Help me brainstorm a separate venue for our ceremony!

The cocktail hour is for exactly the purpose of taking wedding photos and keeping guests occupied while that happens. Most wedding venues can accommodate a separate ceremony space in addition to the reception space. If you don’t want to see each other before the ceremony, most venues have separate getting ready spaces for the bride and the groom.

View Quoted Comment Yes thank you, I know that, I was hoping to do them separate. I don’t want to miss my cocktail hour and I also want there to be time between the ceremony and reception.

Then what would your guests be doing while you’re taking photos? The length of time needed to travel will be the same for you as it is for them.


As far as suggestions, are you looking for specific venues in your area? If so, you need to be more specific of where you’re located, as this is an international forum. As far as general ceremony locations: parks, beaches, art museums, arboretums, etc. can all make lovely ceremony spaces.

View Quoted Comment I agree. Gaps longer than the time it takes for guests to get from reasonably located ceremony to reception are inconsiderate.


OP, you are responsible for hosting your guests properly during this time. If you want to be there for cocktail hour and don’t want a first look I don’t see how that’s possible.

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Unfortunately, the two don't exactly go together. The point of cocktail hour is to occupy your guests while you take photos. If you have a gap with nothing for guests to do in between it really isn't polite (unless completely necessary because of church/temple times which is not your issue here).

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I want the gap between the ceremony and reception, similar to how you would have for a church or temple ceremony.

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But you are not having a church or temple ceremony. You would simply be causing an inconvenience for your guests. The reason that exists for church ceremonies is because they have to take place at a certain time that is not flexible.

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That is your opinion. I wasn't asking about how my guests would feel. I was simply asking for suggestions for wedding ceremony locations that are not onsite where my reception may be.

People all want an evening wedding but there are actually no circumstances in which the gap is actually considered polite. I’ve been to plenty of morning services with luncheons immediately following. It’s a choice to be considerate to your guests or not and you don’t even have the excuse of a religious ceremony.