Hi everyone! First post here. I've been engaged a little over a week and am excited to start planning!
My fiance and I are having a very difficult time deciding in which city to get married, and we'd very much appreciate your insights!
Some background: I'm a Chicago girl; fiance is from St. Louis. We met at the University of Illinois -- roughly halfway between Chicago and St. Louis. After we graduated in 2010, we moved to Kansas City, where we currently live.
Kansas City is 8 hours to Chicago and 4 hours to St. Louis. Chicago to St. Louis is about 4 hours.
So, my whole family and most of our friends live in Chicago. Fiance's family is in St. Louis. We have friends in Kansas City, but very few we'd want to invite to our wedding. We also work very demanding full-time jobs and have very, VERY little time off.
Having a wedding in KC would be easiest for us, but it might be difficult to get friends and family all the way here.
Having a wedding in Chicago would guarantee the biggest crowd, but it'd be difficult to plan from afar.
Having a wedding in St. Louis would be a compromise; however, it'd still be difficult to plan from afar, and the 4 hour drive from Chicago to St. Louis might still deter some friends and family.
We decided last night to pursue getting married at Kansas City's beautiful cathedral, which is walking distance to hotels and reception venues and accessible via public transportation. We thought this convenience might attract out-of-towners. However, I just learned that the cost to have a wedding at the Cathedral is very, very high.
I'm registered at a different parish in KC, but it's not convenient to hotels or reception sites, so it would require guests to rent a car.
Any advice? Thanks in advance!