distance between creemony location and reception location

rainlex83

We toured the Carlson Center Rotunda and fell in love with it. Our main problem is we want to do a church wedding. Our church we go to is over 45 minutes away. My mom thinks it unacceptable to make our guest drive that far. They do offer having a ceremony there outside in their ampthitheatre, we don't want to plan an outdoor wedding because November weather is unpredictable. And their indoor ceremony location is not what I dreamt of getting married at. I don't know what to do? Any suggestions? Should I just forget the venue and search for one closer? Help! 

samatson

I am getting married at the Carlson Towers rotunda in a month and we had the same problem! We just decided to do the ceremony there outside, but we also have an August wedding not November, so it's hard to say. If it means a lot for you to get married in your church then i would do it and maybe look at some other venues closer or maybe you could find some churches closer to Minnetonka. There was a bride not too long ago that had to do "plan B" inside the rotunda because of rain and she loved it even more than the outdoor setup...just something to think about Good luck!!

kkaew816

You still have a long time until your wedding, I would suggest looking for other venues closer to your church if that's where you want to get married. As a guest, i would not be happy with driving 45 minutes from ceremony to reception. There are plenty of wonderful venues in the area, I'm sure you will find one that you will love without having to compromise on where you want your ceremony!

Good luck!

kclepire

We just got married at Carlson 1 month ago today.  We had to do Plan B as it was raining.  It was still an amazing day.  We knew for sure we did not want a church wedding so Carlson was perfect for us. It had an outdoor option and a plan b option if needed.  If you do have your ceremony inside, set up the chairs.  The day before it was looking like rain and I was debating if we should set up the chairs or not...DO IT!  It made if feel like a real wedding.  I think had we had ppl sit at the tables I would have been sad and it would not have felt like a ceremony.  I'm not going to lie, i'm a bit bummed we were inside, but it was still amazing inside.  When people walk down the stairs they still see the amazing view out the windows.

Honestly, I think driving 45 mins is way to far and if I were a guest, I'd possibly think about skipping the ceremony and just head to the reception.  I think anything over 15 mins is too long...

Carlson is great!  We got our pictures just a few days ago and I just want to go back there and relive it all again.  John the day of coordinator is absolutely AMAZING!

let me know if you have any questions about Carlson.

MN_Jen

Here's my 2 cents: if you fell in love with the the Carlson, and have always wanted to get married in your church...just do it. 

Its your wedding, and really the most important thing is that it is the perfect place for you and you FI.  Just know that some people may skip the ceremony, or grumble about it a little bit. But I personally, as a guest, wouldn't care at all.

rainlex83

Thanks for all the advice ladies. I do have a long ways to go, maybe something else will catch my eye in the meantime. Or maybe I'll just talk my fiance in having the ceremony and reception at the same place. Who knows? Fingers cross!

kaylas16

This topic always makes me stress....because my ceremony site and reception site are about 45 minutes away as well.  FI is from a small town about an hour south of the cities and pretty much his whole extended family lives there as well... I don't belong to a church and we knew it would mean alot to his family if we got married at their church, so we are.  However, I wanted to have the reception in the cities still so we compromised and it will be in Shakopee..... At first the distance didn't bother me but as time passes I worry about it more and more! Everyone is trying to assure me it's not big deal but I can't help but be concerned!  The only thing making me feel better is that his whole family lives so close to the church that at least they won't have to travel more than a few minutes to the ceremony   Like the PP said, if it's your dream to have the wedding at your church then do it!  The people you are inviting should find you two important enough in their lives to do a little extra driving for such a big event in your life!

Sorry for the rambling...!

JennyLange

I completely agree with MN_Jen. Our reception site will probably be in St. Paul and our ceremony will probably be in the Northwest suburbs. It's about a 30-45 minute drive, depending on traffic and factoring in parking. My church is in the suburbs, but we just happened to like the recpetion venues we saw in St. Paul best.
I say if you want to have those sites, do it. It's your wedding and if that's what you want to do, why not! Yes, some people may skip the ceremony, but those who really want to be at both will make it work. I don't think your wedding is a day you want to look back on and say "what if we would have done that venue?" just because you were worried about a couple of guests complaining about the drive.
And I actually just went to a wedding this weekend where the church and recpetion were about 45 minutes away, and I didn't hear anyone complain.

SuperRNluvsChef

This post actually makes me feel a little better too.  We're getting married at my church in Eagan and reception is at the PEC...I was really worried about people having to rive 20 minutes but I'm starting to realize it's not the end of the world. 

Steph0871

I think it really depends on your guests.  Are they mostly from the Twin Cities, and therefore comfortable driving all over the metro?

Most of our guests are coming from out of town, so I'd never considering making them drive that far between venues.  Does the 45 minutes account for construction/bad weather/traffic?

Honestly, I would wait before you decide anything at all.  Your wedding is still over 2 years away; your opinions and likes/dislikes will change a whole lot in that time.  I'd keep looking at venues for a few more months at least.  If nothing else, wait and look at Carlson in November before you decide?

Liberty27

I went to a wedding recently with a 45 minute drive.  I was in the BP but it didn't seem like it was that big of a deal for guests.  I mean if you are going to a wedding don't you have all day for it blocked out anyway?  To me, people understand it is a wedding and that the bride and groom have a ton to do and they are difficult to coordinate.  The people who are there are the people who love you and I am sure they will be fine with a little drive.

wittyschaffy

As a guest- I would NOT appreciate driving 45 minutes to get between the ceremony and reception.  If you go that route, I think that you need to be honest with yourself that some of your guests will decide to a) go to the ceremony, skip the long drive, and go home or b) go just to the reception and skip the wedding.  As long as you're OK with that, then go ahead. 

My cousin and his bride to be are doing something similar and it is NOT going over well.  They are honestly expecting people to drive 90 miles from the hotel to the ceremony and then 90 miles back for the reception on top of the 200 miles that all of the family is driving to be at their wedding in the first place.  Personally, I think it is rude to ask that much of your guests.

rainlex83

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_distance-between-creemony-location-reception-location?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:f9c85f05-ade7-4f11-9fad-087a7dc431f8Post:fa684dc0-6345-45c3-86bd-554965b9cddc">Re: distance between creemony location and reception location</a>:
[QUOTE] My cousin and his bride to be are doing something similar and it is NOT going over well.  They are honestly expecting people to drive 90 miles from the hotel to the ceremony and then 90 miles back for the reception on top of the 200 miles that all of the family is driving to be at their wedding in the first place.  Personally, I think it is rude to ask that much of your guests.
Posted by wittyschaffy[/QUOTE]

<font color="#800080"><strong>Yikes!!!</strong>

Yea, I  have plenty of time to rethink the venue selection. Its hard to get it out of my mind though. :( We even talked about moving the wedding date to something sooner like april 2012. So the weather isn't so bad for an outdoor wedding. (If I remember correctly it was gorgeous this past April.) I know my wedding date is quite a bit aways, but I would like to put down a deposit by January, just to get the date I want.
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kclepire

I agree with a PP.  Your wedding is over 2 years away and your tastes will change a TON! 

tpender13

You do have tons of time. Do what's going to make you happy.

But if I were a guest, I'd be irritated about the drive. I'd probably go to either the reception or the ceremony.