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Maximum Distance Between Ceremony and Reception

stantokmstantokm member
100 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper First Anniversary
in Wedding Etiquette Forum
I'm getting married at a Catholic Church in my college town that is also my fiance's hometown.  Most of our guests will be coming from out of town, but I'm assuming that no more than a handful would fly in--and those that do will have friends/family who they can carpool with so they wouldn't need to rent cars.

We're looking for reception venues and having a rough time because we expect around 200 guests and the town just doesn't have many venues that can accomodate us (and it's the biggest town in an hour-radius).  We need to branch out farther and I'm wondering how far people will drive without getting annoyed. 

There is a venue that is approximately 30 minutes away and is all Interstate driving except for maybe a couple of miles (it would be difficult to get lost).  Is 30 minutes too far?  Does it make it better or worse that it'll be after an hour-long ceremony? 
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Re: Maximum Distance Between Ceremony and Reception

  • FluffernutFluffernut
    100 Comments
    Personally, I don't think that is too far, as long as guests have good directions.  Most people also may have GPS. 
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  • MyUserName1MyUserName1 member
    5000 Comments Fourth Anniversary 5 Love Its
    I think 30 minutes is fine, particularly since there really isn't anything closer.  It's not like they have to drive past four other perfectly acceptable venues
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  • kmmssgkmmssg mod
    Moderator Knottie Warrior 5000 Comments 500 Love Its
    I think 30 minutes is fine as long as  you aren't talking a Friday night wedding.
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  • wrigleyvillewrigleyville member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 500 Love Its First Answer
    That's fine, especially since it's all highway and should be a smooth drive.
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  • Tami87Tami87 member
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper
    I think 30 min is fine as well. Our reception was also 30 min away from our Catholic church. As previous posters said just make sure everyone has good directions. I also recommend you use your directions a day or two before the wedding and double check that there are not any road closures or other issues. We ended up having to reprint directions last minute due to construction. It worked out fine and to my knowledge no one got lost, but I was so glad we double checked before hand!
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  • stantokmstantokm member
    100 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper First Anniversary

    I'm so glad that you mentioned looking for road closures!  I planned my date around my alma mater's graduation (for hotel and traffic purposes), but didn't think about the colleges nearby--one is having it's graduation the same day as my wedding and it's between the church and the potential reception venue.

    It has a total of 1650 students, though.  So fewer than 400 students graduating shouldn't cause much traffic on the Interstate.

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  • ootmother2ootmother2 member
    Tenth Anniversary 5000 Comments 25 Love Its First Answer

    30 - 45 minutes around DC will find you a  ton of places.

    How about one of the lofts in Alexandria?

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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    Eighth Anniversary 10000 Comments 500 Love Its 25 Answers
    My personal feeling is that anything over 45 minutes between ceremony and reception is too far.

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  • stantokmstantokm member
    100 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper First Anniversary
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_maximum-distance-between-ceremony-and-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:a7afba51-c9da-4271-8e9c-75c2acd163dfPost:31967c8a-aff6-4b15-ba9a-6273b47ef6cf">Re: Maximum Distance Between Ceremony and Reception</a>:
    [QUOTE]30 - 45 minutes around DC will find you a  ton of places. How about one of the lofts in Alexandria?
    Posted by ootmother2[/QUOTE]

    We're getting married in Harrisonburg, VA, not in DC (though I live in Northern Virginia right now).  If I was getting married around here, I'd just have to find a place that didn't cost a crazy amount.  Thanks for the suggestion, though.
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  • Kate61487Kate61487 member
    2500 Comments Fourth Anniversary 250 Love Its Name Dropper
    ditto Stage - 30 minutes is the upper limit for me.  Not to say I wouldn't go if it was a 45 minute drive, but I'd probably be irritated.

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  • QueerFemmeQueerFemme member
    5000 Comments Fifth Anniversary 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_maximum-distance-between-ceremony-and-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:a7afba51-c9da-4271-8e9c-75c2acd163dfPost:b0cb0db9-8bb9-4b96-ac5b-4da6043bad85">Re: Maximum Distance Between Ceremony and Reception</a>:
    [QUOTE]I think 30 minutes is okay, but it is my MAX, personally.  So if you mean it's normally like 35 minutes, but traffic on a Saturday night could make it 40-45, then that is too far.
    Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]

    I agree. I think 30 min max, including allowances for traffic.

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  • zantsterzantster member
    Eighth Anniversary 500 Comments Combo Breaker
    Yup.  Like PPs said 30 min. is fine as a max.  Our hotel/reception venue is 30 min from our Catholic Church as well.  But I made sure it was at a hotel and that other less expensive hotels were no more than a few minutes away.  That way folks have the option of taking the elevator upstairs and going to bed or driving just a few minutes to another hotel if they're tired and don't feel like driving all the way home.  That reduces the number of places people have to go in one day to just two if they take advantage of the hotel, which is a relief if there is a lot of distance traveling.  Plus we'll have a lot of OOT guests.
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