Lots of Out-of-Town Guests

wwmlau · July 2010

Hello,

My fiance and I recently moved from Boston to Vancouver and decided to have our wedding in that beautiful city. Over 90% of our guests will be out-of-towners. I have my heart set having a ceremony site that is about 20 minutes out of town, and a reception site back downtown. This arrangement would necessitate most guests renting cars, or us shelling out ~$800-$1000 to get shuttle buses to take people back and forth. Do you think it's too much to ask out-of-towners to rent cars -- when most of them are already paying a lot to fly out here?

Would love to get some unbiased opinions! Thanks so much!

sep72fendr · July 2010

I personally would do the shuttles just because I think it's rude to ask guests to come fly/drive/walk/hobble to an OOT wedding then pay for cars ontop of a hotel. etc etc etc. Be a gracious host and have a shuttle and nix the budget elsewhere to save costs?

Simply Fated · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_lots-of-out-of-town-guests?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:99aeb7dc-2779-4be3-809d-3384599c0b99Post:fcc976eb-c0bf-444c-956c-a65ce62f172c">Lots of Out-of-Town Guests</a>:
[QUOTE]Hello, My fiance and I recently moved from Boston to Vancouver and decided to have our wedding in that beautiful city. Over 90% of our guests will be out-of-towners. I have my heart set having a ceremony site that is about 20 minutes out of town, and a reception site back downtown. This arrangement would necessitate most guests renting cars, or us shelling out ~$800-$1000 to get shuttle buses to take people back and forth.<strong> Do you think it's too much to ask out-of-towners to rent cars</strong> -- when most of them are already paying a lot to fly out here? Would love to get some unbiased opinions! Thanks so much!
Posted by wwmlau[/QUOTE]
Not only will they have to pay extra for renting cars, but they'll be navigating them through unknown streets in an unfamiliar city in another <em>country</em>.

nda_roxybabe · July 2010

Yea, not a good plan.

Renting cars are fricking expensive too.

blackfire5th · July 2010

I don't think it's a big deal. I think most will be renting a car anyways. A shuttle will probably take them between the airport and hotel, but they still have to initially get to the ceremony.

It's only Canada. Driving is basically the same as the states. Also, Vancouver is pretty well laid out. I if could handle it during the Olympics, I think your guests will be fine.

However, $1000 in the grand scheme of things isn't that much and I think it would be very appreciated by your guests.

akhensley81 · July 2010

Well... I think the shuttle is a good idea to have as an option for guests who want to use it. However, a number of your guests will probably be renting a car anyway.

If you decide against the shuttle, I think it would be best to provide DETAILED driving directions in your OOT welcome bags.

quotequeen · July 2010

Meh, I think guests generally expect to have to rent cars when they go to OOT weddings.

AmoroAgain · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_lots-of-out-of-town-guests?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:99aeb7dc-2779-4be3-809d-3384599c0b99Post:e6db5fab-9ebe-4eff-90f1-4c0c98164f05">Re: Lots of Out-of-Town Guests</a>:
[QUOTE]Well... I think the shuttle is a good idea to have as an option for guests who want to use it. However, a number of your guests will probably be renting a car anyway. If you decide against the shuttle, I think it would be best to provide DETAILED driving directions in your OOT welcome bags.
Posted by akhensley81[/QUOTE]

<div>Agree. It's good to at least have the option. </div>

Knittibell · July 2010

I would do the shuttles, definitely. My first wedding was in the UK and half the guests flew in from the States. Shuttle was great!! Suggest a hotel (or 2 if one won't work for everyone), and have the shuttle take people from hotel to cermony to reception, and then have it available after a certain time to begin taking people back to the hotel. You don't need to worry about people getting lost, or, more importantly, drinking and driving. It's worth every penny.

tldh · July 2010

Yes it's too much to ask. I'm in the same boat. We moved to the Philly area and 90 - 95% of our guests will be out of towners. There was no way I was going to ask people to spend money on flight and hotel rooms and then ask them to spend a few hundred more on rental cars and parking fees. I told FI that it was more important that we provide transportation for our guests than have a photographer. We are renting vans for the guests and to give the van company an accurate head count, I included another RSVP card with the invitations:

John and Jane Smith
__ Will use provided transportation
__ Will use our own transportation

yma1624 · July 2010

If 90% of them are from out of town, then I would definately not ask them to rent cars and try to navigate around an unfamilar city. Can you choose venues that are a little closer to each other to make it more convinient? Like possibly choosing somewhere in or near a hotel - I think you just try to make it was easy on the guests as possible!

Julz629 · July 2010

I think it depends on the situation.

At "destination weddings" where a majority of guests are from out of town, I have never had to rent a car. There is usually transportation from the airport to the hotel or resort, and then I am staying at the place where the ceremony and reception are (or else there is transportation provided).

However, if I am an out-of-town guest at a wedding where most people are local, I anticipate having to rent a car and get myself around since the majority of people do not need transportation.

Since it sounds like a majority of your guests will be travelling, I would make it as easy as possible for them by providing a shuttle. Also, I would look into venues that are in hotels, or have transportation to the hotels.

wwmlau · July 2010

Thanks so much for the advice, ladies! Mush appreciated. i have always just taken cabs/rented cars when i go to weddings, but i completely agree with you guys. Shuttles will keep everyone happy/safe and diminish my guilt

Now off to find a shuttle company that doesn't rip you off just coz you say it's for a wedding...

parker624 · July 2010

About 75% of our guests are out of town. We are not assuming that they will rent cars, and have provided shuttles from the hotel to our wedding venue (about 20 min from the hotel). On the OOT RSVP cards we provided a line for guests to respond as to whether they are taking the shuttle or not. So, the cards look like this:

M _____________
X Joyfully Accepts
__ number attending welcome dinner
__ number using the shuttle service
__ number attending farewell brunch

So, we know for sure how many shuttles to rent, which is saving us money compared to assuming that all guests will use the shuttle. About 50% of our OOTers are using the shuttle, and all of FI and my friends are using it (none of them are renting cars)

This also allows our guest to drink freely at the wedding without worrying about them driving drunk.

JenO24 · July 2010

I think you should have shuttles as an option for guests...its a nice gesture for those who have choosen not to get their own rental vehicle since they're paying for flights and a hotel already.

tldh · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_lots-of-out-of-town-guests?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:99aeb7dc-2779-4be3-809d-3384599c0b99Post:7847fa7f-f120-4491-ab8f-08182f757bd4">Re: Lots of Out-of-Town Guests</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks so much for the advice, ladies! Mush appreciated. i have always just taken cabs/rented cars when i go to weddings, but i completely agree with you guys. Shuttles will keep everyone happy/safe and diminish my guilt :) Now off to find a shuttle company that doesn't rip you off just coz you say it's for a wedding...
Posted by wwmlau[/QUOTE]

Post a question for recommendations on your local board., When the company I'm using found out I found them from local Knot board posts, they gave me 10% off.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · July 2010

About 60-70% of my guests are coming from out of town and we are renting a shuttle. We let guests know this on our STDs and on an invitation insert, so they know they don't need to rent cars if they don't want to.

Some hotels will give you a free shuttle if you book a room block with them. Also, look into school buses, especially during the summer.

Our families and college friends are flying across the country. We're doing the ceremony and reception at different sites and the hotel block is about a mile and a half from both. But we're trying to make it as easy for them as possible, especially since the hotel isn't too cheap - we're inviting them to the rehearsal dinner, hosting a bagel breakfast the day after, renting the shuttle, etc.

Lots of Out-of-Town Guests

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