timeline question

Re: timeline question

• Maggie0829 member

  

  January 2014

  The reception should start as soon as your first guests arrive to the venue.

  
  

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• MyNameIsNot member

  

  January 2014

  Make sure the venue and bar opens 10 minutes after the ceremony ends, or when the first guests arrive.  

  
  

  You can wait an hour to serve the bulk of the food.  Maybe just do the salad or have a cheese/veggie display available for the 30-45 mins.  

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• mlg78 member

  

  January 2014

  An hour? No. The first guests will arrive 10-15 minutes after they leave your ceremony so that's when it needs to start. Also, I'd look into hiring a shuttle as well. This will take 6 trips (2 shuttles) for 80 guests (assuming you two and WP are included in that) so if I do my math correctly...15 minutes there and 15 minutes back, six times...that's an hour and a half for the two shuttles running? I'd hate to have to wait an hour for the shuttle to pick me up after the ceremony. Just a thought...

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• Inkdancer member

  

  January 2014

  I would definitely look into hiring more transportation. If I were a guest stuck on the last shuttle (which I would be, because I would have let older guests go first) I would probably be really cranky and hungry.
  

  

  

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• PrettyGirlLost member

  

  January 2014

  Inkdancer said:

  I would definitely look into hiring more transportation. If I were a guest stuck on the last shuttle (which I would be, because I would have let older guests go first) I would probably be really cranky and hungry.
  

  Why wouldn't her guests just drive themselves to the reception?  I would drive before waiting around for a shuttle.  Plus, don't they need their cars to get home afterwards?
  
  I just attended an OOT wedding which was basically a destination wedding for everyone but the bride and groom, and nearly all the OOT guests had rented cars.
  
  I would definitely look into chartering more shuttles, but people may also drive themselves. . . unless Chicago is like NYC ;-)
  

  
  "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."
  
  

  
  

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• KayDeee member

  

  January 2014 edited January 2014

  You should definitely have something for the first guests arriving to do. If everyone is taking the shuttle then, it will be about forever until the very last guests arrive to really 'start' the reception.

  
  

  At the very least, if your reception space has a bar that's open to the public, have an open tab at the bar  to cover the guests who arrive first just so they can at the very least have a drink (or coffee even or whatever) (I am sure this is not a super proper answer but that is what I would do)
  

  
  

  Also, cabs may not go to the dead end street where the reception is, but you may want to consider suggesting the younger guests who can use their smart phones use a service like Uber so they can have the cabs or black cars come to THEM. That way you don't have to do as many shuttle runs. Really easy to use and cabs are pretty much the same cost but you don't have to go looking for them.

  
  

  I am having similar transportation issues in Chicago, and I am seriously considering setting up certain younger people with Uber accounts and just putting credit on their accounts for their rides so they can escort he few older guests we know won't be able to navigate the city very well. It's a small wedding so doing that for the few people who we know really won't be expensive compared to hiring a shuttle. Just an idea for now.

  
  

  But yes, please give the guests who will be there 20 mins after the ceremony something to do!

  
  

  
  

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• redwoodoriginal member

  

  January 2014

  Thanks for your thoughts, ladies.

  
  

  I won't need the shuttle for all the guests, as i know certain people will be driving and FI and I / the WP won't be using the shuttle. We will need transportation for about 60 guests, so I foresee it taking an hour at most for all the guests to arrive at the reception location.

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• Maggie0829 member

  

  January 2014

  xoadri said:

  Thanks for your thoughts, ladies.

  
  

  I won't need the shuttle for all the guests, as i know certain people will be driving and FI and I / the WP won't be using the shuttle. We will need transportation for about 60 guests, so I foresee it taking an hour at most for all the guests to arrive at the reception location.

  Yeah, sorry but not good enough.  If I was one of the lasts guests to get on the shuttle and I had to stand around for an hour I would be pissed.  Get an additional shuttle so you don't have any guests standing around.

