3 different venues?

pipeTsquared · December 2013

Is it okay to have 3 venues (on the same day?)

So get married in one place, then have a meal elsewhere, then party the night away somewhere else

Is it more acceptable to get married one place with meal after somewhere else, then have a 'party' somewhere else the day after (lets say on a Saturday while getting married on the sunday)

Or is it a no no?

AddieCake · December 2013

I've been to weddings with everything in one location and weddings with the ceremony one place and the reception another. Never have I been to a wedding that spanned 3 venues. What is your reasoning for thinking of doing this? Is the place you want to "party the night away" at not available for meals?

ETA: We "partied the night away" somewhere else b/c it was the after party, not our wedding reception.

Blergbot · December 2013

I have been to two weddings like this. They were both lots of fun. It can be a little tricky with cars/parking and such, but I didn't mind.

pipeTsquared · December 2013

AddieL73 said:

What is your reasoning for thinking of doing this? Is the place you want to "party the night away" at not available for meals?

ETA: We "partied the night away" somewhere else b/c it was the after party, not our wedding reception.

Basically yes. it saves a lot of money by having 3 venues.

place that fits the needs for what we want after the ceremony doesnt do food basically.

Hence the idea of meal somewhere else (like in a restaurant) (no way am I not having a sit down meal at the wedding) then go to the place that fits the bill for the party that we can have drinks and nibbles at

here wedding go on till midnight generally anyway to wont be an 'after party' in that sense more a continuation (if that makes sense)

manateehugger · December 2013

Is there a reason you can't choose a reception venue that allows you to do a meal and a party/drinks in one spot? Driving to three different venues sounds expensive and a big hassle for your guests, especially people from out of town.

Of course, you can always go out to a few bars on your own after your reception.

Viczaesar · December 2013

That sounds like a pain in the ass, frankly.

ipilya · December 2013

Could you also maybe rent out a food truck for the reception then? Instead of bouncing somewhere else for the after party, have the nibbles at the after party too, there are some companies who will park their trucks, even roll a cart into a dancing hall for you all night..

pipeTsquared · December 2013

PDKH said:

Is there a reason you can't choose a reception venue that allows you to do a meal and a party/drinks in one spot? Driving to three different venues sounds expensive and a big hassle for your guests, especially people from out of town.

They basically dont exist - obviously they do but just not how we want to do it and the (2) that would kind of work eat too much into other parts of the budget that we are trying to make bigger not smaller.

We would put on transport for people but obviously there are logistics attached to that and it may not be suitable for everyone

manateehugger · December 2013

Where do you live? I find it hard to believe you can't find a venue you like that will let you do drinks and dancing until midnight.

Do you realize how expensive transportation would be? Hiring buses or shuttles is not cheap, and it makes your guests stand around and wait, slowing down your whole day. I also think you'd lose tons of people after the meal part. Are you going to run transportation back to the ceremony site and to the party site? Where are people supposed to park? How often are the shuttles going to run?

SP29 · December 2013

I suppose it's "OK", but it sounds very inconvenient for your guests if you expect them to travel to 3 locations, and would be expensive for you if you were to hire transportation.

bethsmiles · December 2013

3 venues sounds like a pain (for you and your guests). Personally, I think you should find space in your budget for the venues that will allow you to do what you want without needing a third venue.

jessicabessica · December 2013

I went to a wedding like that, although it was only 2 venues--ceremony, dinner, and first dance/basic dancing at one venue, and then moved to a bar-type place after dessert because of noise issues. We left after dessert. It's one thing to get yourself to stay for another dance or just a few more minutes at a party, but it's much harder to pack up yourself, drive to another venue, and resume partying--I would just go home instead unless I was having an amazing time at the first part. I think you will lose people.

emmyg65 · December 2013

Not only is this a pain the ass for your guests, but it will probably disrupt the energy and flow of your party, and like jessicabessica said, you'll likely lose folks.

s-aries8990 · December 2013

Yeah, I wouldn't go to the 3rd venue. I know me, and I wouldn't want to go to one more place. 2 is more than enough.

I love the food truck idea!

Also, you said you would never have a sit down meal? And you expect your guests to lug themeselves to 3 places? I think you are a bit out of touch. If I was going to a wedding that required me to park 3 different times, i'd expect a full meal and unlimited open bar for my troubles.

EverAfer · December 2013

Three venues is a bit much in one day.

I like the food truck suggestion too.

That being said, are you going to be able to properly host the dinner and party after? What if some people don't want to go to the party, are you going to say hello to those guests without running off to the party and leaving people behind? Are you covering the costs of food/bar etc at all the venues? Is the 3rd venue a private space for your wedding party or a club that anyone can get into?

It seems like alot trouble for your guests and for you to plan the logistics.

I would be slightly annoyed, but if you properly hosted, I'd probably go to the 3rd venue, just cause I like dancing (and assuming it's not another 30 minute drive.)

SP29 · December 2013

@s-aries8990 The OP said she would never NOT have a sit down meal. She is looking at 3 venues because it gets her the wedding she wants for the price she wants.

However I agree that you are likely to lose guests by the third venue. Most will go to dinner, but many may not show up for the dancing portion, particularly if there will be no food (and what about drink?) there.

