Interstate Guest Travel

mdd123082

My Fi and I have not yet concretely decided whether or not to have our wedding in FL, where we've recently relocated, or in our original home state of OH instead.
We've recently begun to consider FL more closely...and that said, it will mean a destination wedding for most of our out of town/OH guests.
Of course we are concerned with how many guests we might lose due to the costs & logistics involved with flying to/from FL, as we want to still enjoy an event well-attended by friends and family... So I wondered if anyone had ever offered guests interstate transportation via tour bus/motor coach? If yes, was it worth it, and were your guests pleased?
I thought it might help to defray overall costs for travelers, but would it create more problems- like if we pay for their round-trip transportation, is it still ok that their hotel accomodations are on them, and not us? What about filling buses on a first come, first served basis?
We hope to get about 100-150 people to join us in FL.

Comments and suggestions welcome! (Yes, I did already post in destination weddings, too.)
Thanks!

AdeleDazeem

My friend's wedding had something like this for her fiance's side of the family.  They all traveled about six hours on a bus for the wedding.  As far as I heard from them, they loved it!  However, they came up with the idea and organized it themselves.

I feel strongly that you know your guests and guests have brains.  In my family, only a few would be very concerned over the money needed to travel to a wedding so I wouldn't spend a great deal of time worrying about it.  However, if you know that many of your guests may have concerns over the money, then it's very generous to offer.  But it's not necessary, obviously.  Guests can work out travel problems themselves (presumably).

squirrly

It's nice, in theory.  However, maybe focus on selecting a FL location that has a nearby airport offering discount fares to your OH home airport.  Try to find a hotel that is either inexpensive, or that you can subsidize the cost of.  Maybe get a 15 passenger van (or two) instead of your guests needing rental cars.  Take care of more than just the one meal (pizza party, bbq, etc. can all be pretty cheap).  In other words - leave the transportation to/from FL to them, but find ways to limit the costs they'll incur once they arrive.  

Or, have the wedding in OH.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_interstate-guest-travel?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d433e0f0-a270-4fca-a16c-728f0abe1273Post:4d4edb3f-f938-486e-8f0b-8e8ea5258f9c">Re: Interstate Guest Travel</a>:
[QUOTE]We are in the same situation.  We decided to get married in Philadelphia because no matter where the wedding is more than 80% would have to travel. They will be flying themselves in but we are considering getting a shuttle to transport them around on the wedding day so they don't have to rent cars while they are here.
Posted by tldh[/QUOTE]

This is what I'm doing. I'm also inviting them all to the RD as an extra thank you for attending.

ExpatPumpkin

Like everyone else said, I think it's really sweet that you want to help them get there...  But I wouldn't want to be on that bus!  Instead of a fun-filled trip, you may have cranky guests... 

Your family would probably feel obligated to ride on the bus since you're paying for it and you'd want to fill it to get your money's worth.  Plus, the ride would be at least 12-15 hours so your two-day weekend would turn into four by the time travel's accounted for.  I think that's asking your guest to dedicate too much time to your wedding - even though you're trying to do something nice.

My point is that your sweet idea could cause a lot of people to resent the excessive time and stress that your wedding would put on them.  And I'm sure that's not your intention.

kaesha

Ditto the other girls. Not a great idea.

If you're looking for ways to show guests that you really appreciate that they've paid for tickets and come all that way (and you have the budget!), you could do what a lot of the DW brides - hire transportation for the day of the wedding to pick up and drop off guests at the respective locations. Over on the HI board, just about everyone hosts a welcome BBQ as another way of thanking guests for coming. But, it's also a great way for the guests to meet each other and for the ice to be broken. Welcome gift bags left in hotel rooms (especially when filled with local food & booze) seem to go down well, and can be done in lieu of favours.

mdd123082

Thanks for your input, ladies. I do appreciate each of your thoughts and suggestions!

I actually think this bus idea could be cost-prohibitive for my Fi and I. We're still waiting for a quote anyway, just in case.

Many of our prospective guests may complain about having to drive or fly not necessarily just because of cost, but also because Fi's bro got married in the Bahamas, and some of his family wasn't able to make it for various reasons.

Clearly FL is more forgiving (less expensive flights, no passports) than Bahamas, but in moving forward with another destination wedding in the family, we want to try to be sensitive to their needs or prior frustrations. Although the trip on a bus would be LONG, we thought it would be a nice to offer an option for those who couldn't afford the transportation but would otherwise come.

I think if the bus is a no go, offering complete shuttle services would be appreciated... and definitely having them all join us for a big meal, too.

Thanks again!