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Distance Between Reception and Nearest Hotels

mlynn93mlynn93 member
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in Wedding Etiquette Forum
Hello,

I’m looking at venues for our reception, and wondering about opinions on how far is too far from the reception site to the nearest hotel.

Thank you! 
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Re: Distance Between Reception and Nearest Hotels

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    flantasticflantastic member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    I'd max it at 20 minutes. I just attended a wedding where the nearest hotel was 30 minutes away (when they could have had the reception closer to civilization - the ceremony was). People who lived an hour and a half away just went home instead (and therefore left quite early).
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    banana468banana468 member
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    I think it could be somewhat location dependent but I'd try for no more than 20 minutes.

    If you have a wedding that's far from decent accommodations you may run into early departures as @flantastic said. 
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    MyNameIsNotMyNameIsNot member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    It really depends on the situation. Are most of your guests travelling from far enough that they need to stay overnight? Is the wedding in the evening, or earlier in the day? Are you having alcohol? Will people be driving or are you offering some kind of shuttle to the hotel?

    I wouldn't mind driving 20-30 minutes back to the hotel after a brunch wedding, but if you're having an evening wedding with drinks and dancing, I wouldn't want a hotel that I couldn't easily get to on foot/shuttle/affordable uber. If my options are 20 minutes to a hotel or a couple of hours to get home, I would just DD and drive home, even if that meant leaving early. (On the flip, I have gotten a hotel walking distance from a wedding that is an hour from home.)
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    climbingsingleclimbingsingle member
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    Agree that you should try to keep it at about 20 mins. 
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    ei34ei34 member
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    What’s the main reason for booking hotel rooms?  If guests are local and everyone wants to have a crazy time, walking distance.  If most/all guests are out of town, I’d look for hotels in a few different price points, and agree to around the 20min mark.
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    thisismynickname2thisismynickname2 member
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    MyNameIsNot said:
    It really depends on the situation. Are most of your guests travelling from far enough that they need to stay overnight? Is the wedding in the evening, or earlier in the day? Are you having alcohol? Will people be driving or are you offering some kind of shuttle to the hotel?

    I wouldn't mind driving 20-30 minutes back to the hotel after a brunch wedding, but if you're having an evening wedding with drinks and dancing, I wouldn't want a hotel that I couldn't easily get to on foot/shuttle/affordable uber. If my options are 20 minutes to a hotel or a couple of hours to get home, I would just DD and drive home, even if that meant leaving early. (On the flip, I have gotten a hotel walking distance from a wedding that is an hour from home.)
    This. We vetoed a venue in part because the nearest hotel was six city blocks away, which is like 5 minutes by cab or 10 minutes by foot. Lots of older, mobility-challenged guests who'd need to fight the Saturday night drunks for cabs if we did that, and a custom shuttle cost too much for our budget. Our chosen venue had a hotel next door, by contrast. 

    So it's really case-specific.
    ________________________________


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    banana468banana468 member
    First Answer First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    thisismynickname2 said:
    MyNameIsNot said:
    It really depends on the situation. Are most of your guests travelling from far enough that they need to stay overnight? Is the wedding in the evening, or earlier in the day? Are you having alcohol? Will people be driving or are you offering some kind of shuttle to the hotel?

    I wouldn't mind driving 20-30 minutes back to the hotel after a brunch wedding, but if you're having an evening wedding with drinks and dancing, I wouldn't want a hotel that I couldn't easily get to on foot/shuttle/affordable uber. If my options are 20 minutes to a hotel or a couple of hours to get home, I would just DD and drive home, even if that meant leaving early. (On the flip, I have gotten a hotel walking distance from a wedding that is an hour from home.)
    This. We vetoed a venue in part because the nearest hotel was six city blocks away, which is like 5 minutes by cab or 10 minutes by foot. Lots of older, mobility-challenged guests who'd need to fight the Saturday night drunks for cabs if we did that, and a custom shuttle cost too much for our budget. Our chosen venue had a hotel next door, by contrast. 

    So it's really case-specific.
    And our venue was more of an in-town not city venue that was about a 15 minute ride on local roads to a hotel.  

    If we were in a major city itself we would have pushed for something closer.   It also depends on if you're having a DW or if the hotel is for the OOT guests.  
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    Jen4948Jen4948 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    20-30 minutes sounds reasonable to me, but it can vary, depending on what options for transportation between the hotel and venues are available and who might need to avail themselves of them, such as guests with mobility issues, don't drive, or other physical issues that could make that long a ride difficult to get through.
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    mlynn93mlynn93 member
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    Great, thank you everyone! 
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    knottief347857347f46a4aknottief347857347f46a4a member
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    A good rule of thumb is to aim for hotels that are within a 15-20 minute drive from the reception venue. This allows your guests to easily get back to their rooms and rest up after the festivities. Of course, every situation is unique, so take into account the specific location and transportation options available.

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    banana468banana468 member
    First Answer First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    knottief347857347f46a4a said:
    A good rule of thumb is to aim for hotels that are within a 15-20 minute drive from the reception venue. This allows your guests to easily get back to their rooms and rest up after the festivities. Of course, every situation is unique, so take into account the specific location and transportation options available.

    This thread is nearly 5 years old.  
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