Are school buses tacky?

misslang1013 · May 2011

I am trying to organize transportation for my wedding on March 31, 2012. Do you think it's tacky to have school buses transport guests from hotel to reception and back at the end of the night? The milage between hotel and reception is 4 miles, about 8 minutes by car. What do you think?

jelybeancg · May 2011

I have been to 2 weddings that used school buses. It was fine and everyone who rode in it was very happy to not be driving themselves.

Melanie2012 · May 2011

That actually sounds kind of fun. I didn't even know you could rent those for events!

And you'd probably have to make fewer trips versus using another kind of shuttle.

Brandiewine11 · May 2011

It's totally fine. I don't think its tacky at all. I've been to a wedding that had this, and there were no issues. In fact, we're thinking of doing it too.

SirJuliusVonHaast · May 2011

threadjack: what do people think about asking people to RSVP for a shuttle like this?

do you have to organize enough shuttles for 100% of the guests, or is it fine to estimate that not everyone will take it?

ootmother2 · May 2011

I don't think that it's tacky at all!

I attended a fabulous wedding on Martha's Vineyard years ago and the hosts hired school buses to transport everyone around the island. I'm sure they didn't want people getting lost or driving under the influence.

yoko2011 · May 2011

Disclaimer: I am using schools buses - the cost between school buses and a small shuttle bus was hundreds. I'm using them for the guests staying at the three hotels I blocked outside of the venue which is a hotel. I plan to have the pick up times in their welcome bags but will probably touch base via e-mail before hand with info to get a sense of how many runs we need to do.

delete: cost difference was hundreds, almost 1k

That said, as a guest at over 20 weddings, I've never expected shuttles, have had to drive and figure out how to get to places in areas I'm unfamiliar with, and shuttles I've been on included school buses - up to a good 1/2 hr on a bus and appreciated that the couple was trying to provide DDs, or make transportation easier in a hard to travel area - i.e. limited parking, etc. so I guess my take is if your guests think it's tacky than that's their issue ... since shuttle is a nice extra not a requirement ...

kyurcek · May 2011

Yeah, I've definitely ridden in a few buses from weddings. I don't think it's a big deal or tacky.

Karen's MOH · May 2011

I mean, a fancy coach bus is nicer, but I think a school bus is just fine and I think they are WAY cheaper. And I would much rather ride a school bus than have to worry about driving.

To SirJulius-- I think it is fine to have people RSVP about the shuttle. I mean, I did, so I hope it was ok. I'd rather do that than underestimate and have people waiting or scrounging. One warning-- I think it took people longer to send in their card because of it. Several of my friends who were late responding said they were delayed because they were deciding if they were staying in the hotel or not and therefore needed the shuttle. I'm still glad I did it but just something to be aware of.

firsttimersluck · May 2011

ummm I think it's freakin' adorable.
This is totally new news to me. Please do it.
aaaah so cute haha

quirky75 · May 2011

I know my FSIL was just in a wedding that had school buses and thought nothing of it.

The only problem they did run into was another wedding had a school bus also picking up at the same hotel. A good number of guests including WP members got on the WRONG bus and didn't realize it until they realized it was taking longer to get there than they thought. More than half the people on the bus were going to the wrong wedding! The ceremony was delayed until the bus dropped them off at the right location. It made for a funny story though!

So maybe get a sign or a magnet with your names if your bus is going to a large hotel that could have another wedding staying there

ootmother2 · May 2011

add on

We provided transportation for the guests but it was an ordinary bus. I think it was well worth the money if it saved someone from driving on dark winding roads on the Cape at night!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · May 2011

I think it's whimsical.

I provided a shuttle but unfortunately I couldn't find cheap school bus rentals around here.

And I think it's fine to have people RSVP on their card. I considered putting something like:

___ I/we will be using the provided transportation from the hotel to the ceremony and reception sites.

But in the end, we just did 2 trips with the shuttle to the ceremony and 3 back from the reception which more than accomodated everyone. Honestly, everyone might have been able to squeeze in one shuttle, I just wanted everyone to have different timing options.

pixiedust84 · May 2011

I think you'll be perfectly fine with a school bus!

I actually had a not so fun school bus wedding experience last year. Though it was only because the driver didn't know where he was going so what should have been a 10 minute ride took an hour and a half AND it was 90 degrees out and there is no air conditioning on school buses (up here anyways). So that was pretty bad - there were 50 of us on the bus including several members of the bride and grooms family. We all missed cocktail hour. I felt so bad for the bride - although I'll never forget the image of her when we got there hiking up her skirt to march over and talk to the driver. She was pretty awesome.

Anyways... the moral is - just make sure your driver knows where they're going! I think in March you'll be fine with the temperature :-)

lbow1984 · May 2011

I actually think this is a great idea. Hadn't thought of it myself. So thanks!

mattoid43 · May 2011

School buses are awesome! We'll be using one, and we had a section on the RSVP card asking people to RSVP for the bus. A lot more people have RSVP'd yes for the school bus than we expected (we thought only people our age would want to take it, but our aunts/uncles/family friends have said yes, too), so we're really glad we had the RSVP line--we're actually getting a large bus because of it.

SirJuliusVonHaast · May 2011

Thanks for the responses to my threadjack even though I fell asleep and forgot about it until now!

Our venue (one place for C and R) is 20 minute away from the town where people would stay, so I was trying to guess if I should budget for 2 buses or 1.

missy68 · May 2011

I think mads used a school bus, as well.

Are school buses tacky?

Re: Are school buses tacky?

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