Distance from Church to Reception

cassandra13187

Hi everyone! I'm just wondering: What is an appropriate or acceptable distance for guests to drive/travel between the church and the reception site? My fiance and I have found some sites we really like and can afford, but the problem is they're all at least 45 minutes from our church if not more like an hour. We think that's too far to travel, right? How far did/will your guests travel between the church and reception? What is an appropriate distance? Thanks!

cassandra13187

UGH sorry my computer froze and posted twice

twilight.rose

30-35 minutes is about the maximum that I don't mind driving between venues.

aMrsin09

I think it depends on the area you're in and what your guests are used to driving.

Where I lived in the states, an hour in the car was pretty standard.  Where I live now, people consider 20 minutes to be a "too far to drive" even to go to work.

melissamc2

Our reception is about 25 minutes from our ceremony.  No one has expresed any concerns over this, other than the handful who do not drive.  (University town/eco friendly town = less cars than average.)  We're looking into shuttle services just to make it easier, but I think it'll be fine without it, too.

Revangel

My ceremony and reception will be about 45min apart. The reception and ceremony were going to be on the same site but then we changed our mind and wanted the ceremony at my church. The drive does concern me especially considering that it will be winter at that time, but the people who want to come will still be there anyways. Since I live in a rural area, travelling 45min-1hr is not really a big deal. I'm just having my ceremony and reception far enough apart to allow enough time for driving and bad weather.   

Tmama29five

In my area, a lot of people get irritated if you have the reception somewhere else. Even a 10 min. drive is an inconvenience.  Many people get married in a church and have the reception in the church's hall or have their ceremony in a different area of the all-inclusive or hall they book for the reception.

I think this is ridiculous, especially when guests are willing to drive an hour and a half to the ceremony, but driving 6 blocks away to the reception is a horrible inconvenience.

I would say that you need to look at the area... If you live in an area where the typical commute is 20 minutes, you should probably keep the sites within 30 minutes of each other.  If you live in an area where the typical commute to work is an hour and a half to two hours, then an hour between sites isn't so outrageous.