I do find it hard to believe you cannot find any sort of a space to have both dinner and dancing at. You can find a very basic hall and bring in your own caterer. Of course you'd likely also be renting tables and chairs, but you can find the hall cheap and potentially use their tables and chairs.

kgd7357 · December 2013

I think it could work. I know if we decoupled dinner from the dancing, we would save a ton. Restaurants are way less expensive than ballroom catering in DC. We thought about it, but chose not to, b/c we would lose guests in between dinner and dancing. Since we have to pay a per person open bar fee at the ballroom, and we would be wasting money on so many no shows that bailed after dinner. If you can do a consumption bar after dinner with just a set number of snack platters, it could really save.

Transportation can be expensive, but usually b/c you have to pay for all the wasted time between arrival and return, when no one is using it. I could stomach ponying up the $1000 we would have to pay for a bus, if people were using it more than once.

Do the math before choosing this route with all the transport factored in. And I wouldn't make the travel more than 15-20 minutes. Any more and people will get antsy.

s-aries8990 · December 2013

SP29 said:

@s-aries8990 The OP said she would never NOT have a sit down meal. She is looking at 3 venues because it gets her the wedding she wants for the price she wants.

However I agree that you are likely to lose guests by the third venue. Most will go to dinner, but many may not show up for the dancing portion, particularly if there will be no food (and what about drink?) there.

I do find it hard to believe you cannot find any sort of a space to have both dinner and dancing at. You can find a very basic hall and bring in your own caterer. Of course you'd likely also be renting tables and chairs, but you can find the hall cheap and potentially use their tables and chairs.

oops! Reading fail...

Jen4948 · December 2013

ipilya said:

Could you also maybe rent out a food truck for the reception then? Instead of bouncing somewhere else for the after party, have the nibbles at the after party too, there are some companies who will park their trucks, even roll a cart into a dancing hall for you all night..

Food trucks have logistical problems for receptions: As a guest, I would hate to have to line up outside in a long line and reach up to a food truck window to receive a heavy tray of food, especially if I'm dressed up and wearing heels.

The only way this can work is if the food truck people can park the truck and do the cooking outside it, preferably indoors, in a situation that doesn't require guests to stand on long lines.

OnionBreath · December 2013

I would probably just go to the ceremony and the dinner and go home.

s-aries8990 · December 2013

Jen4948 said:

ipilya said:

Could you also maybe rent out a food truck for the reception then? Instead of bouncing somewhere else for the after party, have the nibbles at the after party too, there are some companies who will park their trucks, even roll a cart into a dancing hall for you all night..

Food trucks have logistical problems for receptions: As a guest, I would hate to have to line up outside in a long line and reach up to a food truck window to receive a heavy tray of food, especially if I'm dressed up and wearing heels.

The only way this can work is if the food truck people can park the truck and do the cooking outside it, preferably indoors, in a situation that doesn't require guests to stand on long lines.

See, to the bolded, that's how buffets work. I would be annoyed, but that's because I personally don't like buffets. At least a food truck would have some kitch to it.

Jen4948 · December 2013

s-aries8990 said:

Jen4948 said:

ipilya said:

Could you also maybe rent out a food truck for the reception then? Instead of bouncing somewhere else for the after party, have the nibbles at the after party too, there are some companies who will park their trucks, even roll a cart into a dancing hall for you all night..

Food trucks have logistical problems for receptions: As a guest, I would hate to have to line up outside in a long line and reach up to a food truck window to receive a heavy tray of food, especially if I'm dressed up and wearing heels.

The only way this can work is if the food truck people can park the truck and do the cooking outside it, preferably indoors, in a situation that doesn't require guests to stand on long lines.

See, to the bolded, that's how buffets work. I would be annoyed, but that's because I personally don't like buffets. At least a food truck would have some kitch to it.

With buffets, you have a little more room to spread things out. You can have lines that go around the steam tables, multiple stations, and so on, plus, they're usually indoors.

With a food truck, you don't have that. Everyone has to stand in a long line to get a tray of food through a small window in the side of the truck; plus you have to reach up to get that tray and it has to be out of doors. If the weather's bad, that makes it that much worse.

[Deleted User] · December 2013

I've known friends that have picked reception venues that are located within a hotel that has a bar. This way they can have the full reception there but then after the reception is over, whoever wants to stay later can continue to drink & dance & hang out in the hotel bar. Nice part of this is you don't have to change venues, it will save you money & allow you to continue to go later then a reception venue is. The ones I've known to do it though, they don't make it an officialy part of their wedding. Basically at the end of the night they just announced to whatever guests were left that they were going to the bar for a bit and if anyone wanted to join them, they were welcome to.

pipeTsquared · December 2013

okay thanks

I guess it is a no. which is fine will just have to go back to thinking.

Thanks

SP29 said:

Most will go to dinner, but many may not show up for the dancing portion, particularly if there will be no food (and what about drink?) there.

However we do it we will end up having 2 lots of food, one at the sit down meal and the other later on at night (like a night buffet or something - weddings go on for a long time here and 2 sets of food are expected)

PDKH said:

Where do you live? I find it hard to believe you can't find a venue you like that will let you do drinks and dancing until midnight.

Oh there are venues like that - but it is just what we want to do makes it all more difficult

3 different venues?

Re: 3 different venues?

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