Letting people change my mind

40 minutes is literally nothing, it takes me 25 to get to work in the morning, but rush hour in the Denver Metro area, takes me an hour to get home. If they have lodging that is great! It's easy, we do not at our venue. and the nearest hotel is about 15 minutes away. We are planning to have some sort of transportation to a hotel that is somewhat close and have hotel blocks at 2 different hotels within whomevers price range. My FH won't get hammered and we will end up driving home. Because the next evening we will be leaving for the honeymoon!

Don't allow other people to change your mind. My mother wanted me to change a lot of ideas for the wedding and I told her to back off. if its what YOU want, do it. It's all about you and your FH.

We are in the same boat for our wedding that we have paid for ourselves. We booked our venue (that is 45 min away from most family, two hours away from some friends) without a second thought. Our guests should have no problem driving. They know we drive to see them all the time, so this is their way of returning the favor.

My FW and I both drive four hours a day give or take total for our commute, so I think people can drive 40 minutes the day of your wedding! That is totally reasonable, especially if a hotel is offered and the ceremony and reception are in the same location. You can't be expected to book the perfect venue within walking distance of all your guests - that is unrealistic.

Sounds like you found a good one, I say go for it and try to enjoy the process without second-guessing yourself. Congrats!

This is your wedding and if your friends/family want to be a part of your day, they will be there no matter where you have it. It's not like you are having a destination wedding and asking people to fly. Under an hour is not a long travel for a wedding. As long as your FH also likes the venue, I say go for it!

My brother is getting married in Colorado and we're in Illinois.. I would LOVE if his was only 40 minutes away!

I live in Los Angeles so there's always a drive no matter how far you're going. My wedding venue was about 1 hour from where hubby and I lived and about 45 minutes to an hour away from our guests. Not one of my guests ever complained about the drive as a matter of fact it was central to our families as they're spread through out LA. The people that want to be there with you to celebrate your marriage won't even think twice about it. Your day and you pay, have it your way!

Lol, that was unintentional but cute.

I say go for it. I've only been to one wedding and I drove 8 hours to connecticut and then the venue was another 30-40 minute drive. I didn't mind, its for family!

You are not wrong at all, it is your day and if this is what you want go for it!

I decided I wanted to change the time of my wedding to an afternoon start instead of evening. My mom was hesitant about it because she felt that it made dinner to early and my guests wont like that, however my dad and FH said do what you like and what makes you happy, that it is our day and what we would like is what matters most.

Do what is going to make you happy

You have to please you. I had some of the same feelings that you did...my venue is an hour and a half away from my home town. The thing is, I love it and the people that come will too. I am paying for my wedding and I am doing it the way I want it. I plan on making the comfort of my guests a priority once they are at my venue as I am hosting the wedding but I also want my day to be special to me. If you have the luxury to pay for your wedding then don't apologize to anyone for the decisions you make and pay for.

Caitlyn sign the contract!!!

40 mins isn't a big deal and I drink but witnessing my family/friends getting married would trump driving home after drinking. I would get a hotel room or uber/Lyft take taxi home like seriously?

The fact that they are giving you the space for the entire weekend is amazing! you can do rehearsal dinner if you wanted or even thank you breakfast the next day if you have people lodging. It's your special day have it where you want it how you want it

Your guests are ultimately responsible for themselves when it comes to how much they drink. 40 minutes, as many have pointed, out is an average commute for many people. Don't let anyone try to guilt you out of having the venue you want!

A 40-minute drive isn't far at all. If you truly love the venue and feel it's the right place then it's fine. I have driven to my friends weddings that were hours away and I didn't mind at all.

With no additional drive between ceremony and reception, 40 minutes is quite reasonable. And extra time before and after means you can do a quick run through of the procession, without Tak ng people out for a separate day it evening. Have a great time. And if you have not figured it out yet from reading on here a word of advice. Do you over share with people early on. Or you will hear everyone's opinion on everything. It is fine to say, we consider the process of planning good practice in decision making for our marriage, so please understand, we , B and G, want to do the planning, explore our options, and not discuss much with people until the last month or so. And switch your ears off to unsolicited advice. The great majority of what a lot of people say is proper etiquette, is simply how they saw or heard of some people doing things. Etiquette actually covers very few areas. Mostly you are getting people's opinions disguised as how you must do things. Easier to actually read a 30-40 page chapter on weddings in a standard etiquette book. Then whether or not you follow the specifics, you will have an idea of how others expect to see things done. Like a sport, it is harder and causes injuries to not know all the rules and precautions before you start. A lot of people on wedding wire have sound, experience based advice. And an equal number learned everything from TV and movies, which present a really distorted view. In a show, doing something outrageously unacceptable looks like fun. In real life, planning a shower that 7 of an invited 50 people attend, because the others are upset how you did things, is not fun. Getting on someone's case for not doing something on time, only to find you are asking 6 months early, or expecting the wrong person to do it, can cost a friendship.
. . . It is easier to make decisions when you do the research, as you have with venue's, then ask only a limited group if people for opinions on very specific things. Have fun planning!