanted to give the option for my guests to be closer to the reception site, plus the hotel is 5 minutes away also, if guests were staying over-night.

I understand that not everyone will go to the ceremony... and i think more people would have not gone to the ceremony if it was 45 + away (plus sitting in traffic = no fun.)

BUT on the other hand it wasn't important for ME to get married in MY church... and my mom and dad who got married in the same church that I am NOT... don't seem to mind terribly, that I'm NOT getting married in THEIR church...

if it's important to YOU to get married in YOUR church please note... you only get married ONCE... if you regret NOT getting married in your church because you're afraid of empty seats - i would think twice about switching venure..

lrob425 · November 2010

My reception is almost 45 min away from the ceremony, but the reception is at the hotel where all the OOT guests are staying. The ceremony will be at the church where I grew up, and it's way out of any city limits. There's really not anywhere, other than the fellowship hall, to have a reception within 20 minutes from the church.

I think that because guests won't have to drive after the reception, it will make up for the long drive from the church. I hope

bibliophile2010 · November 2010

I think that drive in traffic would be brutal. I get frustrated driving in traffic, so to me, 10 minutes in traffic would be worse than 30 minutes without. I think 30 minutes is the max. drive before you start wondering why the two events were so far apart.

It was important to me to have the ceremony at our own parish as well. We then only looked at reception venues that were within 20 minutes of the church.

tldh · November 2010

This is too far IMO. We hired shuttles to drive our guests from the downtown hotel where most people were staying to the wedding which was 45 minutes away. We had nearly 100% RSVP that they would use the van rather than drive themselves.

sarahbutchin · November 2010

Ours is about 15-20 minutes away, but we are not really expecting traffic because it is Labor Day weekend in Phoenix. :-)

NillaWafer10 · November 2010

I might be tempted to skip the ceremony if I lived significantly closer to the reception. However, the people who truly want to see you get married will make the drive regardless.

I couldn't tell who was at the ceremony. I was so focused on the moment that I didn't really pay attention to anyone past the second row. I doubt you will even notice if a few people skip out on the ceremony.

SeptemberFall2011 · November 2010

I voted that I was at the same location but I have been to weddings where the reception and ceremony were 45 minutes apart. So go for it!

peanutty2 · November 2010

hmmm... 45 minutes in traffic might be the borderline of how far i'd want to go as a guest... i might be worried the traffic will be bad and i'll be late for the reception and just skip the ceremony... if i'm close to the bride and groom i'd do it and be fine with it, but for someone i am not as close too... i'd be quite tempted to just skip the ceremony... especially also if i'm driving a distance just to get to either location and having to stay over or leave work early or anything like that... if i already lived fairly local maybe it wouldn't be so bad... sorry if this is a useless answer, but it would really depend... and either way, it'd be borderline too far especially because of the traffic factor... however, it's not terrible... and if it means a lot to you to get married in this place then go ahead and do it... just understand that more people may skip the ceremony... i guess it's up to you what means more... more people at the ceremony or the church... i'm sure your close family and friends will go no matter what though.

cad5033 · November 2010

What time is your friday night ceremony that people will be hitting rush hour after the ceremony? IMO the timing is a much bigger issue than the drive. Most people will probably go to the ceremony because its kind of rude not to, but they won't be happy about it. As the hostess, I think you should be more accomodating to your guests.

CSTK1910 · November 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_distance-ceremony-reception-far-far?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:c0f42d55-a5af-4aaa-89da-81f002a4d6a0Post:992bbe52-d6b3-4deb-96dd-426a01c1e787">Re: Distance from ceremony to reception How far is too far?</a>:
[QUOTE]What time is your friday night ceremony that people will be hitting rush hour after the ceremony? IMO the timing is a much bigger issue than the drive. Most people will probably go to the ceremony because its kind of rude not to, but they won't be happy about it. As the hostess, I think you should be more accomodating to your guests.
Posted by cad5033[/QUOTE]

<div>That's a really good point. If I had to leave work early AND sit in rush hour traffic for 45 minutes to go to your ceremony, I would be pretty annoyed and much more inclined to skip the ceremony than if it were a couple hours later.</div>

FutureDondada · November 2010

Keep in mind that if people are leaving work and sitting in traffic, even if they are willing to go to both, theres a good chance they'll be late to one or both. Do you really want to be dealing with tht too?

kisaval · November 2010

Thank you all for your replies. I'm not sure what time the ceremony would start. The cocktail hour of the reception starts at 6:30. So before determining the time of the ceremony, I have to first decide where it will be and then confer with my rector. I do want to have a nuptial mass, plus we would need time for photos at the church. So I'm thinking the ceremony would have to start at 5:00 or even earlier. So those of you who pointed out that people would be leaving work early are absolutely right. Cad5033 you are so right. I am the hostess and should be thinking of my guests comfort and enjoyment. I am almost positive I will move the ceremony to a closer church. Thank you all again for your helpful remarks. I still welcome any new thoughts.

Kisa

Distance from ceremony to reception How far is too far?

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