Ceremony Location: Religious Venue vs. Reception Venue

We had planned for a Catholic ceremony but hubby found out too late into planning that he didn't make his confirmation. Our reception venue was at the hall of a Presbyterian church so we asked for permission from that church to get married in the hall and after meeting with the Pastor several times, he agreed to marry us. The Pastor read scripture, spoke on it and prayed over us, so it was a religious ceremony. It worked out well NO RUNNING AROUND!!! I had my hair and make up done by 11:00 AM, went home met up with our wedding party to load up the car. Arrived at the hall by 2:00 for rehearsal with the Pastor and the photographer was able to meet us there too so our photos start with our rehearsal. Then we set out the favors, centerpieces and got dressed. Ceremony at 5:00 we exited at 5:30 to take photos during cocktail hour. Made our Grand Entrance and had first dance just before dinner was served at 6:30, toast and cake at 8:00 and danced until 11:30! Flowed beautifully!

Reception Venue for us. I'm Catholic and FH is Protestant, so we didn't want to choose one or the other. We also are having a DW so it wouldn't even be one of the churches we grew up with, so it held no sentimental value for either of us. Pros are that there will not be a gap, no extra traveling, and less stress!

We are getting married at our reception venue; partly because we are not religious. More importantly than that is that FFIL is officiating our wedding (I wanted to include him in our ceremony and that's the way that made sense to me). We were going to have everything into a banquet hall but after the Farmer Almanac came out saying bad weather that weekend, we decided to move the whole thing to a hotel.

I can't address the church issue, but most of my couples get married at their venues because they either do not want to travel or a specifically religious building is not going to work for them. We have couples as diverse as Hindu/Muslim, Quaker/Jewish and Jain/Catholic, and a spiritual but not overtly religious ceremony in a religiously neutral place makes sense for them.

We chose a reception venue because of convenience and we loved the venue. Although I so also like the tradition of getting married in a church, that isn't stopping us from adding Christian elements into the ceremony.

Religious venue. I'm Catholic, FH is Christian, but we're getting married in the church I went to growing up.

Cons: I have to have a 2:30 PM ceremony and be out by 4 for 4:30 mass; I can't use non-religious music; it's long; neither FH nor I are really religious so some of it does seem silly; FH's family is not Catholic so I feel bad making them do it this way

Pros: the church is gorgeous; Catholic wedding ceremonies just have the formality and seriousness that make them seem special; I wanted to be married in the eyes of the Church; it really means a lot to my mom; my uncle (a Catholic priest) can perform the ceremony, and he has married many of my aunts & uncles and most of my cousins.

There are pros and cons to every type of ceremony. For me, my church was almost a given, even though I know there are a lot of downsides.

My ceremony is not religious but also not at the reception venue. They are however across the street from each other, which is awesome.

With permission, we chose the statehouse for our ceremony because it's special to us.

Ms. King, you can wear heels anywhere, lol!

We are doing a non-denominational service in a congregational church and then reception at a town hall....Getting married in a church was something important to some members in our families. We don't attend church, but we are spiritual in our beliefs. No one in our families forced this upon us. I wanted two separate sites, and they are 500 yards across a town green from one another. It just works for us.

FH and I are both Christian, but since we are from two different states, we had to choose between a location; We chose to get married in my hometown, at a ballroom. My church meets inside of a school gym, so that wasn't an option anway, lol. Our ceremony will be religious though. My uncle, who is an ordained pastor, will be officiating our ceremony. He will read Scripture, say a prayer over us, etc. We of course, are having our reception at the same place as where our ceremony will be held.

We chose to have an outdoor ceremony at our reception venue because DH's family is Jewish and mine is several varieties of Protestant. We don't identify with either and loved the idea of being able to write our own ceremony. Also, we couldn't have gotten married in a synagogue without me converting, which would have felt fake, and choosing either a synagogue or a church would have made one family really uncomfortable.

Con :

Religious venues include religion.

You can't wear heels on the beach!

Very true. Red toenail polish instead, lol!

@DonnaR fh was married before too, not in the Catholic Church but still means no catholic ceremony for us. Makes me sad/upset because I am catholic, attend mass most weeks with our sons who attended Catholic School yet they won't recognize our marriage.

We will be marrying at a church I grew up in, my dad is Presbyterian and mum catholic so we alternated churches.

Reception venue. I don't believe in organized religion. Also, my venue is to die for dreamy.

Our ceremony venue isn't religious - its a garden (we've always wanted to be married in a garden setting) and we decided on a separate reception venue because it held a special place in our heart and was where we spent our first holiday together.

We are getting married in the Cathedral of the destination we are marrying at. Ever since I was in middle school I would always walk past it and say to myself that I had to marry there, it's the dream location! Not only are FH and I both active Catholics but we have always wanted to start our marriage with God because we have completed all of the other sacraments there (baptism, reconciliation, communion, confirmation etc.), so it was just a natural way to progress

Religious venue - we're practicing Catholics and not having a church wedding was never an option.

Religious in FH's childhood church... We are Catholic and it won't be recognized as a Sacrament, unless it's in a church... and we want to fulfill that Sacrament. It's always been a dream of ours since we were little, we wouldn't have it any other way.

I've been to both though and whichever is best for the couple, is still magical.

ETA: Our Pro's and Con's

Pro's: It's recognized by the church. It's a gorgeous church inside and has emotional ties.

Con's: We can't have any non church music. We can't write our own vows. It's a half hour or so up the parkway from our reception.