I think you're fine as well! If you have a few people who are opposed to carpooling and to shuttles, you have enough parking spots for them. Lots of people will probably just take the shuttle from the hotel. People will appreciate not having to drive. And I personally think a trolley would be super cute :-).
Seriously--this is beyond nitpicky at this point. She has 40 parking spots for 130 guests. Assuming a conservative estimate of two guests per car, that's parking for 80 people. She is also doing a hotel shuttle. If her guest list includes includes a fair amount of out of towners and/or locals who want to spend the night at the hotel, then it's exceedingly likely that at least 50 guests will want to take advantage of the hotel shuttle. I know we have a ton of locals for my wedding who will be staying at the hotel simply because we found a good rate at a nice place and they don't want to deal with drawing short straws for a DD and/or driving back home after a night of drinking. Guests should be treated well, but they're also grown-ups who should be able to decide for themselves which of several reasonable transportation options, presented in advance, should work best for them. She's fine.
I was on a trolley tour once. No air conditioning in late June. It wasn't fun, it was very uncomfortable. If I was a guest and was planning to take the shuttle and saw it was a trolley I'd probably change my mind and take my car.
I was on a shuttle bus once. It was smelly and stank like urine. So should no one ever use shuttle busses to transport guests?
I'd be fine with a 90 minute cocktail hour as long as it is properly hosted and there are enough SEATS for people to sit down! At a recent wedding, the cocktail hour was fairly long, but the food/drink was plentiful and unending. My only complaint was that my feet hurt because I had to stand the whole time.
I was on a trolley tour once. No air conditioning in late June. It wasn't fun, it was very uncomfortable. If I was a guest and was planning to take the shuttle and saw it was a trolley I'd probably change my mind and take my car.
I was on a shuttle bus once. It was smelly and stank like urine. So should no one ever use shuttle busses to transport guests?
I'm just saying that's the image I have. A mode of transportation that does not have air conditioning. So yes, if she is hiring some form of transportation she should make sure it has heat and air-conditioning in it.
I was on a trolley tour once. No air conditioning in late June. It wasn't fun, it was very uncomfortable. If I was a guest and was planning to take the shuttle and saw it was a trolley I'd probably change my mind and take my car.
I was on a shuttle bus once. It was smelly and stank like urine. So should no one ever use shuttle busses to transport guests?
I'm just saying that's the image I have. A mode of transportation that does not have air conditioning. So yes, if she is hiring some form of transportation she should make sure it has heat and air-conditioning in it.
Is that something that is generally put on the website where parking and travel information are included? I didn't know if it was supposed to be or not.
But then I didn't realize until about a month or so that there's few ways I can keep people from doing toasts all night at my wedding. I'm very new to all of this!
I think all of your plans sound lovely. Plenty of options for parking/ transportation. And like many others have mentioned I would have no problem with a 90 min. cocktail hour with plenty of food, drinks, and seats.
You are never going to please everyone. Someone will always find a fault even in a perfectly lovely situation. But I think with your plans the vast majority will be fine and have a wonderful time.
I was on a trolley tour once. No air conditioning in late June. It wasn't fun, it was very uncomfortable. If I was a guest and was planning to take the shuttle and saw it was a trolley I'd probably change my mind and take my car.
I was on a shuttle bus once. It was smelly and stank like urine. So should no one ever use shuttle busses to transport guests?
I'm just saying that's the image I have. A mode of transportation that does not have air conditioning. So yes, if she is hiring some form of transportation she should make sure it has heat and air-conditioning in it.
Is that something that is generally put on the website where parking and travel information are included? I didn't know if it was supposed to be or not.
But then I didn't realize until about a month or so that there's few ways I can keep people from doing toasts all night at my wedding. I'm very new to all of this!
I can't answer the first because I've never been to wedding where there wasn't space for 100% of the guests to park right at the venue. So no need to provide any parking or transportation information. I don't see why you couldn't put it on there. We got married on a military base so I specified which gate they needed to enter through and the rules for driving on base (wear your seatbelt, no weapons, no cell phone while driving).
I wouldn't worry about the toasts unless you have guests that are really into that. I've never seen them given by anyone other than the wedding party and maybe the parents.
I have one thing on the shuttle/trolley thing that a PP sort of touched on. How many locations for pick ups are we talking? Are you going to have multiple that will go to different places or just one for all?
My reason for this question: Wedding I went to last weekend, we took a trolley from the B&B, which had two other planned stops nearby. Totally fine with that. On the way back, a few of the bridal party convinced the driver to take them first to a place that was a half an hour each way from any of the pre-designated stops. It was very bumpy and very uncomfortable to the point that I wanted to just stand up. The guests weren't back at their hotels until at least 1am, when the reception ended at 11pm.
My sister had a wedding reception this past weekend and the cocktail hour was 1.5 hours. They were not taking photos during that time. The cocktail hour started a half hour earlier because people had arrived too early and the venue made that decision. Honestly it is where I ate the most food and I loved the fact I had 90 mins to enjoy it.