  
  

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• Cookie Pusher member

  

  January 2014

  I don't think it's fair for some of your guests to be standing around waiting for an hour before getting to your venue. You need to have something at the venue for the guests who arrive on the earlier shuttles, but that means the people on the later shuttles will not. I'd be pissed if I was hungry/thirsty but stuck on the last shuttle to arrive at the venue and see that other people had gotten to eat and drink. I strongly advise hiring more transportation from the ceremony to the reception or you run the risk of having guests who are very upset.

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• mbross3 member

  

  January 2014

  Just an additional thought- but where will your guests be waiting for this hour before the shuttle can take them? Will they be just sitting at the ceremony location? If you will have guests remaining for an additional hour at the location of the ceremony-have you secured the space for that time? Meaning, did your contract for the ceremony space cover that additional hour? Be careful with this because you don't want your last guests getting kicked out of the ceremony space and having to find a bar or wait outside. I'm from Chicago and I love it- but nobody wants to stand outside in Chicago for a prolonged period of time in any month between November and June. lol. 
  
  

  Seriously though, make sure you have all your bases covered. I would be pretty annoyed to have to wait for a shuttle for an hour. 

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• PrettyGirlLost member

  

  January 2014

  xoadri said:

  Thanks for your thoughts, ladies.

  
  

  I won't need the shuttle for all the guests, as i know certain people will be driving and FI and I / the WP won't be using the shuttle. We will need transportation for about 60 guests, so I foresee it taking an hour at most for all the guests to arrive at the reception location.

  Ok, so you will need to hire aditional shuttles for those people.  People will expect to go straight from your ceremony to the reception within a reasonable amount of time, they won't want to wait an hour to get there.
  
  I still believe that a portion of those 60 guests will have vehicles and drive themselves, but you def need more shuttles.
  

  
  "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."
  
  

  
  

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• KateJ16 member

  

  January 2014

  as a fellow Chicagoan - is your estimation that it takes 10-15 minutes during the time of your wedding?  (Just from my own experience - it takes 15 minutes for me to get downtown on a Saturday early morning, but more than a half hour on a weekday morning).  How far is it walking time? 
  
  To prevent people from having to wait around, is this an instance where you can maybe discuss something with Uber or Hailo (or one of those other cab places) where you can get cabs waiting to take guests, and you can pay the cab fare for them?
  

  
  

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• MandyMost member

  

  January 2014

  A couple comments/ideas:

  
  

  1. How come the shuttles can drive on the street, but cabs can't? I don't understand this. 

  2. Your really can't have 30 guests sitting at the ceremony location after the wedding party and 2/3rds of the guests leave (30 via shuttle, the other 20 via their own cars) while they wait for the second shuttle trip.

  3. Look into the price of hiring one large bus or two smaller shuttles, so everyone can go at once.

  4. Can you pre-arrange for guests to carpool? Or touch base with close relatives to see if they'll rent a car, and help with carpools, to get everyone to the reception at the same time?

  5. How are guests without cars getting back to their hotels after the reception?

  6. You DEFINITELY need to stat the "cocktail hour" as soon as the first guests arrive at the reception location. To me, this means that all of the drinks should be available, and there should be at least something to nibble on, even just cheese and crackers. 

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• cowgirl8238 member

  

  January 2014

  I would set up transportation for everyone from the ceremony to the reception and from the reception to the desingated hotel(s).  You do not want to have your guests standing around at the ceremony location waiting for a shuttle...it sucks!  PP's have given you a list of options including larger bus rentals and personal cabs.

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• KayDeee member

  

  January 2014 edited January 2014

  MandyMost said:

  A couple comments/ideas:

  
  

  1. How come the shuttles can drive on the street, but cabs can't? I don't understand this.
  

  She didn't say cabs can't drive on that street, she said they "don't" drive on that street. Meaning it is not a high traffic street cab drivers are going to be on looking for fares. There is no way the guests will be able to stand close to or in front of the venue and easily catch a cab. They would have to walk to a busier street/intersection to catch their own cab.
  
  
  

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• Kerigirl9 member

  

  January 2014

  You should be able to get a vehicle that seats 25ish fro a local transportation company. Or hire a school bus. This way you should be able to transport the bulk of your guests all at once between the three vehicles.

  

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