Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions

Transportation timeline to and from the ceremony?

I am trying to book the transportation to and from the ceremony and just want to check if my timeline sounds ok so I can confirm times with them.

The hotel (also where the reception will be) is 7 minutes driving to the ceremony site. We are doing photos at the ceremony site and some photos at the hotel before and after.
The hotel provides 1 shuttle that fits probably 10 guests, so I was thinking of booking an additional 14 person shuttle for 3 hours for my bridal party (17 between bridesmaids and groomsmen) and family. The hotel does not allow outside transportation greater than 15 so that's why I'm stuck just doing that size. I am guessing we will have about 15-20 out of town guests utilizing the shuttle

3:20 shuttle takes groom, groomsmen, grooms family to ceremony
3:40 shuttle takes bride, bridesmaid, brides family to ceremony
some photos before the ceremony separately. We are not doing a first look but got a photographer duo so we could do separate bridal party and parent photos at this time?
4:00 our shuttle and hotel shuttle pick up any extra guests, 4:20 shuttle if needed
4:30 invite time for ceremony, will wait until 4:40 for late guests, ceremony will be about 20 mins
5:10 shuttles take guests back, bridal party and immediate family stay for photos
5:30/5:50 bridal party shuttled back
6:05 bride, groom, photographers shuttled back.
6:20 end shuttle rental for 3 hours

Does this seem like enough time for everything? I'm mostly concerned with if we have enough time for photos, if the photo timeline makes sense, and if 20 mins round trip is a reasonable estimate for the shuttle. Thank you!!

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Re: Transportation timeline to and from the ceremony?

  • edited February 2017
    I am trying to book the transportation to and from the ceremony and just want to check if my timeline sounds ok so I can confirm times with them.

    The hotel (also where the reception will be) is 7 minutes driving to the ceremony site. We are doing photos at the ceremony site and some photos at the hotel before and after.
    The hotel provides 1 shuttle that fits probably 10 guests, so I was thinking of booking an additional 14 person shuttle for 3 hours for my bridal party (17 between bridesmaids and groomsmen) and family. The hotel does not allow outside transportation greater than 15 so that's why I'm stuck just doing that size. I am guessing we will have about 15-20 out of town guests utilizing the shuttle

    3:20 shuttle takes groom, groomsmen, grooms family to ceremony
    3:40 shuttle takes bride, bridesmaid, brides family to ceremony
    some photos before the ceremony separately. We are not doing a first look but got a photographer duo so we could do separate bridal party and parent photos at this time?
    4:00 our shuttle and hotel shuttle pick up any extra guests, 4:20 shuttle if needed
    4:30 invite time for ceremony, will wait until 4:40 for late guests, ceremony will be about 20 mins
    5:10 shuttles take guests back, bridal party and immediate family stay for photos
    5:30/5:50 bridal party shuttled back
    6:05 bride, groom, photographers shuttled back.
    6:20 end shuttle rental for 3 hours

    Does this seem like enough time for everything? I'm mostly concerned with if we have enough time for photos, if the photo timeline makes sense, and if 20 mins round trip is a reasonable estimate for the shuttle. Thank you!!

    Why not? What are they really going to do if a 20 person bus shows up? All you have to say is that it only has 15 seats - if they even ask, which they probably won't. They're not going to count people getting on and off the bus. They're probably just trying to avoid giant charter buses rolling through their parking lot. Personally, I would book a 20 person party bus so everyone can fit and you're not trying to manage logistics of multiple trips. Then your timeline can look like this:

    3:20 - shuttle picks up entire WP and family to ceremony site for pics
    4:00 - shuttle picks up wedding guests at hotel 
    4:20 - second shuttle trip (plan on this so no one gets left behind)
    4:30 - ceremony
    5:10 - shuttle for guests back to hotel/cocktail hour start time
    5:30 - second shuttle trip including family no longer needed for pics plus one photographer to get cocktail hour photos (plan on it)
    5:50 - entire WP and other photographer - pop some champagne and drive around
    6:15 - WP arrives at hotel/end rental

    *********************************************************************************

    image
  • Don't wait for late guests. If they are late, that is on them, the people that got there on time early shouldn't have to wait.


  • I would leave yourself a little more time with photos. You want to make sure you have them done before people start showing up. This way if the boys are in spot you want to do photos or you have to do some hiding while you one group moves from a location to another so you don't see each other, there is no pressure on timing. Also depending on how many family photos and complete bridal party photos you want to do afterwards, adding another 10-15 minutes on could be a good idea. I agree with PP, it's ok to wait maybe 5 minutes for late guests, but I wouldn't wait longer then that.
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