fly or drive?

megs4480

So usually I am very on top of things when planning the wedding, but now I have hit a snag...(sorry this is long!)Our wedding is in 19 days (!) and we have not booked our flights for the wedding (we are going from Houston to Nashville)!  The reason I waited to book is that I recently got a voucher for a free flight on Southwest....but unfortunately now all the flights we would need are blacked out.Here is the dillemma....if we booked two flights (including checked baggage fees) it would be approx. $650 (a lot of money when we have last minute wedding expenses!)OR we could drive 12 hours.....the pros of driving are that we would have a car and could bring gifts, my dress, etc home after the wedding, plus save money.  The cons are that we would have to drive 12 hours the day after the wedding.We are going up the week before the wedding so its not a quick turn around trip but I worry about having such a long drive the day after the wedding.Has anyone done this?  Thoughts?

MissSarah786

How do you plan on moving gifts if you fly?

gkb0910

Based on the information in your post, I would drive.  If you don't have to be back the next day, plan to stop about halfway and spend the night with your husband.  It may be nice to be away from everyone for a night.

RachNRich

Personally, I'd drive. It may be a long drive--but, it offers a lot more pros than cons--especially if you'd have to ship back all of the presents, and dress on top of the cost of a flight.

ffmaid

Drive Extra bag costs + wedding gifts shipping ect will be a huge hassle and expense and then the 12 hour car ride will give you two a long time to decompress and talk about your wedding together

opalsky007

Ditto pp, I'd drive if I were you. Is there a reason you'd have to return the day after the wedding? Why not spend an extra night relaxing in Nashville or at the half way point of your drive?

TiDa2009

I would drive.  It may be a nice, quiet, wind-down trip for the day after, too.

lyndausvi

drive

KellyLovesJames

I'm for the driving!  My family lives an 18 hour drive away.... and it's always nice having my car (and not paying for or borrowing one) if I'm going to be home for a while or have a long list of things to do.

strawberrycrz

I'd drive.  Everyone always says that you don't get much alone time during your wedding, so having 12 hours in a car with just the two of you might be a nice way to spend the day after the wedding. 

mocha beans

Drive.  12 hours really isn't all that bad if you break it up for meals.  You'll get time to talk and reflect.  And the money you'll save vs flying last minute/shipping gifts will be worth it.

ilovemyco

I'd drive. FI and I are in NY and we are driving 14 hours to Gatlinburg TN the day after the wedding. I think it will be some good down time with the then Husband.

missamory

drive, it is not a bad drive at all.(i live in nashville and my wedding is in houston)i am flying in because of work, but fi is driving down and we are driving back together after honeymoon.i had my shower on Saturday (in TX) and am leaving everything in houston to drive back after the wedding. it would be really hard to fly with all that stuff.good luck.

ggmae

I would drive.

danieliza1127

At this point, I would probably drive.  You could always go halfway the day after the wedding and spend the night somewhere to get a good night's sleep and then finish the trip the next day.

sarah0725

I'd drive, but then I've driven 16 hours in one day on several occasions (NJ/DE to Milwaukee), so it's kind of like asking a truck driver whether you should drive.

ExpatPumpkin

Drive, but don't head back the day after the wedding. Use some of the money you're saving by driving and spend an extra night in the hotel and breathe for awhile Good way to get all the presents and your stuff back to Houston, too.

ExpatPumpkin

Ditto what everyone else said about having time to talk. You will not be at a loss for words the day after your wedding, so the trip should go by fast. It's all you'll want to talk about

megs4480

Wow thank you all for the great responses!  I was leaning towards driving actually, but this makes me feel a lot better about it!  We would have to ship the gifts and dress back which would be expensive.  I had a shower in Nashville two weeks ago and we would have to ship all those gifts back as well.  Driving makes the most sense financially for sure.As far as coming back the day after the wedding, our flight for our honeymoon leaves Monday morning from Houston, so we definitely have to be back the next day.  But I think if we go ahead and get packed beforehand we won't have much to do and can relax when we get home.Thanks girls!