Ceremony & Reception 45 minutes away?

kes322

My fiance and I were supposed to get married this October in Bloomington, IN, near Indiana University, where we met, fell in love, and got engaged.  Yesterday we found out that they changed football homecoming to the weekend of our wedding.  Ahh!  For those who are unaware, the homecoming weekend at IU or any Big 10 school is a HUGE deal.  The church we were going to use does not have much parking and is right in the heart of downtown where all the craziness happens.  So we are exploring the options of maybe getting married in a different location, since our reception is a little bit out of town and will not be too crazy on homecoming.  My fiance really wants to get married at his family's church where his parents and his grandparents were married, but I am worried because it is about 45 minutes away from our reception site and in a different town.  Is that too far far to make our guests drive?

Any insight/help is much appreciated, it has been a frustrating couple of days for us!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I agree - if you get a shuttle, it's not that far. To make them drive? Yes.

ManyPenguins

I actually have the same situation. FI and I searched the immediate area of our ceremony site with a fine toothed comb, but between budget constraints, the large number of guests, and the very small availablity of dates we could use, we had to choose a reception site that is about 45-50 minutes away. We were hesitant to do it, but we really just couldn't come up with anything else. Fortunately, so far the only person to have a problem with it was my Mom, largely because she was concerned that the guests would be unhappy about the drive. Everyone else has been completely fine with it, and even more so once we explain why it had to be that way. The people who you are close to, who truly love and support you, will be there no matter what. As for the others, well....if you aren't important enough to them for them to drive a little extra to attend your WEDDING RECEPTION....is it really that important to you that they be there?

Lasairiona

45 mins is not that far but some people (mainly on TK as opposed to real life) say they won't drive more than 25 mins at the most. As a guest, I've driven up to an hour and not thought anything of it. Those who want to be there will do whatever it takes.

lotte2010

I agree also. Asking them to drive that far should not be a problem, if they do want to be at your wedding they should be willing to drive a small distance. A couple of things that you could do would be to encourage car-pooling, and also indicate that people would be welcome to come to the reception and not the wedding, or vice versa. It's not that pleasant, but if people are really unwilling to drive they can pcik which one they want to go to.

ManyPenguins

I like your gift bag idea! Maybe you could include a cd of your favorite songs, songs that tell the story of your relationship, songs that fit the theme of your reception....etc. It'll set the mood. If you really want to get creative, have a list of things for them to look for or get pictures of that you know are on the way, like a scavenger hunt or a game of "I spy". Maybe there could be some sort of prize at the reception.

kes322

That's exactly what I was thinking!  A scavenger hunt of sorts!  I was thinking my fiance and I could go down during the summer and take pictures at some our favorites parts of the drive, so that way they have something to look for.  I love you CD idea, I will definitely be doing that!

aerinpegadrak

The gift bag sounds pretty neat, I'd be cool with that.  Just double check your directions to make sure that they're accurate, and I wouldn't finalize anything until you're certain that there won't be any construction, parades, or other possible obstructions.  If I have to travel through an unfamiliar area, I like the map to be as clear and precise as possible.  Also be sure to provide the street address, since a lot of people have GPS in their car and may prefer to just plug in the address.