Venue.....too far away? Opinions please!

I think it's fine. It's probably just parents being parents! I told my folks where ours was and my Dad's reaction was "that's a bit far isn't it?" and I explained some more and then he changed his mind when he realised it actually wasn't that far. It's closer to them than our house is! So now he's really pleased!

So no, short answer is I don't think that's unreasonable at all. If they're all coming from the same place maybe car sharing is an option?

Please don't book somewhere you don't want for the sake of 10 miles or whatever - just go for what you do want! It's 30 miles, not 300!

I understand completely - me and OH have found a place 7 miles from us, but most of my family live in the next town over and it's a bit out of the way for them (nobody drives and would rely on taxis and lifts from other relatives etc) and my mum made a similar comment about people not wanting to travel, etc. BUT when I mentioned it to my auntie she said that anybody who truly wanted to be there would make the journey by any means necessary - half an hour drive is completely reasonable and you're giving plenty of notice. Stick to the place you want

Our reception venue is about 35mins drive away from our church (which is in our home town); nobody has even commented on it! It's not that far really! I wouldn't mind driving that far for a wedding, and lots of people travel together anyways so they can have a drink.

Anyone that wants to be there will, 35mins shouldn't stop them!

Our ceremony venue is about 40 mins away from our house and reception about 15 away from there. We picked them because we love them, not because of where they are so I think your right to get married where you choose.

i have family coming from Scotland who will stay in the town we live in and then on the day of the wedding we're going to put on a couple of coaches to ferry everyone around. I don't want people to say they can't come because it's tricky to get to, or feel like they can't have a drink or two to celebrate so this is the best option for us. Maybe you could look into something like that?

We are getting married about 40 mins from where most of our family live. Nobody has seen it as a problem. We have put a coach one from the two towns we both come from so family can get on that if they wish to do so. You are giving guests lots of notice to find a way to get there so I don't see it as a problem.

What's the saying.....you can please some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time!

If you've found the perfect venue, run with it. I'm sure it won't stop people coming to celebrate with you x

I get the impression some people/families have very different definitions of "a long way" and how far they are willing to travel!

My family and H's are scattered over half the country, with a few over in Germany, so any venue would have been more than half an hour from most of them. I wouldn't think twice about a half hour drive to a wedding.

20 to 45 minutes seem to be the norm over the past few years, I wouldn't worry about it, at least it isn't 2 hours away like a wedding I shot a few years ago?

The first time I got married my venue was in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. 90% of my side of the family had to travel from Chelmsford in Essex. My uncle and cousin came from America! And aside from my Mum and Dad, all of my side had at least an hour's journey. Ex-husband's family were all in either Glasgow or Warwickshire. Friends were in Lancashire, Tyne and Wear and London. Not one person said they were not coming due to the distance.

Go with your heart.

BOOK IT! Half an hour is bugger all, and if its THE venue, then go for it. If most of your guests have no cars and rely heavily on their own two feet or public transport, then I can see why that would be slightly tricky, however, if most have cars then I dont see what all the fuss is about personally!!

Its your day not theirs! ;-)

Our venue is about 30 minute drive from church but it doesn't feel like you are driving for 30 minutes! We had a lot of comments from OH family about the distance and are expecting us to put on transport! I've got a friend travelling over from Europe so I don't really know why OH family are moaning! But you can't please everyone and ultimately it is your day and you've got to be happy with the venue - do you really want to be closer to home but in a venue you don't like?!

If it's the one for you, then go with it! If you are having the whole day in one place I can't see it being an issue, and to be fair you are getting married in 2016 (or so I'm guessing from your username!?) so if people need to stay over it gives them plenty of notice to make plans/save money for accommodation. All of Mr K's family and friends will be travelling an hour from Yorkshire to Nottingham for our wedding, again pretty much all motorway. It was important to us that our venue wasn't to far from the church as I didn't want people to have to do too much driving in a place they weren't familiar with - we found the perfect place 2 miles away from the church! We have only sent save the dates, but so far all of his family have said they will make the trip, only a couple of his mates have said they probably won't come, my thoughts are so what, screw 'em! If he/we mean that much to people then they will make the effort to come.

100% book it! I have learned that you have to go with your gut instinct on this whole wedding planning malarkey and you have to do what YOU and OH want, otherwise you will end up with a mish mash wedding of what everyone else wants!

Our venue is 50 minutes drive from our home, 25 minutes drive from my parents and a 4/5 hour drive for everyone else as they all live in London/Kent/Bedford/Wolverhampton and we live in Devon! As long as you give people notice 30 minutes should be absolutely fine and people should be able to sort their own transport arrangements out.

Have you got wedding insurance? If not, get that sorted before booking the venue, otherwise book it now!

Good luck

Dawn

Our venue is of similiar distance from most of my family and about 25 minutes from my oh's family and friends, to be honest a couple of relatives who are older have had to decline couldn't get there/cant afford to get there etc was their excuses but to be honest my sister got married on their door step and they didnt go so not to worry! I am of the opinion you're giving lots of notice make them aware of local hotels and then thats all you can do. they can choose to come or not but dont let it stop you picking what is suitable for you.

Do it! I am expecting people to fly to our wedding then drive over half hour for our party in the uk and not one person has commented on the distance. I would include hotel details for anyone travelling longer than that though x

I wouldn't worry. We live in London, my parents live as far south as you can get and my fiancés family live north so we are getting married at a venue sort of in the middle but both families have to travel 3 hours to get there and everyone will need to book overnight accommodation as it's in middle if nowhere but no one seems to mind so far!

