How far is too far?

eandngalloway

Hi,

I'm considering having my ceremony about a half-hour drive from my reception location.  I can't decide if this is too far.  On a Saturday afternoon, it seems like it would be fine- little traffic, easy directions, etc.
But, I'm worried that some people might get grumpy. 

What do y'all think?

annakb8

Eh, that doesn't sound like that big of a deal to me. It's not ideal, but whatever. 

midgetthemighty

I think half an hour is fine. Anything past that I would be worried, but I think you'll be fine.

Habs2Hart

I'm with Anna.  It's not ideal, but it'll be okay. 

Rummi302

We have about a 25 minute drive between venues. It would be nice if my home church were closer to reception venues and hotels, but my city just isn't laid out that way. We are, however, making sure that the hotel is close to the reception and in an area with plenty of restaurants and other conveniences for out of towners. 

Avion22

I think that's probably okay.  How far away is the reception from the hotels that most people will be staying at (or town most people live in)?  I wouldn't want people to have to drive more than about 45 minutes to get to the house/hotel after the reception....so as long as they're not driving like 20 minutes to get to the ceremony, then 30 more minutes further away to the reception, then it should be just fine.

adktd2boots

I guess it would depend which direction the half hour away is from where your guests live.  Meaning if they live at A and have to drive 30 miles to B and have to drive 30 more miles to C, then that's a lot of miles.  But if A/B are pretty much in the same spot, and they have to drive to C, it's not that big of a deal.  You may lose some, but most will be ok. 

eandngalloway

The hotel we picked is between the ceremony and reception venues, so about 25 min to the ceremony, and about 15 minutes from the reception.  It's nice, but right on the highway, so it's easy to get to, and there's food around, etc. 

Kath1083

Ours is between 30-35 minutes apart.  The hotel is about 3 minutes from the reception venue.  We went to about 4 weddings this summer/fall and in the area we live they were all at least 25 minutes apart.  The other question to ask is how much time is there between the ceremony and reception.  If there is a lot of time it might be hard for people to entertain themselves. 

eandngalloway

I was thinking cocktail hour would start as soon as guests got to the reception, straight from the ceremony.  That way they could chat/eat/drink, and we could still take pictures, without leaving a lot of lag time.

rebarobert2012

I think that half an hour is fine, especially if you live in a rural area.  I live in a very rural area, and our reception venue is about 20 minutes away from the church.  There just aren't very many options around here.

mari0225

I think that would be fine.

achiduck

It's fine. My guests have to drive 20 minutes to get to the reception location. It's definitely not ideal but it means a lot to me and my family to get married in the church I grew up in/where my parents were married so this is the way it has to be.

sweetcanadian1979

i think it is fine but with the hotel between venues you will have a lot of people drinking & driving. I would see if the hotel has a shuttle & you can work something out or hire a shuttle for your guests. 

eandngalloway

Oh I totally didn't think about the drinking and driving thing...
I'll definintely look into a shuttle! 

Thanks for all the reassurances ladies!

Sydney91

As long as you put up signs and have clear directions, your guests will consider themselves taken care of despite the distance.

jeslm

We've got about a 35 minute drive between ours in typical Saturday traffic.  I think that's acceptable, especially if the hotel is in between (as ours is, actually it's almost exactly halfway).  Definitely arrange for a shuttle if you can- our hotel offered one with our hotel block, as long as we actually end up booking 10 rooms the shuttle is absolutely free.  The shuttle is worth it for peace of mind and for the convenience of guests who will want to drink but not want to drive.