My sister had a wedding reception this past weekend and the cocktail hour was 1.5 hours. They were not taking photos during that time. The cocktail hour started a half hour earlier because people had arrived too early and the venue made that decision. Honestly it is where I ate the most food and I loved the fact I had 90 mins to enjoy it.
Does that mean that there was a gap between the ceremony and cocktail hour? How else would they show up half an hour early?
My sister had a wedding reception this past weekend and the cocktail hour was 1.5 hours. They were not taking photos during that time. The cocktail hour started a half hour earlier because people had arrived too early and the venue made that decision. Honestly it is where I ate the most food and I loved the fact I had 90 mins to enjoy it.
Does that mean that there was a gap between the ceremony and cocktail hour? How else would they show up half an hour early?
No ceremony had taken place that day. It was, as stated, just a wedding reception for a ceremony that happened a month ago.
I admittedly have not completely read every single PP, but be sure you keep the photographer's set-up/pack-up time as well. S/he will not be able to jump out of the car and start snapping pictures, or jump back in the car, toss their several thousand dollar camera on the seat and take off. You'll have to get to your location, perhaps through traffic. Find a place to park. Photog will unpack all of their equipment, perhaps change lenses, etc. The white balance will need to be refined with each new spot, and you'll need to be reposed, wait for passers-by to clear, etc. These things add up.
FWIW, my SS thought she'd only be gone for a few minutes between her ceremony and reception, which was all cocktail hour and no dinner. She was gone for 2.5 hours. She and the photographer both blamed each other, but what good does that do? Most of her guests started leaving as soon as she arrived because they were so crabby over the wait (and lack of seats during said wait, which is a different issue altogether).
Why don't you take engagement pictures at the cute downtown spots, and do your wedding pictures at your actual venue? I feel like they'll have more meaning there anyway.
My sister had a wedding reception this past weekend and the cocktail hour was 1.5 hours. They were not taking photos during that time. The cocktail hour started a half hour earlier because people had arrived too early and the venue made that decision. Honestly it is where I ate the most food and I loved the fact I had 90 mins to enjoy it.
Does that mean that there was a gap between the ceremony and cocktail hour? How else would they show up half an hour early?
No ceremony had taken place that day. It was, as stated, just a wedding reception for a ceremony that happened a month ago.
I'd be fine with a 90 minute cocktail hour as long as it is properly hosted and there are enough SEATS for people to sit down! At a recent wedding, the cocktail hour was fairly long, but the food/drink was plentiful and unending. My only complaint was that my feet hurt because I had to stand the whole time.
I'm not a huge fan of cocktail hours. I tend to think of them as a necessary evil. An hour is usually pushing my personal boundaries of patience, and I start to check the time usually around 30 minutes, and by 45 minutes I'm tapping my toes. So, for me, 90 minutes might be pure torture. (The mac and cheese bar doesn't sway me. A mashed potato bar, maybe, lol.) Having the museum open would help a lot, at least for me. I'd take advantage of it.
One thing I don't think other posters have noticed is your seating plan for cocktail hour. You need a seat for everyone, not just some people plus standing tables. Everyone who wants to be able to sit down should be able to, and don't plan on everyone mingling or walking through the museum. If all 130 people want to sit down at once, there needs to be enough chairs for that to happen. Period.
On parking, as long as there is adequate street parking that is both legal and within a very short distance walk, I think it's fine to have that, the 40 spaces, and the shuttle. Especially if the hotels are willing to let non-guests use their parking and ride. (I'd call them and ask.) If not, see if the shuttle could do a pick up/drop off at a public parking lot nearby. I would not encourage carpooling for the reasons PPs listed.
Re: Cocktail Hour-And-A-Half
Is that something that is generally put on the website where parking and travel information are included? I didn't know if it was supposed to be or not.
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I think all of your plans sound lovely. Plenty of options for parking/ transportation. And like many others have mentioned I would have no problem with a 90 min. cocktail hour with plenty of food, drinks, and seats.
You are never going to please everyone. Someone will always find a fault even in a perfectly lovely situation. But I think with your plans the vast majority will be fine and have a wonderful time.
One thing I don't think other posters have noticed is your seating plan for cocktail hour. You need a seat for everyone, not just some people plus standing tables. Everyone who wants to be able to sit down should be able to, and don't plan on everyone mingling or walking through the museum. If all 130 people want to sit down at once, there needs to be enough chairs for that to happen. Period.
On parking, as long as there is adequate street parking that is both legal and within a very short distance walk, I think it's fine to have that, the 40 spaces, and the shuttle. Especially if the hotels are willing to let non-guests use their parking and ride. (I'd call them and ask.) If not, see if the shuttle could do a pick up/drop off at a public parking lot nearby. I would not encourage carpooling for the reasons PPs listed.