How to inform guests we're paying for valet parking?

dcbride86

We are paying for guests at our wedding to valet park at the wedding.  How do we let them know?  On the website?  Word of mouth?  It seems weird to put it on the invitation since everything is at 1 place and we don't have a reception card with the invitation.

 

Also, should we pay for valet parking just for the actual wedding, or also for OOT who are staying at the hotel on Friday and Saturday nights?  And should we also get the valet parking for the other hotels we have blocks at? 

Thanks!

BrandNewJ

I'd say put it on the website AND spread by word of mouth. If your having an extra insert about any additional information it could go there also.

You don't need to pay for OOT parking all weekend, in fact, it's really nice that you're paying for any parking. You are totally fine to only pay for the parking for the event. 

thisismynickname2

Hi there,

First, I think you could mention it on the website. Wherever you list where the reception is (or if you simply say that both ceremony and reception are at x place), simply state, "Guests may use valet parking at x venue at no cost," or "Please enjoy valet parking at x place courtesy of [happy couple]."

Also, I struggled with the same idea. People coming from all over, some people taking public transit, some people staying in hotels.... You need to draw a line. My personal opinion is that it's enough to pay for parking just for the ceremony/reception, and whatever else guests decide to do with transportation is on them.  

banana468

I would create a second card to the guests indicating that the parking is paid for.  Even better if they could just hand that card over to the hotel as a reminder that you're paying.

I don't think you need to pick up the tab for the other hotels.   You're hosting the event and the parking is part of it.   What would be nice is if you could offer to waive a part of the parking fee for the guests who stayed overnight.   The parking charges are part of the hotel stay (and you're not picking up the hotel fees) but if you could do a portion it would be nice. 

crackktheskyy

dcbride86 said:

We are paying for guests at our wedding to valet park at the wedding.  How do we let them know?  On the website?  Word of mouth?  It seems weird to put it on the invitation since everything is at 1 place and we don't have a reception card with the invitation.

 

Also, should we pay for valet parking just for the actual wedding, or also for OOT who are staying at the hotel on Friday and Saturday nights?  And should we also get the valet parking for the other hotels we have blocks at? 

Thanks!

We are doing this as well. We have it listed on our wedding website.

We also have a reception card, where we have "Complimentary valet parking" written in the bottom right hand corner.

Do you have any additional cards for accommodations or directions? I would put something there so that every guest is sure to see it.

I think the valet parking at the reception is sufficient. As someone who has been a guest at OOT weddings, I always presume I will be self-parking unless the hotel we are staying at only offers valet.

[Deleted User]

I had a friend that was invited to a wedding where they would have to pay for the parking. With the invite the couple include a parking voucher/ticket to redeem for free parking. The parking location was shared with many other venues so it helped to insure that they were only paying for the parking of their actual wedding guests and not others. This was prearranged with the parking company. We found out later that the couple was then charged for parking based on the number of parking vouchers that had been turned in. And trust me, guests who don't want to pay for parking, won't forget their voucher. You can probably make some nice vouchers on your computer and print them out on the sheets of business cards that you can run through your printer (check out your local office supply store) so they would be inexpensive and custom and since they are thicker then regular paper they look nicer & will hold up for the valet person to. Maybe even offer to make a container (coffee can with a hole in the lid) for them to put the tickets in as they collect them to make them easier to store.