Acceptable distance for guests to travel
- Thread starter EyeElle
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ficklefaye
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tropiqalkiwi
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I voted 10 minutes or less, but the other options really aren''t that bad.
If I was attending a wedding I don''t think I would think twice about traveling unless it was more than 30 minutes, but for a good friend or family member I wouldn''t mind traveling whatever the distance.
I just think it cuts down on the seamlessness of the wedding and reception as one event to have to travel more than a little bit. Something about it seems strange to me and like it was thought about as pieces instead of a whole event. But at the same time, I would prefer going to a unique place instead of whatever banquet hall was next to the church.
So I guess choose the place you want to have it regardless of the location, and then just make sure you take care of your guests when they get there to let them know you are thinking of their comfort
If I was attending a wedding I don''t think I would think twice about traveling unless it was more than 30 minutes, but for a good friend or family member I wouldn''t mind traveling whatever the distance.
I just think it cuts down on the seamlessness of the wedding and reception as one event to have to travel more than a little bit. Something about it seems strange to me and like it was thought about as pieces instead of a whole event. But at the same time, I would prefer going to a unique place instead of whatever banquet hall was next to the church.
So I guess choose the place you want to have it regardless of the location, and then just make sure you take care of your guests when they get there to let them know you are thinking of their comfort
lucyandroger
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meresal
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Here's the first thing that comes to mind... Are you having lots of OOT's? The people you want to worry about are the ones that don't know the area. Where are the Hotels you are recommending? Closer to reception site or ceremony?
If they are closer to the ceremony, then I think the drive should be no more than 20 minutes. People will be drinking and I would hate for a guest to get into a mess on the way home.
If they are closer to the reception, then you need to factor in how long it will take at the time of day they will be driving to the ceremony. Friday night? Rush hour? traffic lights?
This was a big deal for me, and I kept everything within walking distance (Downtown Area), so my vote would be that neither venue is more than 20 minutes from the hotels.
If they are closer to the ceremony, then I think the drive should be no more than 20 minutes. People will be drinking and I would hate for a guest to get into a mess on the way home.
If they are closer to the reception, then you need to factor in how long it will take at the time of day they will be driving to the ceremony. Friday night? Rush hour? traffic lights?
This was a big deal for me, and I kept everything within walking distance (Downtown Area), so my vote would be that neither venue is more than 20 minutes from the hotels.
elrohwen
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I voted for 20 minutes because I think that''s pretty reasonable.
I once went to a wedding with 45 minutes in between church and reception. Luckily, they provided a bus, so at least we could hang out and chat and not worry about the drive. It was a bit annoying at night that we had to go so far to get to our hotel (we parked at the hotel near the church, and the bus took us from there to the church, to the reception, and back to the hotel again) with a bunch of drunk people we didn''t know very well. Haha. I think if it''s going to be anything more than 30 minutes, it would be nice if additional transportation was provided.
I once went to a wedding with 45 minutes in between church and reception. Luckily, they provided a bus, so at least we could hang out and chat and not worry about the drive. It was a bit annoying at night that we had to go so far to get to our hotel (we parked at the hotel near the church, and the bus took us from there to the church, to the reception, and back to the hotel again) with a bunch of drunk people we didn''t know very well. Haha. I think if it''s going to be anything more than 30 minutes, it would be nice if additional transportation was provided.
stephbolt
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If you are dealing with a 3-4 hour gap, then I think the distance between the two sites isn''t as big of an issue, because people aren''t going to be traveling directly from one site to the other, but will go back to hotel or home first. Because of this, I would factor in the hotel location when thinking about guest travel (or home locations, if you don''t have a lot of OOT guests).
For me personally, I don''t like to travel more than 20 min from where I''m staying (be it home or hotel) to get to any venue for the wedding.
For me personally, I don''t like to travel more than 20 min from where I''m staying (be it home or hotel) to get to any venue for the wedding.
lulu66
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i''m struggling with this question for my own wedding, so i''m interested to see the responses. basically 95% of my guest list is oot & i want to get married in my home church (in a very, very tiny town), so far there would be at LEAST a 25 min drive to a decent reception site. (i refuse to have my reception somewhere that doubles as a gymnasium). ahhhhh...the decision is driving me crazy.
elleeye, what''s your situation? please keep me posted on your decision!
elleeye, what''s your situation? please keep me posted on your decision!
Stephbolt you make a good point. I should factor in where they will most likely be coming from as opposed to the ceremony site. Because there is a fairly large gap, they will either go home/hotel or downtown area. So I will have to recalculate that. Thanks for the comment
Lulu66, you and I are in the same boat lol Most of my guests are OOT too, I would say 95% as well. And right now as we stand the one I really like is about 25 mins away from my ceremony site. So factor in any traffic or wrong turns or anything, it would be about 30-35 mins and to me that seems a bit much.
But then again my Fiance said if they will drive 4 hours to come to the wedding, they won''t mind driving another 30 mins for a great party! Which is true.
I am still going to look for something closer ... but I am running out of venues lol
I''ll look into some sort of transportation for them, but that was not in our budget at all ..... but since it would be all of Fiances family, I don''t think they would mind being all together in a cramped space ... hopefully haha
Thanks for the input everyone!
Lulu66, you and I are in the same boat lol Most of my guests are OOT too, I would say 95% as well. And right now as we stand the one I really like is about 25 mins away from my ceremony site. So factor in any traffic or wrong turns or anything, it would be about 30-35 mins and to me that seems a bit much.
But then again my Fiance said if they will drive 4 hours to come to the wedding, they won''t mind driving another 30 mins for a great party! Which is true.
I am still going to look for something closer ... but I am running out of venues lol
I''ll look into some sort of transportation for them, but that was not in our budget at all ..... but since it would be all of Fiances family, I don''t think they would mind being all together in a cramped space ... hopefully haha
Thanks for the input everyone!
sparkly_stars
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i think it depends on a few things.
first- i voted 20 min.
BUT there are variables!!!
haha
okay, first i guess it would depend how much time between ceremony/reception (the longer the gap, the less the drive would bother me)
second, it depends where people are coming from. if i lived in town a but was going to town b for the ceremony, (lets say 1 hour away) and then the reception was back in town a- then distance REALLY wouldn''t matter, because i''ve trekked to the furthest distance (if that situation was switched, then it depends on how late you want things to go, and what time your wedding is going to be!)
either way, speaking from my experience only (our wedding was 20 minutes outside of where everyone lived *ceremony AND reception), get married and celebrate where YOU want to go...in the end, its about YOUR memories, and making it what you dreamed of is what matters.
(ps. please don''t take last statement as having things HOURS and HOURS apart haha)
first- i voted 20 min.
BUT there are variables!!!
haha
okay, first i guess it would depend how much time between ceremony/reception (the longer the gap, the less the drive would bother me)
second, it depends where people are coming from. if i lived in town a but was going to town b for the ceremony, (lets say 1 hour away) and then the reception was back in town a- then distance REALLY wouldn''t matter, because i''ve trekked to the furthest distance (if that situation was switched, then it depends on how late you want things to go, and what time your wedding is going to be!)
either way, speaking from my experience only (our wedding was 20 minutes outside of where everyone lived *ceremony AND reception), get married and celebrate where YOU want to go...in the end, its about YOUR memories, and making it what you dreamed of is what matters.
(ps. please don''t take last statement as having things HOURS and HOURS apart haha)
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