Ceremony and reception at the same place, is that common?

[zanderw]

Im in a bind, I want the ceremony in one place and then have the reception in another. BUT my fiance wants to have the ceremony and reception at the same place Im not sure how I feel about that. What is everyone doing these days?

[Heywie]

I had my ceremony and reception at the same place, mostly because I loved the ceremony site and it was attached to the reception site. Unless you get married at a church, I think it's pretty common these days to have both ceremony and reception at the same site.

[Ninedays9]

There can be pros and cons to each. We picked a ceremony place that also has a reception hall... but we chose not to use the reception hall and have the reception elsewhere because the reception hall with our ceremony place doesn't have A/C. Otherwise, we would've had them both at the same place. It's kind of helpful for the guests if you have them together, so they don't have to find another place. However, you might be able to find separate places that are cheaper than a combined place. That was the case for us.

[pinkbride]

we are having it combined and its turned out cheaper :D plus the building is fab, ;)

xx

[Bunnyfeet]

I am having ceremony and reception at the same place, since it's at my family's church and using their reception hall would be free.
To be honest, even if I had the option to have a seperate reception for free, I am not sure I would take it. It is easier for my guests to only need to find one place, I can decorate it how I want (with no perimeters) and I can use the site for my rehearsal for free so long as we tell them way ahead of time. It's just far more convenient.

[ChristineLS]

We're doing both the ceremony and the reception in a park lodge. We're keeping wine, cheese and crackers out and available to keep people occupied in between the two - chatting and eating with each other.

[sandy03]

We had the wedding and reception in the same place, and that happened to be our church. We had so many people coming from out of town that it was just easier to have everything at one place. Plus it was a lot cheaper, made it easy for me to supervise the setup of everything, and was one less thing to try and deal with. It was great!

[mitch]

I got Married in a Registry Office right in the middle of a shopping precinct. With the world and it's dog walking by on their way to get Groceries. :bbeek:
There is no Reception Hall connected to the building. So we had no choice but to have our Reception elsewhere.
For financial reasons and the fact it was a small Wedding. We decided to have the Reception at home. All our guests have been to our house so it was no problem directing them anywhere.
The Registry Office is sign posted from the Motorway so we didn't even need to send maps.

[wannabeNurse2]

I have seen many people have an outdoor ceremony and then the reception inside. Like those people who get married at a huge old mansion or a rose garden. The only reason why I'm not doing it that way is because those places around here are expensive!

[Whitewater]

We chose two different parks to get married in, they were both the same amount of money BUT one was a lot less restrictive on the kind of fun we could have. Our ceremony location was VERY strict and fussy, kind of, and really not appropriate for a party. The other park, on the other hand, was really nice, with lots of room, and had a comfortable, friendly feel that encouraged people to let their hair down and not be as formal, which is what we wanted.

It definitely would have been easier to get married in one location, but not *better*, at least, not for us, so that's why we chose to move everything.

You will have to take into account your individual needs and wishes and what kind of reception you want to have. Maybe having both in one spot will work. Maybe it won't. I discovered that choosing the answer to that question is pretty individual, so you'll have to decide based on your own circumstances. Just remember, whatever you choose will work out just fine, so no need to stress :)


Whitewater

[gwenshack]

We had ours in the same building, but different rooms.

I think you can do it either way. I've been to very few weddings where the ceremony and reception were held in the same place.

[MrsFuchs09]

We're doing the ceremony and reception site at both places. Who could pass up getting married on a lake?! :)

[Mrs.Goff]

Ours was at the same place in the same room. Of course it wasn't the most beautiful place on earth but it was in doors had air conditioning and we could do pretty much anything we wanted. My MIL is head secretary for a local school and they allowed us to have it there. Best part was it was FREE! Which allowed us to spend our limited budget on the other things we really wanted. IMO, it turned out fabulous I have no complaints but I'm pretty easy to please. ;)