I'm going to try and be concise as it's a little hard to visualize.
My wedding is at my parents' farm and we are inviting 92 guests. The casual and outdoor nature of our wedding will be communicated, so I am assuming that guests will dress accordingly.
We have parking onsite, but we want to maximize ease and convenience for our guests. The driveway, which is gravel, comes down a hill into a loop by the front walk. The parking "lot" will be before the hill begins, so if guests park they will need to walk down and back up the hill to their cars. It's a gentler slope, nothing too serious, but still a hill nonetheless and could be tricky for certain guests.
Here are our thoughts/options so far on parking:
- Use signage to advise guests to have the driver head down the hill to the loop to let off passengers, then return to the parking lot. This means only the driver has to walk down the hill, or at least leaves the option up to the guests.
- Rent a 4- or 6- seater golf cart, likely manned by my dad, to function as a shuttle.
- Have my dad run a "wagon" on the tractor to function as a shuttle.
We know that we will do some lighting for folks walking to get back to their cars - my mom is intending to set up glow sticks in jars to either line the ground or hang in the trees, and she wants to provide glow sticks folks can grab and carry to act as flashlights as they walk back.
My main concerns are this:
- If we do either of the shuttles - getting the timing right. Guests could be arriving any time starting 30 or so minutes before the ceremony and if the shuttle isn't there they'd need to wait. More people could show up at once than we can take in the shuttle. If we do this option I think we'll need signage indicating the shuttle is available and when to expect it.
- Shuttles again - not just for arrivals but departures. Folks could need to leave at any time. Should we start running the shuttle at a set time and if they want to leave before that they'll need to walk?
I'm leaning towards option 1, frankly, but I don't know if that's because it's the most practical or if it's because trying to sort out the shuttles - timing, expense, logistics, etc. - is giving me a headache. I want guests to be comfortable, though.
If you were a guest coming to a casual farm wedding, what do you think you'd prefer/be okay with?