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Just Said Yes May 2019

Getting Guests to Travel

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emcd, on June 11, 2018 at 9:19 AM

So we have FINALLY nailed down our reception being at the Pittsburgh Aquarium, it's gorgeous and spacious and with everything the rental includes it's a great price...butt there's always a but. The problem now is we had to originally cut our guest list down significantly, and adding back all the people we cut out won't be hard, but the wedding is 3-4 hours away from where we live and I'm worried no one will travel that far. Has anyone else had experience with this? Our venue has a guest minimum, and we're fine with paying the full amount either way, but I don't want to have what looks like an empty reception venue either.

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22 Comments

Super August 2018
Summer · on July 6, 2018 at 3:15 PM
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We've been disappointed with the number of "no"s we've had from out of towners especially family, but our nearest and dearest are all coming and they range from 1 hour to 5 hours (and a few are coming from across the world) away - 3-4 hours isn't much for your closest friends and family, but to encourage people coming I would block a good hotel and consider having transportation options available.
I'm very familiar with the Aquarium - if you have a small number of people there are definitely ways to set it up so it won't look empty, there are a lot of more secluded spots and I feel like even the main "dance floor" area isn't that big to start out with but can be "partitioned" with potted plants and things - talk to the venue coordinators and see what can be done - I've been to both large and small events there and with the small ones it never felt like the space was empty, but we were seated in different areas.
Good luck, sounds like your wedding will be a blast!!
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VIP September 2018
Rachel · on July 6, 2018 at 4:12 PM
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You will always have some surprises but go through your guest list and tally who you think would and you think won't or can't travel. Is there anyone with health issues that may make it difficult? Does someone have young children or a job that is tough to get time off? If your count of people who probably will come is waaay under your minimum you make want to scrap this idea or invite a few more people. Don't go crazy though, people will surprise you you won't want to invite more than you can afford and have too many people come either.
Other then trying to guess at your numbers, the best things you can do are to send out STD's so guests have early notice, set up room blocks so you're sure that everyone will have convenient accommodation options and pick a time and day that won't be too in convenient. If you have a brunch wedding on Friday that most will have to travel 3 hours to get to, you'll get a lot of declines.
As for the venue looking too empty, one of the simplest ways to fix that is to put fewer people at each table (e.g. 6 instead of 8 at a 60" round table).
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