Venue choices

We looked at one we absolutely loved but it's about 30 mins from where we live. We wanted a few photos at a particular location in town and don't want to travel from that venue and back, so we picked the venue where we want some of those photos lol

This makes me feel a tad better !!! I'm still on the fence about a shuttle as everyone except 5 people will be from out of town and I don't think most are that familiar with the Calgary area

I had the same dilemma as you. I loved one option but it was 20 min from the city and about 5-10 min to accommodations. I was going to pick a hotel venue just to make it easier on everyone. I have an event planning background so I wasn't looking at it like I was the bride, just the event planner. I was close to booking a hotel but I had such anxiety about it.
In the end, another event planner said, be the bride! No one will care! So I did. I confirmed that taxis will go there (even from the city) and booked a block of rooms in the nearest hotel.
My guests are all adults and they can handle the travel and be responsible with drinking. I've thought about a shuttle but I've decided not to do it. Guess what? Everyone who knows about the venue is excited! No one cares that it's outside the city.
I think you should pick the place you want. You will be spending a lot of money on this so you're better off spending it where you want to!

I went for a tour with my friend in a hotel when she was looking for a venue and knew immediately that I needed to have my wedding in a hotel. Our ceremony will be held there as well in the outdoor courtyard. It works out perfectly as we have a lot of out of town guests coming.

Suprisingly its an average price and cheaper than some of the hotels i have visited. They offer free ballroom if u buy their food..of which for plated dinner its 44bks per person and buffet 53bks a person. Am.doing plated dinner coz its cheaper and want a classy wedding i find buffet to crowding and anoying..i love edmonton...dont think i will move coz it feels like home here....

Fantasyland would be such a nice place I imagine fairly pricy tho ??? I wish I liked Edmonton more then the south it's soo much closer for me..

My budget is tiny so my wedding is at the school I teach at. There is a banquet room for the ceremony and the cafeteria for the reception. So my budget and convienence decided for me.

We decided on the city and then started researching venues. (Vancouver was a destination wedding for us.) We were able to make a couple trips to view venues and after appointments one day, we met with my aunt and uncle to have lunch at one of our favourite spots in Vancouver and my uncle was like "have you thought about doing it here?" It hadn't even crossed our minds but ended up making the most sense because it was our favourite place that we always made sure to visit every time we came so it had special meaning for us and since most of our guests were from out of town, we couldn't think of a better place to share with them! So we researched venues in the area and ended up doing it all there.

Our venue is somewhere I wanted to get married for a few years before even thinking of an actual wedding. It is 3 hours from where we live and the hotel where most people are staying is a 15-20 minute drive away. No one has really complained about the distance yet and we have transportation booked for the guests so that makes things easier. I think people won't mind that your accommodations are 10 minutes away and that your venue is a little outside the city. If people want to be there they will be; little "inconveniences" won't change that.

I chose my venue pretty easily .. I had been eyeing it on facebook for years before i even met my FH ... and then when he proposed it was the first place i wanted to see and as soon as I saw it I immediatly fell in love and knew this is where I wanted to marry the man of my dreams

We ate getting married in our local church which will be 10mins from the venue fantacyland hotel which has always been my place for reception. Both church and rrception and 10mis from our house and his family's house. With my venue If we buy thier food we get the hall for free and a theme honeymoon suite.. my wedding theme is winter wonderland with all the details i need to have on my wedding this place is perfect. But go with what u heart wants and likes coz its one day u won't repeat having just make sure u sttike a deal with a shuttle company.

I have been to a few events at our reception venue and have always loved it... My FH liked a different venue more but the logistics were overwhelming... Our venue fits the budget and is a few minutes walk to the church, two hotels and my parents house... We are not doing a shuttle but may see if a taxi company will give a deal to our guests if we use them exclusively.

I am looking at a shuttle my potential Venue also has a deal with a few cab company's that we can essentially have waiting for guests at the end of the night which I'm not sure how my guests would feel about it but it's defiantly an option... still waiting on hearing back on costs for the transportation for the guests I'd hate for that part to be super over the budget..

We looked at all the venues that were basically in the town we live in. We looked at a banquet hall, golf courses, basic halls where you do your own catering ect, and even a museum we have here! We fell in love with the banquet hall because they have all their own decorations that we get to use for free, they have the catering there, and it is close to 3 hotels and price was it was the best! We got lucky and picked the venue we looked at first! 10 minutes away isn't so bad. I would agree with doing a shuttle bus service for guests. My cousin's wedding is up north and she has 2 hotels in town with shuttle busses to the wedding and back as there is limited parking and it is a bit of a drive!

I agree with what has been said so far! 10 mins away isn't that far away when you think of it, especially if you are able to get a shuttle for your guests. From what I have seen from other discussions, that seems to be fairly easy/common to arrange. Best of luck!!

We took forever to find ours and we looked at probably 6 or 7 before we found one. Our venue is a ferry ride and an 2 hour drive away. Most places will make it easy but my advice is to gonwith the one u fell in love with and offer a shuttle to drive ppl back to a hotel at alottes times

I always wanted a vineyard, so I did a ton of research and we absolutely feel in love with the first place we looked at (which was number one when I was just researching for prices and what they offered anyways). So we cancelled our other appointments. Our closest accommodations is 10 mins away and the venue is VERY MUCH out of the city, but I'm providing a shuttle for guests. In fact the hotel I blocked off rooms at offers one for free as long as the minimum is met (which we had NO PROBLEM hitting). Maybe look into a shuttle service for guests, they don't have to be pretty, people will just appreciate the shuttle!!

Hey Amber! It's hard to find the right venue... If you have an idea of your style or make a list of your "must haves", it can make things easier to decide. Did you see this discussion by Fikayo? Venues with reasonable rates in calgary

You can check these out for input: 1 or 2 venues for your wedding?

What is your ideal venue?

Have you checked out transportations for your guests?