Ceremony + Reception in 1 place

mblackmon1

I recently booked my venue at a really nice banquet hall and I'm considering having my ceremony and recption in the same room.  I'm having a Luncheon reception that will begin at 12pm and I am on the fence about having the ceremony in the same room at 11am.  My fiance and I are both dedicated church members and I want to incorporate that but it seems so convenient to have everything in one spot and it saves money on limos and traveling but I'm still having thoughts about having the ceremony in church and the recepetion at the banquet hall which is about 15min from the church.  If we have it at the church, we will have to start the ceremony even earlier ...Im so indecisive...HELP! any advice!

calliopeia2013

So, I'm doing an all-in-one venue beceuase I think it makes things easy.  I'm also not religious and would never dream of having a church wedding as I think it would incredibly disrespectful to pretend to believe things I don't.  If having a church wedding is important to you, though, and it's only 15 minutes away, well, that's pretty convenient too.  I also wouldn't worry too much about the early start time; 10:30 versus 11 doesn't really make much of a difference, and neither is anywhere remotely too early to ask people to be at an event.

Short answer- if your church is important to you, I think that's a bigger deal than minimal gains in convenience.

lorifoglesong

I am of the belief God is everywhere ... even in a reception hall. I understand the apprehension and wanting to make family and friends happy, but their "best interests" are just that... theirs. If you are comfortable with the thought of an instant celebration after the wedding, without the delay of a drive - then do it. In the end, it's all about joining 2 lives, with God as your witness if you choose

jennipea382

My reception venue also has the option of holding the ceremony in the same room. We don't belong to a church though, so that's not really an option for us (plus we're not really THAT religious). Our setup would be similar. The tables would all be set up except for a couple rows of chairs on the dance floor for parents, grandparents, etc. People would just sit at the tables. I'm thinking of doing this simply for the convenience of it all being in one place. It's also cheaper for me to do the ceremony there.

What does your fiance prefer? I say go with what feels right to you. Not having our ceremony in a church might get some comments from some of my family, but ultimately it's our choice (I usually don't do the whole "it's OUR day!" thing, but this doesn't inconvenience our guests at all so oh well haha). I also agree with PP in the belief that God is everywhere, so I don't feel it's necessary to get married in a church unless it's what you really want.

ChristinaMH

blgrout - I LOVE THAT!!!

I'm hoping, for financial reasons, we'll be able to find a venue that can do just what yours did! Have the tables set to the side, then change it to the reception set up after having the ceremony.

Not only will it save money as others have mentioned, and if that is an issue then there is no harm in going that route, but it will also save on having to buy more decorations for seperate sites, and time won't be as much of an issue either.

TheNick

We are also having our ceremony and reception in the same place. I wanted things to be as simple (and calm) as possible for my guests and myself. It will also be the middle of the summer and I don't want people to roast travelling from one place to another.
 I do agree with LORIFOGLESONG that God is everywhere. You could incorporate things from the church into the hall for the ceremony as well.

mblackmon1

Thanks for the posts...really helpfu!!! We decided to stick with doing everything in one place and there is a hotel connected so I'll have everything I need at one venue...my stress level has dropped a few levels!!! lol !