What's a reasonable distance between the ceremony and venue sites?

MrsK2015 · March 2014

FH and I are getting married in my hometown church. The church is located in a small town near New Orleans and there are no reception venues in the town. We are considering having the reception in downtown New Orleans but this would mean about a 45 minute drive from the church to the reception site. Is it unreasonable to ask our guests to travel this far? I expect about 60% of the guests will be local and the rest will be from out of town and not familiar with the area. If we do have the reception downtown, should we provide transportation for our guests? Moving to a church in the city is not an option, but there are some reception venues that would only require a 30 minute drive; but, in my opinion, those venues aren't as nice and just as expensive.

Any thoughts?

QueerFemme · March 2014

I think that's too far. I would say 20 minutes is best, but no more than 30 minutes.

banana468 · March 2014

Ditto @QueerFemme. I think anything more than a 30 minute distance is pushing it.

AddieCake · March 2014

I agree that anything over 30 minutes would be very aggravating to a guest.

STARMOON44 · March 2014

If you aren't willing to compromise on the church, you need to on the reception. 45 minutes into a city is too far. As a guest I'd be wondering why we were driving past closet places.

JoanE2012 · March 2014

I attended a wedding where the reception was about 45 min from the ceremony. We didn't know the area and were annoyed that it was so far. In addition, our hotel room was booked back near the ceremony, so we had to make the trip back at the end of the night. With nearly half of your guests OOT, I would try and keep it closer to 20 minutes.

MadHops21 · March 2014

My cousin's wedding last summer had her reception and ceremony an hour away from each other. And a 5 hour gap. As a guest, I did not like driving all that way then all the way back home around 11pm in an area I was not familiar with.

KatWAG · March 2014

No more than 30 minutes.

MrsK2015 · March 2014

Thanks for all of your opinions!

Does it make any difference if we provide transportation? I'm thinking we should do this anyway (at least for the OOT guests) since the closest venue is still 30 minutes away.

QueerFemme · March 2014

MrsK2015 said:

Thanks for all of your opinions!
Does it make any difference if we provide transportation? I'm thinking we should do this anyway (at least for the OOT guests) since the closest venue is still 30 minutes away.

Not really. It still means people sitting in a car or on a bus for 45-60 minutes if there is traffic at all. And, if they have to take a shuttle, that means they have to wait around for the next shuttle. I know you want to get married in your hometown church, but you may need to rethink that plan if there is really NO other reception options closer to that church.

climbingsingle · March 2014

Even with transportation provided, I still think it's too long of a drive. Sorry!

MrsK2015 · March 2014

I don't think doing the reception outside is feasible. We have looked into hotels but there's not really anything that isn't already booked or doesn't have a "side of the highway" feel to it within a 30 minute drive. I have no idea where our OOTGs will stay. I guess that depends on the reception locale. I initially wanted to get a room block near the major attractions in New Orleans since I know most of our OOTGs will be using our wedding weekend as mini vacation. But those hotels would also be about 45 minutes away from the church.

FH and I are discussing finding another church, but it's not really a solution we like. But we also don't want to inconvenience anyone. We'll just have to decide what's more important.

lluzzi0923 · March 2014

Honestly, if you are having a church ceremony there will be time between the ceremony and reception. I would try to accommodate the guests in any way possible on the transportation. Maybe transportation to and from the ceremony site, or from the hotel. I would think that the hotel closest to the venue would be best. This would be if you could only have it 45 minutes away.

QueerFemme · March 2014

MrsK2015 said:

I don't think doing the reception outside is feasible. We have looked into hotels but there's not really anything that isn't already booked or doesn't have a "side of the highway" feel to it within a 30 minute drive. I have no idea where our OOTGs will stay. I guess that depends on the reception locale. I initially wanted to get a room block near the major attractions in New Orleans since I know most of our OOTGs will be using our wedding weekend as mini vacation. But those hotels would also be about 45 minutes away from the church.

FH and I are discussing finding another church, but it's not really a solution we like. But we also don't want to inconvenience anyone. We'll just have to decide what's more important.

I really encourage you to try to see why your guests comfort is more important. I get wanting a certain church or venue, but I just can't imagine there is NO reception venue closer to that church than 45-60 minutes. And with traffic, and people not being from the area, you really are looking at probably closer to an hour, not 45 minutes.

It may not be the reception venue you dream of, or fits your current vision, but consider places like a a church hall, VFW hall or community center, or something like that.

MrsK2015 · March 2014

QueerFemme said:

I really encourage you to try to see why your guests comfort is more important. I get wanting a certain church or venue, but I just can't imagine there is NO reception venue closer to that church than 45-60 minutes. And with traffic, and people not being from the area, you really are looking at probably closer to an hour, not 45 minutes.
It may not be the reception venue you dream of, or fits your current vision, but consider places like a a church hall, VFW hall or community center, or something like that.

You're completely right that there are venues but they don't fit our vision. I simply can't see having a formal, evening, dinner reception in a church or VFW hall. I'm also planning this from afar so it would be beneficial to find a place that is inclusive of catering, table linens, wait staff, etc. Those types of venues are indeed 45 minutes away. I know that there is compromise to be made, but I haven't been able to decide what to compromise on.

Maggie0829 · March 2014

MrsK2015 said:

QueerFemme said:

I really encourage you to try to see why your guests comfort is more important. I get wanting a certain church or venue, but I just can't imagine there is NO reception venue closer to that church than 45-60 minutes. And with traffic, and people not being from the area, you really are looking at probably closer to an hour, not 45 minutes.
It may not be the reception venue you dream of, or fits your current vision, but consider places like a a church hall, VFW hall or community center, or something like that.

You're completely right that there are venues but they don't fit our vision. I simply can't see having a formal, evening, dinner reception in a church or VFW hall. I'm also planning this from afar so it would be beneficial to find a place that is inclusive of catering, table linens, wait staff, etc. Those types of venues are indeed 45 minutes away. I know that there is compromise to be made, but I haven't been able to decide what to compromise on.

Sounds like the reception venue that you are looking at fits all your needs so your compromise is finding a church that is closer to that reception venue. I know that the other church is special to you but keep in mind the main reason of the day and that is you are marrying the person you love. That can be done anywhere and is special in and of itself no matter if you get married by a dumpster or in a car or in your childhood church.

What's a reasonable distance between the ceremony and venue sites?

Re: What's a reasonable distance between the ceremony and venue sites?

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