Ceremony Location fell through 4 months before wedding!

Knottie1428553905 · January 2016

Hey everyone. One of my friends and I are both currently planning weddings. Hers is in May and she was just told two days ago that her ceremony location will no longer be available.

It's a little too late to get into another church and complete the marriage counseling in time before the wedding date. Where should we be looking for ceremony locations since a church is obviously out now.

lnixon8 · January 2016

Does your friend have a signed contract?

MobKaz · January 2016

RiaLovesChris said:

Hey everyone. One of my friends and I are both currently planning weddings. Hers is in May and she was just told two days ago that her ceremony location will no longer be available.

It's a little too late to get into another church and complete the marriage counseling in time before the wedding date. Where should we be looking for ceremony locations since a church is obviously out now.

What denomination is it? Why is the church no longer available? I cannot imagine a church would not help you find a nearby church in which to marry. I know in my particular parish, you do not have to attend the Pre-Cana preparation that is specific to your individual parish. In fact, many of the preparation programs are county based to allow some flexibility of dates and times for couples.

Your other option is to see if she can have a ceremony at her reception location.

flantastic · January 2016

MobKaz said:

RiaLovesChris said:

Hey everyone. One of my friends and I are both currently planning weddings. Hers is in May and she was just told two days ago that her ceremony location will no longer be available.

It's a little too late to get into another church and complete the marriage counseling in time before the wedding date. Where should we be looking for ceremony locations since a church is obviously out now.

What denomination is it? Why is the church no longer available? I cannot imagine a church would not help you find a nearby church in which to marry. I know in my particular parish, you do not have to attend the Pre-Cana preparation that is specific to your individual parish. In fact, many of the preparation programs are county based to allow some flexibility of dates and times for couples.

Your other option is to see if she can have a ceremony at her reception location.

This. Sounds like it might be a Catholic church, and if so, those classes should hopefully "transfer," especially within the same diocese.

VicTim328 · January 2016

If she completed counseling within a church, she could talk with the pastor about having it waived in another.

lembaslover · January 2016

Would your friend be willing to look for a JP to do the ceremony at the reception site? My JP offered both a religious ceremony and a non-religious ceremony and was willing to work with us if we wanted parts added or taken away. She also didn't require counselling which might be helpful if they are in a time crunch. Perhaps they can find a JP like that in their area? I mean I know it's not ideal if what they want is to get married in a church but I feel like in the end they'd still be married which is the important part imo.

Knottie1428553905 · January 2016

MobKaz said:

What denomination is it? Why is the church no longer available? I cannot imagine a church would not help you find a nearby church in which to marry. I know in my particular parish, you do not have to attend the Pre-Cana preparation that is specific to your individual parish. In fact, many of the preparation programs are county based to allow some flexibility of dates and times for couples.

Your other option is to see if she can have a ceremony at her reception location.

It's a baptist church. The church has decided to do a year-long "revival" and there will be services every day during that time. They didn't offer to change her time to before/after one of these services. From my understanding they were basically like "tough luck".

I suggested having a ceremony at her reception location but the guests would have nowhere to go while they transform the space from ceremony space to reception space.

Knottie1428553905 · January 2016

VicTim328 said:

If she completed counseling within a church, she could talk with the pastor about having it waived in another.

Unfortunately she didn't have to complete counseling at the church she selected. Perhaps I can suggest that the pastor call up a few churches in the area and explain to them my friend's situation so that maybe they can waive the counseling or shorten it due to the circumstances at hand?

flantastic · January 2016

RiaLovesChris said:

VicTim328 said:

If she completed counseling within a church, she could talk with the pastor about having it waived in another.

Unfortunately she didn't have to complete counseling at the church she selected. Perhaps I can suggest that the pastor call up a few churches in the area and explain to them my friend's situation so that maybe they can waive the counseling or shorten it due to the circumstances at hand?

Not a bad idea. Having at the reception site should definitely be another option they look into, but if the pastor and your friend are both adamant to the other pastors that it is important to them that they be married in a church, I would hope they could work something out.

JaxInBlue · January 2016

Agree with PPs. Using the ceremony site would be ideal for guests, provided the logistics make sense (ie: the room can be set in a way that everyone can see/hear a ceremony.)

Beyond that, if it's not possible for her pastor to help her "transfer" to another church (could her pastor do their counseling if it is required by another church?), she might consider investigating any/all of these types of options, depending of course on what she has nearby:

a theater
a college/university auditorium or chapel
a museum/art gallery
a public garden/park(/zoo/aquarium)
an event hall - everything from conference centers to places like VFW Halls
City Hall or the equivalent - some, like the one in my hometown, have larger public rooms. (DH and I were actually married at City Hall in the auditorium/ballroom; it was a great space.)

Good luck to her!

Knottie1428553905 · January 2016

JaxInBlue said:

Agree with PPs. Using the ceremony site would be ideal for guests, provided the logistics make sense (ie: the room can be set in a way that everyone can see/hear a ceremony.)

Beyond that, if it's not possible for her pastor to help her "transfer" to another church (could her pastor do their counseling if it is required by another church?), she might consider investigating any/all of these types of options, depending of course on what she has nearby:
a theater
a college/university auditorium or chapel
a museum/art gallery
a public garden/park(/zoo/aquarium)
an event hall - everything from conference centers to places like VFW Halls
City Hall or the equivalent - some, like the one in my hometown, have larger public rooms. (DH and I were actually married at City Hall in the auditorium/ballroom; it was a great space.)
Good luck to her!

Thank you so much for these suggestions. We have a few large colleges close by so that actually might work.

We're in tiny Dover, Delaware. You'd think for being "the capital of the first state" we'd have more options for this type of thing.

missfrodo · January 2016

Would they have to "flip" the room if she were married at the reception space? I had a smallish wedding for the space we were in, which allowed us to have the ceremony with guests seated at their tables (some people would have just had to turn their chairs to face us). There were no support beams in the way and no tall centerpieces to obstruct views, so those are definitely things to think about. We were basically married on our dance floor.

OliveOilsMom · January 2016

I recall a bride on here did flip a reception room. They had a curtain off to the side hiding the set tables. Then all guests left after the ceremony to have some group pictures taken. While all guests were outside, the caterer pulled back the curtain, moved out the tables and had the chairs placed at the tables. But if this does not work for your friend, I would do as PP suggest and just have the guests seated at their tables for the ceremony. As long as the DJ can be there to have it so all guests can hear the ceremony too.

charlotte989875 · January 2016

I've attended weddings where the ceremony was held in the reception space and guests were seated at their tables. Worked just fine. They had a hubba(sp?) places in the middle of the dance floor and had the ceremony there and removed in during cocktail hour. No need to flip.

scrunchythief · February 2016

charlotte989875 said:

I've attended weddings where the ceremony was held in the reception space and guests were seated at their tables. Worked just fine. They had a hubba(sp?) places in the middle of the dance floor and had the ceremony there and removed in during cocktail hour. No need to flip.

Huppah (or Chuppah) if you mean the Jewish ceremonial canopy:)

Ceremony Location fell through 4 months before wedding!

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