Is your ceremony and reception in different locations?

[fieryred33143]

Is it too much to ask guests to drive to the ceremony and then to the reception if they are about a mile apart? How are your weddings? What do most people do?

 

[choro72]

I think a mile is fine! I had a friend who had the reception 1.5 hours drive away from the ceremony.

 

[havernell]

Having guests drive between the ceremony and reception is totally normal (and is probably more common than the wedding-and-reception-all-at-one-venue plan)! And having your two venues only a mile away is really nice- people won''t get lost while driving and it''s a quick trip. Don''t sweat it, you''re fine.

 

[Blair138]

I agree with everyone. Usually the ceremony is at a church and reception at banquet hall/hotel. VERY normal to have it at 2 places and I'm sure all of your guests will love the fact that they are only 1 mile apart!!

 

[blondebunny]

my stepbrother just got married in december and they were at separate locations, and they were like maybe 10 miles apart...and we got lost.. so a mile would be fantastic!

 

[meresal]

I would say 80% of the time they are at different locations... and can I just say thank you for anyone attending your wedding. Only a mile!!! Nice planning. I''ve driven up to 45 minutes for a reception.

 

[noelwr]

most ceremonies and receptions are in separate locations so you won''t be surprising anyone.

ours will be at the same location as we are having a destination wedding and don''t want people to get lost. and the venue is perfect for both occassions.

 

[Anna0499]

It is VERY normal, especially for couples to plan to marry in a church. The last wedding I went to was about 1/2 hour away so a mile is AMAZINGLY convenient!

 

[kittybean]

Echoing what the other posters said, it is very normal to have them in separate places. My ceremony will be at a church, and my reception will be at another site. I think a mile apart is fantastic! Most guests expect that they will have to travel between the ceremony and reception sites.

If you are concerned about transportation, you can hire some sort of shuttle to take them from one place to the other, but I really think that''s unnecessary unless one of the places is somehow hard to get to or lacks parking. Example: my roommate''s wedding is going to be on a mountain, up a dirt road, so she is providing a shuttle to take guests up there if they do not want to drive up the dirt road.

 

[allycat0303]

Mine is at a different place. I REALLY don''t think it''s a big deal. I think there are many, many weddings that take place in a church and very few receptions that take place in church basements

 

[bee*]

I''ve never been to a wedding where the ceremony and the reception have been in different places so I think it''s fine. Mine will also be about a mile apart. It''s no distance at all.

 

[fieryred33143]

Thank you all for the comments.

There''s this hotel where we would love to have the reception and the pics of the beach ceremony were beautiful...until I saw it myself. They use a very public part of the beach and the specific spot is right next to a basketball court. I just had visions of people playing frisbee and basketball and using the showers while we are exchanging vows.

So right when I was giving up on the idea of that hotel, I drove about a miile up and noticed that there was a church. I got out of the car and it is beautiful.

Thanks!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Definitely not too much at all! We looked into this, but nixed it because our distance was more like 20 minutes. It seemed too far considering the roads they would have to take and how confusing it was. So we moved both things (wedding and reception) to the second location. But in your case, one mile? That''s fine!

 

[Anna0499]

Date: 7/20/2008 9:02:57 PM
Author: fieryred33143
Thank you all for the comments.

There''s this hotel where we would love to have the reception and the pics of the beach ceremony were beautiful...until I saw it myself. They use a very public part of the beach and the specific spot is right next to a basketball court. I just had visions of people playing frisbee and basketball and using the showers while we are exchanging vows.

So right when I was giving up on the idea of that hotel, I drove about a miile up and noticed that there was a church. I got out of the car and it is beautiful.

Thanks!

Haha, sounds like you made the right decision! You don''t want to take those kinds of risks for the most important day of your life thus far! As soon as you said basketball court and public beach I envisioned the exact same thing you did...sweaty guys cursing about foul calls and half-naked girls prancing around you all!

 

[bensbride]

My ceremony is about 15 miles from my reception, and so far nobody has outright refused to make the trek. Its a very simple 15 miles, though...

I think you''ll be fine, just give directions. Some people are just the type that would get lost just crossing the street, but I think for the most part your one mile caravan will arrive intact.

 

[julesbeth]

Oh wow! Your two sites sound perfect! Congrats on finding something so perfect - AND a mile is nothing! Some people could even walk, really.