Too far?

polkadot111

We are looking into where to have our ceremony for our wedding. So, question.

Is 25 minutes too far to drive from a ceremony to a reception??

SopChick

I say no. I'm used to driving around 20min for pretty much everything though, so my opinion may differ from other people. Especially if commuting is uncommon in your area.

jaycee7389

I don't think so. I think 30 minutes or less is pretty normal.

Ana_2985

That seems reasonable to me. I wouldn't think twice about it if I was invited to a wedding with that travel time.

I might consider how far away the reception venue is from the majority of the guests. You know, if the ceremony is 25 minutes from your hometown and then the reception is another 25 minutes away that's getting a little far (if it's at night and there's a bar). At that point some guests might be interested in getting information for a hotel near the reception. But otherwise, it sounds fine to me!

TheMutleys

To me, it depends on the area. 

Our drive was about 20 mins but all country roads and a scenic drive.  Our guests commented that they really liked the drive.  If it was 25 mins in the city, I am not sure that it would have gone over so well. 

Also, how many of your guests will be out of town?  I ask because 25 mins of complicated directions is one thing if people are not familiar with the area and a whole other thing if people know where they are going. 

cu97tiger

I don't think it's too long, but you may want to think about shuttle options for those out of town guests that aren't familiar with the area (or would like to drink and not take a $50 taxi back to the hotel).

polkadot111

Mutley, the ceremony location is on the edge of the city, and the reception is in the country. So it's not city driving at all. And, there won't be any alcohol at the ceremony (many of our guests are recovering alcoholics, and I'd like them to be able to come and enjoy themselves... plus this saves us major money).

Thanks everyone!

wink0erin

I think that should be fine, especially since there is no alcohol being served. At my cousin's wedding last summer I drove 30 min from the hotel to the ceremony, and 20 min from the ceremony to the reception. Luckily the reception was closer to my hotel room =P

AnneR15

FI and I are considering doing this, so I hope it's not too far!

I definitely feel where Liv is coming from, which is why one of the ceremony sites we're looking at is down the street from the reception. But FI really wants to have part of the weekend out on the lake (either the ceremony or rehearsal dinner), and we want to have the reception in town since that's where the hotels are. So they'd end the night close to where they're staying.

Polka, I think you'll be fine, especially since you're not having a bar, and as long as you provide a detailed map and easy-to-follow directions from the ceremony to the reception.

TheMutleys

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_far?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:293b6802-6e38-43be-bf76-b1648057a49fPost:c89d6bb2-1eae-4653-abdd-36f25758c90d">Re: Too far?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm in the minority here, I know, but I personally hate having to drive between venues in an unfamiliar area, especially if then the hotel is in yet ANOTHER area. In that situation I would appreciate some sort of shuttle service.
Posted by LivLeighton[/QUOTE]

Yup!  This is why I asked how many OOTers she has. 

I would make the hotel in the reception area if possible.  If not, it needs to be really close to the church/ceremony space. 

We had about 20% OOT guests.  Our hotel was near the church in town.  You literally had to go down Main Street a couple of blocks.  Then, the farm was obviously in the country.  You had to make 3 turns.  I put up very large wooden arrows painted red with our initials telling people where to turn.  Plus we had an afternoon wedding, so people were not navigating back in the dark. 

lunarsongbird

I wouldn't mind driving 25 minutes...Nope- Not at all- Especially if you gave me a good map.

jemmini6

I don't think 25 minutes is unreasonable. 

[Deleted User]

I think 25 minutes is perfectly reasonable...

also, do you plan on having a cocktail hour? My dad's second wedding, they had the church and reception about 30 miles from each other, in Southern California, on a Friday night  ...no cocktail hour and dinner started about an hour after everyone arrived...it was not good...my sister and I stopped off at a 7/11 for slurpees in between! LOL

sorry for the sidetrack there...but yeah...I think it's reasonable...especially being in the Country with nice views for the drive!