Is this too far to drive?

mt4sbwy

Most of FI's family live in Beverly.  Our ceremony will be in Cambridge.  My family is all out of town.  Would a reception in Peabody be too far? (25-35 minutes drive from our church)  As an out of town guest, would you prefer a hotel near the ceremony, near the reception, or somewhere in the middle?  Would it still be too far if we hired a shuttle to take people from the church and then to and from the hotel?

Thanks!

TeebagyAndNorth

I think a shuttle would help but thats not too bad! I would think they will want to stay near the reception because they will likely be tired by the end of the night and want a quick trip to the hotel.

noodle_oo

Agreed, I think I'd prefer a hotel near the reception.

The drive does seem a bit long to me.  Is Peabody really only 25 mins from Cambridge?  I would have estimated more like 40 min drive.  Make sure you have really good directions for people if they are mostly OOT. 

The shuttle would be nice except how would people get their cars from Cambridge to Peabody?  Or would you shuttle from the hotel to the ceremony, then back to the reception area?  I think the logistics sound difficult, but people have done it, so just make sure you think through all the issues.  Are you sure you can't find a nice reception venue in Cambridge?

SummerBoston10

I would never expect an out of town guest list to travel 25-30 minutes from the ceremony to the reception UNLESS you provide transportation. 

Are your OOT guests so out of town that they would by flying in?  If so, I would make sure that your guests would not NEED to rent a car.  This means that I would pick a hotel near the ceremony (Cambridge/Boston) so that people can come in for the weekend and visit the city and then be picked up/dropped off at hotels for the ceremony and reception.  

Karen's MOH

If it really is only 25-30 minutes apart, I would say that is still not too bad. Any longer and it would be too far. In general I would prefer a hotel near the reception, but since Cambridge would be more central for going out for anything besides the wedding, it could go either way. Assuming the reception is immediately following the reception, providing transportation would be really helpful.
Driving is difficult around here even for people who live here, so if you can avoid people having to do it I would.

october010bride

IMO, I think it's really too far. I also agree that a shuttle would be the best idea if you were intent on keeping the ceremony and reception so far away.

jquirke9881

I was in a wedding where there was a 30-35 minute drive from the ceremony to reception.  It was LONG.  I did not enjoy that part at all and some guests got lost and ended up missing the whole cocktail hour.  If you are going to do it, I would definitely consider a shuttle.  I would also prefer a hotel close to the reception site so that when I was tired I would not have far to go.  Good luck!

Krystalynne21

As an OOT guest at a friend's wedding, her ceremony and reception were a 45-50 minute drive....It was a bit of a ride, BUT what she did that I thought was a good idea was give a little extra time between ceremony and reception so that she, DH, and WP could take pics and not miss out on seeing their guests.  Most of the guests were OOT, so I dont know if that was factored into their decision.  She was also married at the hotel we stayed at.  Personally, I would much rather a longer drive to the ceremony and ahve a hotel near the reception.

kbmeow

I do not think it is a bad drive.  However FI works in Cambridge and we live in Peabody.  My biggest worry would be getting out of Cambridge without getting lost if I did not know the area.  

jacquikev

My reception is an hour drive from the ceremony. but i have the notorious catholic gap that it fills. My reception is at a hotel so guests who are staying will be staying there. I do not have any crazy out of town guests. Anyone out of town will be staying with family who have the same drive. So i dont think 40 minutes is bad. which i live in cambridge and it usually takes that long to get to peabody for me. hope that helps  

mt4sbwy

Everyone had really good points, and luckily we found two (!) different options in Somerville in our price range that will let me DIY my cake and let us bring in our own caterer.  I don't know why Google had bad phone numbers, but we finally found accurate information and got through to them, and we should be deciding on a place that is both much closer to the ceremony site and accessible by mass transit.