Our Families Live Nowhere Near One Another - Where's the Wedding?

You’ve just said "YES!" to spending the rest of your life with the one you adore. But your families are miles apart. Have you picked a location for your grand event? What state? What city? Will the ceremony be in your hometown or his? Or will you have it near where the two of you live and hope that your family can come to you? Answers to these questions may seem obvious, but even the most traditional of weddings must be flexible.

When choosing a wedding reception site, it is most important to consider several factors. We live in a transient society today. Because young people are marrying in their later 20s and sometimes 30s, it’s likely that they’ve established themselves in parts of the country, other than where they grew up and went to school. Often families are scattered because of employment opportunities. Getting friends and family to meet in one location can be unavoidably difficult when you live in Los Angeles, are originally from New Jersey, and your husband-to-be lives in Arizona, but have family in Illinois. Add that to the possibility that your closest friends and individual family members involved may be from entirely different regions as well, and planning becomes even more challenging.

First and foremost, discuss the locale with your intended, asking yourselves where you would most like to be married. You may have dreamed of being married at a particular location ever since you were a little girl. Perhaps your groom-to-be has a dream spot in mind. Next, you should consider areas where immediate families reside. It may be more harmonious to select a city where neither family is based. You will want to choose a location that will suit your desires, and will also be easily accessible for those family members and guests whose attendance is important to you.

If you are not already set in your decision, it can be helpful to record a preliminary guest list to determine where the majority of your guests are clustered. If you are considering a location very far from where you live, do be sure to factor in the added steps required in planning that "long-distance" wedding.

Remember that selecting the location is one of the very first decisions you will need to make. And, hopefully the dates of your nuptials will be available for you, once you've made that location choice. Subsequent decisions will flow from this one, so take your time, discuss your options with close family members, and make the choice that works best for your situation.