How can i get my guests to my wedding?

Question

I am getting married in 2010 and we have fallen in love with a hotel that we'd like to hold the whole celebration including ceremony at. The only problem is it is 15 miles from where we and our family live.

The wedding and reception itself will be for around 60 guests and the evening do, around 120. How on earth do i get them from Grimsby to Louth for the wedding?

There are only a couple of people in the family who drive so that's not an option.

Please help. Need to find a solution before we book the venue really.

Thanks in advance. :)

Answer 1

Start to give out the invitation cards early so that the guests can plan for their own transport.

For those with no transport perhaps you can send someone to pick them up..

Answer 2

that stinks, normally it's not the bride's job to provide transportation.  you could rent limos or a 20 or 30 seat party bus for the day but that's gonna cost you $$$ like $100 an hour probably, and you'd have to have them stay the entire time to wait and drive people home after.

Answer 3

You're already shelling out for the hotel, and nowadays it's not that unusual for the 'bigger' wedding (shall we say) to lay on transport.  Coach travel from your local coach firm will not be prohibitively expensive, and it's good of you to be thinking about your guests in this way and is bound to be appreciated.

For any guests coming from further afield, see if they would like to stay at the hotel itself.  Whilst you can't be expected to pay for that too (unless whoever's paying for your wedding is feeling particularly flush) you will probably find that the hotel will offer a special rate for your wedding party - after all you will be spending an amount of money with them that they consider significant.

For a 15 mile journey (30 mile round trip) you could probably organise a shuttle service meaning you'd need just the one coach - especially if you're intending for your guests to have a reception/canape party before the ceremony itself.  You should organise for the coach to leave the hotel at set times at the end of the evening.

You can organise the coach yourself - preferably with a local firm to keep the cost down - or, better still, have your wedding coordinator at the hotel do it for you.  They will have done this before, I'm sure.

By the way, despite some of the sarcastic responses you may have received remember that it's YOUR day and you're totally justified in trying to make it as stress-free as possible.

In terms of the cost, you could also add 'contribution towards the coach' as an item on your wedding gift list.  It's perfectly acceptable nowadays to ask for a contribution, so if budget is an issue, don't be afraid to.

The link below provides a handy wedding checklist you might want to reference too.  By th way in terms of wedding insurance, you'll find that most policies will cover you for at least £2000 for transport (which is loads more than the cost of your coach hire - it'll cover you for the wedding car too!)

Answer 4

Why don't you hire a bus to take people to and from the venue like almost everyone else does when they get married.  Put a wee slip in with the invites asking people to confirm whether they require transport so that you know numbers.

Answer 5

Well Ive seen one bride hire a bus to transport her guests from her wedding site to the reception. This might be an option for you.

good luck.  

Answer 6

15 miles is not that far away.. but if it is that bad you can rent a party bus to pick your guests up..

Answer 7

get a buss or trolley to pick them all up. tell them to meet at a central place and tell them a bus will pick them up. they can get to the bus however theyd like, maybe a cad or friend can drive them. this can be really cute as you could decorate the bus for your wedding.

try looking up charter or even school buses in your area as there are many companies that rent out buses.  

Answer 8

Charter a bus

Answer 9

Stretch Limos or bus charter.  Otherwise, it's every person for themselves.

You are only responsible for getting the wedding party to the reception.  

Everyone else is on their own.  They'll figure it out.

Answer 10

hiring a bus allows for you're guests to get drunk without worrying about driving and drunk guests make for a a really fun reception.

Answer 11

wow 15 whole miles, that is such a long way! lol

Have you though of asking the hotel if they can lay on some buses or help you with a list of mini cab firms? They should know lots, and also they may be able to get you a preferential rate.  

Answer 12

A coach, we did the same from Bishops stortford to cambridge. wasn't that expensive. and everyone gave a couple of quid for the driver to leave at 12 instead of 11.15.

Answer 13

offer transportation if you can afford it. hire a limo or a bus to go and pick up guests!  

Answer 14

hmmmm  I would ask those that drive to do the favor of driving and maybe rent some vans.  In our city we have Lolly the Trolly and we rented that for my son and his bride's  bridal party to ride around in all day instead of limo's and it was fun!  It also had a lift for our other son who is in a wheelchair and was best man.  It was awesome and it held about 60 people..or could have.

maybe you have something like that in your city?

If not then see about hiring some friends or someone to drive guests there.  It will be more expensive...but if people don't drive I don't know what you can do.

They can use Taxi's too....You can call the cab company and see how much it would cost to have them meet you at the church and take people to the reception and then at a certain time pick them up to take them home.

if they don't drive..how do they get to the church?  Don't they have friends that can drive them?

Answer 15

hire a coach or two.

Answer 16

How about booking a coach or mini-bus, or asking members of the family if they will drive others?  At least you have a few years to sort it out.

Answer 17

Hire a couple of coaches. They'll need to come with drivers because you need a PSV licence to drive one, so your family can get plastered and sing 'Delilah' as much as they like!

Answer 18

just gothere im sure they will smell you

Answer 19

i am sure you could find a cheap coach going somewhere!

Answer 20

Cash. Cold hard Cash.

Pay me $1000 and I'll show up with my chimp buds.

Answer 21

Does the hotel offer shuttle services?  If so, they might be able to pick up guests.  For those that drink, but don't drive, would they willing/able to spend the night at the hotel?  Having lots of guests would likely be another big incentive for the hotel to provide shuttle services.

What about taxis?  It doesn't seem like too far - 15 miles - so it shouldn't be too big an expense.  Several guests could share transportation that way and split the cost.  That way they could arrive and leave at their own time and also you wouldn't have to provide/pay for the transportation or worry about who drank and who didn't.

As someone else mentioned, if you hire the bus, van, coach, whatever, you will likely have to pay for it by the hour and have it on hand during the entire ceremony and reception.  With this scenario, you would also have to set a certain time for the reception to be over and everyone would have to leave together.  This might be later than some would like and much earlier than others would like.

If you can "afford" it, why not put something in your invitations that due to the travel you know your guests will have to do you are requesting no gifts, just the pleasure of their company.  If you don't need the things you might get as wedding gifts - or even if you do - you can save yourself a lot of expense (and therefore buy what you need) and hassle by requesting no gifts and letting them take care of their own transportation.  

You could even include the names of some taxi companies or something as resources for them.  Perhaps a company would be wiling to give your guests a discount or something if they mention your name?

Good luck!  It's wonderful that you've found somewhere that you both love that can service all your needs.  It's also nice that you're thinking of your friends and family, but it really is their job to arrange to be there and your job to have a happy wedding.  :-)

Answer 22

I don't understand why you are worried about 15 miles.  That is a no-brainer here where I come from.  I have had people drive 100 miles for my wedding.  Just put add an RSVP to the invitations so you will know about how many will come and will know about the food for the reception.  15 miles is no big deal.  If they care enough about you, they will accommodate you on you day.  You don't need to accommodate them except to make sure the facilities are very comfortable and appealing.