Transportation

kerrynmike

Can someone please explain to me how this works? I am so clueless...

What am I supposed to provide as far as transportation for my guests? We will have people at the hotel so I assume they need to ge to the church via the hotel shuttle and then the shuttle takes them back to the hotel and then what about getting them to the reception and back? Shuttle again? I know I sound ridiculous, it's just confusing to me. Ugh. Additionally, is it just me and my bridesmaids that take a limo or something to the church? What about the rest of the wedding party?

quotequeen

You aren't responsible for your guests' transportation.  If the hotel shuttle is available for them then that's great, but you don't have to arrange it.  They will rent cars and drive themselves or figure something else out.

With the limo, usually the limo will do two trips, one for the girls to get to the church, and one for the guys to get there, and then everybody goes together from church to pictures to reception and back.  But that's not required either.  I'm not doing a limo and my WP will figure out how to get themselves from their hotel to the venue (we only have one venue).  I will of course help them arrange rides with other people if they need it.

squirrly

You don't have to provide transportation.  For me, I wanted to do so, since we were providing an open bar and taxis aren't generally available in my hometown.  The hotel we blocked at did not have a shuttle, so we contracted one for about $400.  It made two trips from the hotel to the wedding venue, and then three trips back starting about half way through the reception. 

If your hotel has a shuttle, just call the manager and ask what they can do for you.  If they say nothing, so be it.  If they can take care of everything - great.  If they can't, and you WANT to provide transportation, ask the hotel who they recommend, and ask on your local.  Our shuttle bus seated about 35 people, and was perfectly sufficient for the size wedding we had. 

If you don't have it in the budget to supply a shuttle, that's fine.  Just make sure somebody has the phone number for taxi companies, should your guests need that at the end of the night. 

As for the wedding party - it would be nice if you could provide for their transportation, to make things easier for them, but it's not required. 

srkropf

We're not providing transpot for our people-- they'll probably be at several different hotels across town and as for the WP-- I'll probably go down to the chapel, it's an hour from our home and reception, with all the girls and the boys will probably ride in their own cars or together then my FH and I will take the limo to the reception and then to the hotel. Really, it comes down to what you want to do and what you can do.

pooh8402

your guests and wedding party are adults and they can get themselves to your wedding. if it's in the budget to provide a shuttle for the hotel guests or a limo for the wedding party, go ahead, but it's definitely not required. personally, even for OOT weddings, I prefer to get a rental car because I hate being subject to the shuttle's schedule.

mwhitson14

Transportation is not required for your guests. They can figure it out for themselves. My only advice is to provide each hotel with directions to the venue and/or reception, so that they can get there easily.

squirrly

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_transportation-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:889c2c69-2a49-46bd-b851-c56048c94843Post:ad7c90fa-0523-426c-b834-4f85233ef0cc">Re: Transportation</a>:
[QUOTE]We're not providing transpot for our people-- they'll probably be at several different hotels across town and as for the WP-- I'll probably go down to the chapel, it's an hour from our home and reception, with all the girls and the boys will probably ride in their own cars or together then my FH and I will take the limo to the reception and then to the hotel. Really, it comes down to what you want to do and what you can do.
Posted by srkropf[/QUOTE]

An hour from the ceremony to the reception?  That's really pushing it.  Anything more than 20 minutes is generally considered inappropriate.  Any chance you can relocate either the ceremony or reception to make them closer to each other? 

lgoldberry

I have the same issue and I decided to rent a shuttle.  I talked to the hotel where my guests are staying about providing a shuttle, but their prices were REALLY high (the shuttle would hold 14 people and they wanted 100$ per trip!).  But I found a shuttle service that is about 150$ total for the day so I decided to book it.  In terms of people saying it is unnecessary, they are probably correct, but I don't want to worry about guests drinking and driving, out of town guests getting lost, etc.  Also, if anyone saw the episode on Oprah where the bride's family members got in a deadly car accident on the way home from the reception, then you may agree it is worth it to spend the extra 150$ to keep your guests as safe as possible. 

Knittibell

I had a shuttle and would do it again- guests loved being able to drink and have fun without worrying about driving!

kerrynmike

Thank you all so much! I do understand it's not "standard" but I do also think I will feel better knowing people can get 'to and from' everywhere safe and sound.
Thanks again!
Best of luck to all you ladies