Guest transportation cost - who pays?

If you can afford to do it, then do it. Even if you paid half, then the guests could pay a smaller amount. Do these guests know about the ferry being the only way to the island?

If you have it in your budget I think it would be nice to cover. Otherwise you need to clearly state it on your website so people know they will have to pay $38 a head.

another option would be maybe split the cost if that's an option with the Ferry operator. You could list a "special ferry price for wedding" of $20.

I'm going to agree with you, that it is rude to expect them to incur the costs when they have no other option.

On the flip side, if I were a guest and had to pay it myself, I might grumble a bit but would ultimately do it (as long as that's the round trip cost). Especially for family. And I would hope that I would have been given a heads up as to the cost (especially if they only took cash!) because I never have that much cash on hand1

That's a tough situation - if you can afford it, I would pay. But I also don't think the guests would think it's an issue to pay for a ferry ticket. I mean we don't give people gas money or pay for tolls if they're traveling to our wedding, right? Since you're doing a mass event can you talk to the ferry owners and maybe work something out? Like rent the ferry for the day vs paying for individual tickets?

Yip they know. We are still in early days and have only sent out STD and website to them, no official invitation yet, but I have let them know that there is a ferry to get to the venue.

I wonder if the ferry would be able to give a discount. Sounds like you have a lot of people coming. Personally, for me it wouldn't be in the budget to pay for that; however, that is really something that should have been considered before.... I'll check with the ferry and then let the guests know that, hopefully, it will be discounted.

The hotel we are getting married at only has valet so we are paying $8 for every vehicle to valet there during wedding hours. We thought since there was not other option for parking we should pay for our guests. I'm with Crystal, if you can afford it, you should pay for it since there's no way around it. Unfortunately, I think if guests knew they had to pay potentially $76 (per couple) to ride the ferry they would opt out of coming at all... Good luck!

Also the $38 is the special rate for us renting the whole ferry there and back, the usual cost is $50 per head.

@Ashley, understand what you mean about not paying for peoples gas etc, which is FH's opinion. But as it is already out of town I feel like asking people to come all that way, pay for a weekend of accommodation, pay to get to the ferry dock AND pay for the ferry is a bit too much.

Oh forgot to mention - the total cost of this venue - food and ferry included, is LESS than any of the venues on the mainland. So we are not really going to be out of pocket if we cover the ferry.

As a guest I would be a bit annoyed to have to pay $38 pp. Especially if you have kids, imagine a family of 4 having to pay close to $120 just to get there. I like the idea someone mentioned of you covering half of it. That seems like a good compromise. If you can pay the whole amount, that would be even better, though.

I don't think it's your responsibility. You are the host-- you pay for the venue, food, drinks, entertainment. How people get there is on them, even if they have no choice in the matter.

If you want to pay, that'd be nice, but I don't think you have to. You might talk to the ferry people and see if you can get some sort of discount for buying in bulk-- you'd be surprised what businesses will say 'yes' to (especially if you start with "I am a bride, and....".

Thanks everyone for your comments! Maybe I will ask them to pay a portion. Will see where we are at with budget in a few months.

I agree with you. I think it would be rude to ask your guests to pay for that. You picked what i'm sure is an amazing venue, but it's on an island. As a host, I would consider the cost to ferry the guests an additional cost of the venue.

Paying $38 to come to a wedding seems a bit like an admission fee.

You know, if your wedding is in a hotel or in the city, people have to pay for parking. In Philly that can easily be 50.00. Most people don't pay for guest parking.

I think you should absolutely cover the cost of the ferry. That cost should not be passed onto guests. To me, it is considered part of your venue costs since you chose a venue on a island.

You should pay for it as it's the only way to get to your venue. You can't compare it to parking in a city or other travel costs since there are tons of other options in those cases.

Do cars go on the ferry or is it only passengers? Is the $38 per person or per car full?

There is an island near me, ferry takes pedestrians, bicycles, and cars (fee is $55 per car). As the officiant, I don't pay (I believe the venue puts my name on a list).

No roads on the island so no cars.

They walk straight off the dock to the venue. Here is a photo!

It is $38 per adult and half price for a child. That is the price I have negotiated with them. It is usually $50 per person. The ferry ride is 30-45min.

It is pretty pricey, I think I will get people complaining if I ask them to pay.

I might ask them to pay a portion to help with the costs, but then it could just get really messy with cash etc and not be worth it. I want to make sure my guests are looked after and have an amazing time!

Since it's the only way to get to your venue, yes you should be covering the cost. You chose an opulent (STUNNING!!!!) venue, if I were a guest and saw you covered the cost of that kind of venue, I would expect that any venue specific costs would be covered.

What the consensus says. I would not want to pay $38 to ride a ferry (with no other option). If I knew about it prior, I might not go (unless we were very close). $38 a person for me and my husband would be $76.