Am I obligated to hold my wedding in a certain area?

gat0618

My FI's family lives in Windsor and I am from Minnesota.  We have looked at several wedding venues in both the Detroit and Ann Arbor area. And although they were nice none of them were really what we wanted or within our budget. I am considering looking at venues outside of the Detroit area but that means it would be more than an hour drive for his family/friends to attend.

I am conflicted because it is our wedding and I do not want to pay money for a venue I don't really like. Plus, 80-90% of my family/friends are coming from OOT. On the other hand I do not want to start off our marriage by alienating his family and friends.

acaponi87

An hour+ drive is really not too long IMO for people to drive to a wedding. I wouldn't consider that alienating especially when your family is doing the real far traveling.

What are you looking for in a venue? Perhaps we can help you think of some place that you haven't looked into yet.

gat0618

Well we really wanted a loft space and there just aren't any in Detroit. We tried the T-Plex and I really liked it but the FI did not like the neighborhood or the bathrooms.
The only place in Detroit area he liked was Belle Isle conservatory but, we have yet to see the Casino there where they do the reception (cause they only do walk-throughs Wed/Thursday) and I have heard some horror stories about being cancelled on last minute.

Our main concerns are somewhat unique (meaning not golf course/ banque hall), nice area (getting married next to delapitated building is not our thing)  parking, and in working order (nice toilets ect..) and reasonably priced (we are trying to keep the venue rental cost under 2k because we know food and bar are a huge cost).

MMRoberts11

I'm not completely sure but try looking at places in Pontiac.  As far as location, I don't think an hour drive is that bad.

emarston1

We had our wedding in East Lansing when none of our familly lives there.  Most people were either from Kalamazoo or Detroit so everyone had to drive at least an hour.

Most people ended up getting hotel rooms but we didn't have anyone decline simply based on the location.

Also, where in Minnesota are you from?  I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis and my parents still live there

gat0618

I will definately look at locations in Pontiac (thanks for the suggestion) we did look at the Crofoot in Pontiac which was wonderful but a 4k rental fee is just too much for us to stomach once you add on the cost of food + bar and everything else.
I am from Southeastern Minnesota a little town called Faribault.

empowder

I don't think you're obligated to have your wedding in any particular area.  It's nice if people are close, but I think it's a pretty common practice for people to travel for weddings.

One more suggestion for Detroit though; have you tried Flat 151?  It's an industrial space in the city.  I'm not sure about parking or prices, but it's a cool space and it's a blank slate. 

gat0618

I would really like to see Flat 151. I have filled out there online form twice now and not heard back . I tried calling once and it just rang and rang and went to a weird voicemail. Their website doesn't list much information but, maybe I will try calling again today. Thank you for the reminder to follow up.

RFPaull

We decided to have our wedding in Frankenmuth which means at least an hour and a half drive for 95% of our in state guests and didn't make much difference to those of our friends/family that are traveling from out of state.

I think your wedding should be where you and your FI want it.  If you want to consider family and their traveling, you can, but you aren't obligated to do so!

Sue-n-Kevin

How many people are you expecting? Our venue is really nice, historic park in Livonia (maybe 30-40 minutes from the Windsor/Detroit crossing), but has a max capacity of 100 for the chapel and banquet venue. There are several hotels within a mile or 2 of the park. It's not trendy like a loft or the places you are considering, but it is lovely, nice neighborhood, parking on site, you bring in your own food & alcohol, and the rental of both the chapel and banquet building are under $2K.

Link here, and more info in my bio below if you are interested...click on photos to see the pictures of us in the gardens, plus the venues:
http://www.ci.livonia.mi.us/tabid/189/Departments/Community%20Resources/Greenmead/NewburgIntersection.aspx

sopraffina

http://www.lasalabanquet.com/gallery_wedding.php

It has a kind of modern look and not too expensive. I haven't seen it in person, though.

TheBaney

The Lafayette Grande is a great venue in Pontiac. They offer a great value, considering everything you get.

heysupnatalie

When is your wedding date?
I am having my wedding on Belle Isle at the Casino. If your FI didn't like the bathrooms at the T-Plex he probably won't like theirs either. However, my caterer does lots of weddings at the casino and she said that it ends up being beautiful. All the pictures i've seen are also beautiful. 
I have read the horror stories and that turned me off but I decided to go for it and have had no problems thus far. 
We are booking rooms at the Ren Cen in Detroit for $129 (group rate) and it's really nice there. I would check the casino out just in case. 
The conservatory is small inside and will only hold like 40 people, so if you have more then you will have to do it outside. Which is still nice. 
The key is to get a caterer that is familiar with that venue because they can deal with the people better than you can. 2Unique is based out of Royal Oak and their food is amazing.

For what it's worth driving an hour isn't that big of a deal.

chrissie827

Unfortunately you're not going to be able to please everyone and It's your wedding so you should be happy.  Have the wedding wherever you want.  Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.  (Yes I quoted Dr. Suess).