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Savvy May 2020

Ceremony and Reception different venues?

Tanya, on August 1, 2019 at 12:33 AM Posted in Planning 0 19
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Hey y’all! I’m trying to plan a spring wedding with about 200 guests for next spring. My problem is, the venue we love and can afford in our hometown only has indoor ceremony space and I had my heart set on an outdoor ceremony. Is it unreasonable to have a different ceremony location about 15 min away from reception venue for a 30 min ceremony? I feel like a bridezilla!!! Help!

19 Comments

Latest activity by Clíodhna, on September 6, 2019 at 10:03 AM
  • Cher Horowitz
    Master December 2019
    Cher Horowitz ·
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    Welcome to WW! I know of plenty brides who have chosen to have a separate reception venue. You're not being ridiculous!

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  • 2d Bride
    Champion October 2009
    2d Bride ·
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    Absolutely not. Until recently, most people had their ceremony and reception in different venues. And 15 minutes apart is trivial.

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  • M
    Legend June 2019
    Melle ·
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    Not unreasonable AT ALL. Mine was about a ten minute drive from each other. There's people who definitely had to drive much further and longer for weddings than that so 15 min is pretty fine!
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  • earias
    Champion December 2017
    earias ·
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    That is common for people who choose to get married in a church. As long as your reception is within 30 minutes' drive of your ceremony then you are fine.

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  • D
    Super July 2020
    D ·
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    15 minutes is great. I'm socially awkward so I actually love a little break.
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  • Keri
    Expert November 2019
    Keri ·
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    Totally acceptable. My only concern would be if you had a significantly long gap between the two.
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  • B
    Savvy October 2019
    Bee ·
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    I love attending weddings where there is a break between the ceremony and the reception. I have a lot of social anxiety and that break, even for 15 minutes, would help me a lot.


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  • Devin
    Super October 2019
    Devin ·
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    Totally fine. Our ceremony is about 10 mins away from our reception venue.
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  • Sara
    Super October 2019
    Sara ·
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    I agree that it's totally fine, and I'd just plan for a cocktail hour that's set up and ready as soon as the ceremony ends so that as people filter over to the reception venue there's snacks and things to do other than just standing around empty handed.

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  • Caytlyn
    Legend November 2019
    Caytlyn ·
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    Many couples choose to have the ceremony and reception at different venues. There's nothing wrong with it. I would, however, make sure that your outside ceremony space has a backup plan for weather.

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  • Chandra
    Master May 2019
    Chandra ·
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    It's perfectly fine!
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  • T
    Dedicated September 2019
    Teresa ·
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    Having a separate ceremony venue is not uncommon so I don't think you're a bridezilla at all. Just make sure you give the address for both venues on your invitations.

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  • Eva L.
    Dedicated March 2022
    Eva L. ·
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    You can totally do it. We are getting married at out Church and the venue is like 15 minutes down the street. The only issue I'm having with this is that my church has services on Saturdays and need us to leave 2:00/2:30 pm and my venue won't finish setting until 3:00/3:30 pm.
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  • Ivy ORP
    VIP October 2019
    Ivy ORP ·
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    Of course not! 15 minutes seems very reasonable. Even though your ceremony will only be 30 minutes your guests will (hopefully) arrive about 15 minutes early and may linger a few minutes before moving on to the reception so you're looking at about an hour at one location before moving on to the next. Totally doable.

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  • Wendy
    Dedicated April 2020
    Wendy ·
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    It's completely fine! We are considering the same. Our outdoor ceremony would be about 25 min from the reception location.
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  • A
    VIP December 2020
    Amanda ·
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    Congratulations on your engagement and wedding planning! We have been to several weddings over the years where the ceremony and reception were in separate places. In fact, we attended one wedding where the two spaces were over 30 mins apart and no one seemed to mind.

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  • Andrea
    Master January 2021
    Andrea ·
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    Yeah that's no problem at all! 15 minutes is very reasonable.

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  • Melissa
    VIP October 2018
    Melissa ·
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    Totally not unreasonable. We did. And most weddings I have attended in the last few years did the same. You will have a handful of people who choose to only attend the reception, but whatever. For the MOST PART - I'm talking like 99% of people - they will be more than willing to make a 15 minute drive.

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  • Clíodhna
    WeddingWire Administrator January 2030
    Clíodhna ·
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    Hey Tanya! Did you decide to book the venue?

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