People wont mind travelling if that's what you want. My daughters venue was 40mins car journey and no one complained. xx

The slight trouble with 35 minutes is that it falls in the 'middle zone'. 10-15 minutes is cheap enough to get a cab. Over 60 minutes is sometimes enough to justify booking a hotel, if you can afford it and there's somewhere you might like to stay.

35 mins often makes you think that you can't justify the extra expense of a long cab ride or a hotel, so typically you make one half of the couple the 'designated Dave' to drive you home again at the end. Hopefully pairing up with friends so that it's only one of four who can't drink.

This is absolutely fine, don't get me wrong. My OH will volunteer to drive me home more often than I offer to drive, LOL. I'm sure your guests will work out a similar arrangement AND they WILL ALL COME. Just about no one will be put off a wedding by a 35 minute journey - it's entirely reasonable in terms of time, as long as there is a mode of transport. However, I would say that if there were a large number of people all coming from one place (like your home town), I would lay on a coach. It's unlikely to cost more than £300 for a return journey over that distance. I'd be including it in my wedding budget to make sure everyone had a stress free, relaxed and boozy day.

I've been to a wedding on a coastal resort where a coach brought 50 people out to the sea from the nearby city, 45 mins away, and took them home again.

We actually did this at our wedding too, with coaches bringing people from the local hotel to the venue and home again at the end.

Your guests will probably remember the ease of transport more than whatever wedding favour is given, so I always think transport wins over favours if it comes to a battle of the purse strings.

Hi, I travel longer than this to get to work, so wouldn't think twice about the travel time.

I would happily travel 30mins for a party, let alone a wedding but then all the weddings I've been to people have been travelling from all over so seems normal to me.

Our venue is over an hour away from OH's family if you go through the town centre, or about an hour if you ignore the satnav and take a more rural route. It's about 45mins away from my parents, and over 2hrs away from my grandparents, who live in Bristol and Nottingham respectively.

If it's the venue that you love, then book it. It's not an unreasonable distance to travel - I've driven 3hrs to a wedding before, where I was only an evening guest! The people that really want to be there will sort their own transport/accommodation out and will get there. If there are any people who desperately want to go, but need help with the logistics, you can help them out on a case by case basis.

(Just edited to add: My friends and I often go on a night out in town about 40mins+ drive from us. What we do is book a minibus taxi between about 11 of us for a return journey and split the cost. Booking for a return journey usually gets us a discount, so it works out at about £8-£10 each. If there are lots of people coming from one area, maybe you could speak to taxi firms about doing you a special deal and then tell your friends to book with that firm?)

Not too far away at all! The people who love you and who WANT to be there will find a way whether it's 3 minutes away or 35 minutes away! And, IMO, those who turn their nose up or refuse to travel 35 minutes aren't really worthy of a spot at your wedding anyway. If it's the dream venue, then go for it!

It's not too far l don't think. At the end of the day then the people who want to be there, will be there. It is frustrating when people are negative about wedding plans, it is your day after all.

Yes, pretty much what everyone else has said... We've had guests travel from all around the world to get to weddings... If they can't be bothered to travel 30 minutes up the road!

If it really, really becomes a problem, you could lay on a coach or minibus, or even one of those old fashioned Route master buses that were so popular a year or two ago...

Pete

Stick with your gut and book it. Our venue was about 30 mins from where we live and probably about 60-90 mins away from some of OH's family. They all came and no one whinged about distance.

Thank you for all your help ladies You made me feel so much better and we have decided to go with the venue....YAY!!

My parents have said they will be there but may have to leave early to feed the dogs (?!) but I've figured as long as they stay till after the Wedding Breakfast, I'll be partying with my friends by then anyway. The only downside is my Nan said she might not be able to make it as it's so far away but will depend how well she is at the time so we'll see.

We've told everyone that if it's a pain, we'll put on a bus or minibus, depending on how many people it's a problem for.

My new dilema is which month to get married (see new thread!!!)

Thanks again for all your help ladies, wonderful as usual xxx

I don't think its too far at all! We have been looking at venues which are 30mins away or further as anything local is too expensive for us, or I don't like it!!

I recently went to a wedding in St Ives, Cornwall which is 300+ miles and it wasn't a cheap hotel either (£255 for two nights!!) but it was my best friend and as people say the people you want there will make the effort!

xx

Our venue is 50/60 minutes away from our church. It's far from ideal but unfortunately there's nothing suitable any closer. We are going to look into putting on transport, need to work out the logistics of it. Also like you, our wedding is in 2016 so we have plenty of time to sort things out and also for people to make plans for. I have definitely experienced the same negativity as you though so I know how it feels, but you'll be more unhappy if you get married somewhere you don't want to! I think you've made the right decision

35 minutes isn't far at all. Ours is pretty central and just off the motorway, but some people will have to travel 30/40 minutes. You can't please everyone.

I'm

Congrats on finding a place you love, how exciting! Go for it I say

Not in the slightest. My family live 300 miles from me, many of my OH's family are in the Netherlands. Our venue is a good two hours away from where we live so everyone is travelling.

In the same spirit that we've been given when we've visited the Netherland family we are putting everyone up for two nights, but no-one was expecting that - tey were coming anyway.

I can understand though if you have a lot of close family in a 30 - 40 mile radius, but those who love you will travel.