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Location, Location

mjk5415mjk5415 member
10 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper
in Wedding Reception Forum
My Fiance and I are getting married in 1 year, we just began looking at venues and I've fallen in LOVE (well from what I've seen and read online) with one. We want our ceremony and reception at the same venue and this place offers that but is an hour away from our home. The travel time would be approx. an hour for all guests and my fiance feels that is too far. He is worried about people leaving early or not being able to "let loose, drink and have fun" due to the drive. Is there "rules" on choosing a location?
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Re: Location, Location

  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    Eighth Anniversary 10000 Comments 500 Love Its 25 Answers
    mjk5415 said:
    My Fiance and I are getting married in 1 year, we just began looking at venues and I've fallen in LOVE (well from what I've seen and read online) with one. We want our ceremony and reception at the same venue and this place offers that but is an hour away from our home. The travel time would be approx. an hour for all guests and my fiance feels that is too far. He is worried about people leaving early or not being able to "let loose, drink and have fun" due to the drive. Is there "rules" on choosing a location?
    IMO, I wouldn't care that the venue is an hour away.  Our venue for our wedding was 45 minutes away and there were plenty of other venues near our home that we could have chosen, but we didn't like any of those venues so we went with the one we loved.  The only time that I start caring about distance is if it is any more then 2 hours away and/or the ceremony and reception is more then 30 minutes apart.  Since you are having the ceremony and reception in the same location then that issue is moot.

    People can still party it up even though the venue is an hour away.  Designated drivers will still be necessary no matter if the wedding is 10 minutes away or 4 hours away, so it is up to the invited guests to decide who will be driving and who will be the one able to drink a bit too much.  And if people who came in the same car want to all party it up and drink then I guess they need to make lodging arrangements.  And as for people leaving early, that will happen regardless of how close the venue is.  

    No matter what you decide you will have guests that will leave after dinner and you will have guests who will shut the dance floor down.  So tell your FI to stop worrying about something that you have zero control over and that is how your guests will act.

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  • mjk5415mjk5415 member
    10 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Thank you very much for your input! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy like FI was making me out to be .
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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    Moderator 10000 Comments 500 Love Its Fourth Anniversary
    Is there a hotel nearby? You could always set up a room block there and if people decide to spend the night for whatever reason, fine.

    There are no hard and fast rules, but I would try to make things easy for guests. A room block accomplishes that. A "courtesy room block" doesn't usually leave you on the hook for any costs regardless of whether it gets utilized or not. Make a few phone calls and find out.
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  • cupcait927cupcait927 member
    Eighth Anniversary 2500 Comments 500 Love Its First Answer
    Not crazy at all! Our venue was between 40 minutes to an hour for our guests and they all made it work. Either they had DDs or kept the drinking to a minimum so that they were able to drive home. Some left early but we still had a good sized crowd until almost 11 (reception ended at 11:30).
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  • wrigleyvillewrigleyville member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 500 Love Its First Answer
    I think it depends on your area too. I live in Chicago, so traveling an hour for a wedding is no big deal. My parents, however, live in a tiny town in northern Michigan and think an hour is "an inconvenience" if all of the guests have to travel.

    You know your crowd and area best. If traffic is going to be a nightmare and people hate traveling, then skip it. If people don't mind traveling, traffic won't suck, and there's a hotel nearby, go for it.
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  • MyNameIsNotMyNameIsNot member
    Knottie Warrior 10000 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    It depends on the area.  In my city, there is a very scenic area (mountains, forests, wineries, the whole bit) about 60-90 minutes out of town.  Tons of people get married in that area, and no one bats an eye.  Typically the couple will block some rooms, and party people will stick around for the after party. We'd all be confused if someone got married in some suburb on the other side of town, though.

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  • sarahjane222sarahjane222 member
    Third Anniversary 25 Love Its 10 Comments Name Dropper
    Agree with PP that it depends on where you're doing this and what the surroundings are like around. Is there a hotel nearby? Personally if I go to a wedding an hour away, I either stay somewhere nearby or leave earlier because we're not drinking as much. 
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  • mjk5415mjk5415 member
    10 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper

    We have a few venues to look at closer to home also but I wanted the barn with a relaxed/rustic feel and being that we live 20 min outside a major city, I won't find that unless I drive out further. Most of my family is from a small town, growing up it seemed that everyone had a firehall wedding reception and I don't want that. Not that there is anything wrong with that, its just not my preference.

    I appreciate all of your opinions, thanks :)

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  • atlastmrsgatlastmrsg member
    500 Love Its 1000 Comments Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited October 2014
    Yes--what PP said about location.  Driving an hour in New York City, Chicago, Austin, Houston...you're used to that and assume it.  Although if I was invited to a wedding at home in Kentucky then had to drive an hour between stops (like block of rooms to ceremony), I'd be really annoyed.  

    ETA: How far is it?  Are we talking 10 miles, 15 miles...?  Or 60 miles?
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  • mjk5415mjk5415 member
    10 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper

    I used mapquest and entered the venue address and then the city that guests will be coming from so that the center of the city was used to destinguish travel time. it was approx. 1 hour give or take a few mins for all guests, except those who live out of state. The out-of-staters would be staying with family in-state for the weekend anyways.

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  • atlastmrsgatlastmrsg member
    500 Love Its 1000 Comments Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    If it's just an hour to go to wedding, NBD. If it's an hour from where everyone is staying together or some other reason where there would be two stops, that would be a bummer. I've driven more than an hour from home to a wedding. So long as you're not doing an hour between places--pre-wedding brunch for family, ceremony then reception, etc., then guests can decide how far they want to travel from home.
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  • annakay511annakay511 member
    Seventh Anniversary 100 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper
    Go with a venue you love (and can afford)! I agree with an earlier post that designated drivers will have to be sober whether the drive is 5 minutes or an hour. However, you could block rooms for guests who may not want to drive, especially if it is an evening wedding.
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