1/3-1/2 of our guests will be coming from a different state-- help!

Not sure if it would be an option for you but I'm also from Wisconsin. Still live here we are doing a joint bachelor/ bachelorette party at the Wilderness in the Dells. We love going there and we got an awesome deal on a condo there. Not sure if traveling up here is an option for you, but the Dells is always fun!

I think having your ceremony, reception, and accommodations at the same place is a wonderful idea. Otherwise if you have space in your budget, you can just have the ceremony/reception in the same place and pay for a shuttle from the hotel to/from the wedding for your out-of-town guests.

Regarding bachelorette party - maybe hold your party in Wisconsin so that you're the only one who has to travel? But otherwise talk to your bridesmaids to see what they'd want to do. Maybe they'll want to come to Texas! And you'd probably want to have your shower in Wisconsin if all of your friends and family are there.

We have a hotel block set up with a shuttle included for our out of town guests. My FH’s entire family lives in California and they’re going to have to come to Illinois for our wedding. Based on discussions with his dad, they may end up trying to have a decent sized group of people stay in an Airbnb to save some money.

As for the shower and bachelorette party, maybe considering going to them for the shower and be open to doing a destination bachelorette party somewhere you’d all enjoy (or make it a crazy bachelorette/shower weekend)!

My FH and I met in Omaha, NE. His family/friend are from SD (5 1/2 hour drive). My family/friends are from VA (3 hour plane ride). We decided to have our wedding here in Omaha, so everyone had to travel and not just one side or the other.

For my bridal shower, I am flying to them (VA) and we are having it there. Most of my friends and family are at least in driving distances, so won't have to pay for a plane ticket. I am also having my bachelorette party back that way too, so everyone else can drive. My FH is having his is SD for the same reason. We tried to make the other events as easy on or friends and family as possible because we knew everyone is traveling for the wedding itself.

Same situation here. We are planning shuttle buses for guests to and from events. Having them stay in Kansas City downtown area so they can explore easily during the rest of their visit and don’t necessarily need to rent cars.
I plan to go to NY and St Louis for bridal showers before the wedding, then my MOH is asking my bridesmaids and local friends to come Thursday for a Thursday night bachelorette party before the rehearsal Friday and wedding Saturday (along with any other of my friends who can come early).

View Quoted Comment I love the idea of the Dells! That would be super fun and my girlfriend's from TX would love it!

View Quoted Comment Yes it seems like shuttles will be totally necessary. Because there are a lot of ranches/destination style wedding venues here a lot of them can work shuttle services into the cost of the wedding. That's what I've heard at least.

View Quoted Comment Awesome! Also I totally recommend Fawn Creek winery down there. Their wine is so good and they do free tastings.

Yes same here. We live in TN, my mom’s family all live in IL, and my dad’s family lives all over the country but not in TN.
The Botanic Gardens here had amazing indoor and outdoor space. We will be having the ceremony and reception there. The hotel is definitely an Uber ride away (not very close). But I’m also providing a babysitting room w babysitters, movies, kid food, kid fun stuff (but guests have to pay $20 for the night of care... I wished I could pay for that too but I’m just not able to).
Many of my out of town family are making a trip of the wedding. They’re coming early or staying a few days after. So my wedding website has a bunch of stuff for them to do around town listed, just as our suggestions on what they do while they’re here.

I'm in the same boat! I live in MN and most of my family live in FL while all my of FH's family lives in MN as well. If my wedding party decides to do a bachelorette party for me of some sort I will be probably going down to FL so that they don't have to travel so much and just make it a weekend getaway. I'll be doing a hotel wedding so most of my family has a place to stay.

We are getting married in St. Augustine, FL and exactly 0 of the people on our invite list live in St. Augustine (including us), so I feel you. I think the most important thing is just trying to make it easy on your guests. A hotel venue is great for that, so that everything is in one place. In our case, the venue is a 4 minute walk from two major hotels, so close enough. Definitely look into hotel blocks and provide lots of info on your wedding website. We also plan to provide suggestions on other fun things to do in the area.

Your bachelorette will probably be a little tougher. Once again, NONE of my 5 BMs live near me (2 are out of state, the others are a 3+ hour drive). One option I considered was having my bachelorette party two days before my wedding (not the night before, that's risky). So for example, bach party Thursday night, fun day/pampering Friday, wedding Saturday. It might require an extra day off work for some, but would cut down on the cost of flying for everyone. Ultimately, I ended up with a Friday wedding so we are not going with that plan, but instead we are going to do something on one of the 3-day holiday weekends in Jan or Feb before my wedding.

I'm also planning to send STDs and Invites a little earlier than most people do. Most of my family members plan things way in advance and it will allow more time for people to book hotels and travel.

It is not uncommon for brides to have two bridal showers, you can have one in Wisconsin with family and friends there and one in Texas with your family and friends their. I am from Chicago and I live in Vegas. I am having my bachelorette party a day or two before I get married, that way all of my friends coming in from Chicago only have to make 1 trip. You can try doing something like that.

Look into an all inclusive hotel venue. I have the same issue where my and FH's family are all in the Northeast, mostly MD, and we are getting married in the Florida Keys. The ceremony/reception/hotel is all one place to make everything easier and for us, they do catering/cake/ceremony/officiant/rentals, almost everything.

I had a similar situation. My husband and I got married in Washington, DC - his family is from and my extended family are from the northeast with my immediate family and close friends scattered around the west. We hosted our reception at a hotel that included a courtesy room block and got married at a church three miles away. We did not provide transportation but guests were able to use Uber quite easily between both locations.

I did not have a bridal shower because my friends and family are scattered all over the place and I did not want any of them to feel like they had to spend money to travel for me twice in one year. I've seen friends have multiple bridal showers though - one hosted by their mother in their hometown and another hosted by a soon-to-be in-law or bridal party member in the town they live in.

A friend of mine got engaged around the same time as me and one of our mutual friends hosted a bachelorette party for the both of us in CA. Some friends were only able to attend the bachelorette party and not the wedding while others chose to attend the wedding only. I left it up to them to decide. Personally, I find it hard to ask people to spend money on me. I am in my early 30s and at this point in life I was most excited about the wedding itself and not the "extra" activities.

Where in Texas? I bet I can help you.
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