Distance between ceremony and reception

I would say thirty minutes is the maximum amount, but make sure you take into account traffic at the time your guests will be traveling.

I’ve driven an hour -the couple was married in the church they attended and the reception was an hour away.

30 minutes is average/normal. 60 mins or longer is too far.

30 minutes maximum

I think 30 minutes is definitely reasonable, but I wouldn't go any farther

I think it depends on how many guests are coming from out of town. We had the same problem, except the church was the mainstay and we were looking for a reception venue. We could either do a venue on a Friday that was only 15 minutes from the church with lots of hotels within a mile, or a venue on a Saturday 30 minutes from the church with the nearest hotel being at least 20 minutes away (and also that venue was 30 minutes from the church in the opposite direction of the the airport).


We went with the Friday evening venue because 70% or more of our guests are coming from out of town, with at least 50% of those coming from out of state via car or plane. It just seemed like too much driving.
We probably would have chosen that venue if it had had any nearby hotels.

I'd say 30 minutes would be the max. However, as a guest, I wouldn't really want to drive more than 15 minutes.

I would say 30 minutes should be the max distance.

30 minutes is the max I would feel comfortable asking people to drive between so I think you're totally fine!

I think 30 min is fine

View Quoted Comment I can’t find a way to edit the original post but I rechecked the distance and it’s about 40 minutes. Soooo too much?
Most guests will be from out of town and will be driving in from about a 4 hour radius if that matters. Those guests will probably get a hotel for the night after. Some guests from an hour away will probably just drive into town and then drive home that day without getting a hotel

Perhaps in certain regions, 30 minutes might be considered “average”. But, realistically, that’s a good distance between two venues. And for unfamiliar out of town guests, 30 feels even farther.

View Quoted Comment Yeah, I think it’s too far personally. Especially if people have spent all day driving and then sitting down in the ceremony— it’s a lot of sitting and driving.


Have you looked into the hotel situation near the venue? Are they going to have to drive some distance again to get to their hotels?

View Quoted Comment There are plenty of hotel options near the potential ceremony and reception locations.

View Quoted Comment That might not be so bad then. Maybe you could talk to some of your guests that you know I’ll be traveling from out of town? (At least the most important ones). That’s what I did and it made me feel a lot more comfortable with my own decision.

I would say thirty minutes is the maximum amount