All in one venue?

mElizabeth72

I'm new to the knot and just starting to plan my wedding! It's still quite a ways off (1 year, 7 months), but I figure, it's never too early to start!
My fiance and I are not interested in doing a traditional church ceremony and we are trying to find some other alternatives. I love the convenience of doing it all in one spot; wedding, dinner, and reception. However, I'm not sure if this is a good idea or just a hassel.. What do you guys think?

tiny speck

FI and I are having ceremony and cocktail hour/dinner reception all in one venue; it's a hotel, so we will be staying there the night before and night of, as well as getting ready there, so everything is pretty much self-contained. We wanted a low-key approach to wedding planning, and this has worked out well.

ETA: I'm not sure what aspect of doing it all at the same place would be a hassel to you? All I can see is the convenience of it. (especially good as we have many out of town and international guests)

tlc35

We are doing everything in the same venue and I think it is very convenient for the guests. The only hassle I can think of is if the ceremony and reception are in the same space and the room has to be flipped but that isn't too hard to deal with and usually can be done during cocktail hour

brielleinlove

I think this works out nicely if you aren't interested in a church wedding.  I've never been to a wedding done this way, but I imagine it would be really convenient for guests.

AddieCake

Ours was in one location. Ceremony outside, reception inside.

Jen4948

It can work if the room doesn't need to be "converted" from a ceremony to a reception room.  For example, if it already has tables and a dance floor, you might hold the ceremony on the dance floor while the guests are seated at the tables.

LDubHawksFan

Ours was all in one venue.  The ceremony was outside, then cocktail hour and the reception was inside the hall.  It was great!  I love not having to travel between places as a guest.  Two things that we kind of had to give up though: different photo ops and a limo.  We really wanted to do pictures on the beach, but since that would have meant leaving the location, driving, and then coming right back, it didn't make sense.  At least going between the church and reception location lends itself to a little more flexiblity with a fun photo op location (as long as the gap is minimal and guests are at cocktail hour during this time!).  Also, since we got there about 2 hrs before the ceremony (2ish), and then wouldn't leave until closer to 11 pm, it really didn't make sense to have a limo transportation.  Not place would do less than 4 hrs, and it would have cost us an arm and a leg for maybe 30 mins of use.  We ended up just driving there with our respective WP members and then his father drove us to the hotel down the road after.  It wasn't a big deal to us, but I know some people really look forward to that.

Barbiiieee

I think an all in one venue is the LEAST hassel. It is so much easier for everyone.

QueerFemme

We had an all in one venue, and it was perfect.  The guests were able to go directly to cocktail hour from our outdoor ceremony, and we spent about 30 minutes taking photos and went right in for dinner.  It was awesome.  No travel delays.

mvance3

We're doing this and we found a venue with two sides that have the option to be connected.  We're doing the ceremony on one side and then everyone will exit to the foyer that opens to both sides and allow them into the other side.  Once the ceremony chairs are taken down and tables put up, we'll open up both sides.  

If you can't find a venue that works like that, my aunt and uncle ended up having people sit at the reception tables for the ceremony (they were supposed to get married outside, but the weather didn't cooperate). 

There are lots of options, you just may have to think outside the box.

rajahmd

We're doing an all in one venue.  We'll be using two rooms that are connected by a wall with several doorways in it.  The ceremony will be in the one room, with all the doors closed so guests cannot see the room setup.  We'll walk through the set of doors in the middle during the processional.  After the ceremony, the other room will open up and guests will get to find their seats for the reception and enjoy some finger foods while we get ready for our grand entrance (we're doing all pictures before hand).  While we're doing the grand entrance, then the other room will be converted into the food room, where all the various food stations will be set up.  Then the doors will all open and dinner will begin.

Basically, yes and all-in-one venue can work and it can save you and your guests alot of hassle.

mElizabeth72

Wow! Thanks for all the feedback! I love the idea of having two connecting rooms. I believe there is a hotel in the area that offers that, so I am going to look into it! Thanks so much everyone!

jls522

We're having ours all in one venue too. It's at a golf club and they have walls that close off the reception space for the ceremony. Once the ceremony is over, the guests will exit the ceremony space and go into cocktail hour. While cocktail hour is happening, the ceremony space will be converted back into reception space and we'll be ready for dinner.

This was a really convenient option for us since we have a lot of out of town guests. Our guests can catch the shuttle at the hotel to the venue and be picked up later that night.

I've been to a number of weddings with this setup and it's really convenient as a guest. I would recommend exploring this option!

Amsdragonfly

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_all-in-one-venue?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:b8fcdc3d-fd92-48a0-bb3f-1b778ed6b992Post:a003cbb3-2778-4a2a-ae6d-67fdc8aaa583">Re: All in one venue?</a>:
[QUOTE]Ours was in one location. Ceremony outside, reception inside.
Posted by AddieL73[/QUOTE]

<div>We are doing the same thing. I see only convenience here. :)</div>

dcurtis14

Our wedding in May will be all at the same location. We are having it at a hotel, the ceremony and the reception are in the same area, the room will basically be set for the reception, there will be chairs placed on the dance floor and guest can sit at the tables as well and we will be married on the raised area where the head table will be. The staff only needs 30 minutes to do a quick switch of the room and the guests can help themselves to cocktails in the hotel bar (reducing our bar bill slightly) or check in to the hotel or freshen up in their rooms.
All the guest I've talked to are really excited about everything being in one place. It makes it so much easy for them, especially those guests that are not local.