Help!! Transportation, hotels…

I think around 20-25 minutes would be doable.

I don't think 20–30 from the wedding is too far, but if they're going to drive that far, they may as well go home. An hour isn't that far. I have a ton of guests who are an hour-ish from our venue and they didn't book a hotel.

My cousin had a wedding like this. Same venue for ceremony and reception, an hour away from all the family. They did their room block at a hotel 30 minutes from the venue, and they did provide transportation (rented a coach bus) from the hotel to the venue and back. About half of the family stayed in the hotel, and the other half just left a bit early and drove the hour home. My own family stayed at the hotel. Had the couple not offered the transportation, then we probably would have just left early and drove the hour home.

I'm a firm believer that the couple does not need to provide transportation afterwards. If the venue/hotel offers a free shuttle service that's one thing, but otherwise my opinion is everyone attending (and drinking) are grown adults and responsible for their own choices. They are responsible for getting themselves home safely, not you. Just because you're providing the alcohol doesn't mean you're pouring it down their throat.

I think if it’s in your budget to provide transportation, the guests who are drinking would appreciate it (and it would give you peace of mind knowing that your guests are not drinking and driving). However, if it is not within your budget, I wouldn’t stress over it.

I don't think 20-30 minutes is too far. Do you have many guests that will be out of town or that you think will be staying at the hotel? If so, it would be a nice gesture to arrange a shuttle to the venue and back, but it's definitely not a requirement, and not worth going over your budget for. At the end of the day, people are responsible for how much they drink and how they get to wherever they're staying for the night.

We have a similar situation, with my FH's family all being around 1 hour away, but all of my family is in different states and have to fly in. We got a room block at a hotel 15 min from the venue. The venue is in a remote location so we also secured a shuttle to and from the hotel/venue for both before the ceremony and during/after the reception so people didn't have to worry about driving if they don't want to.

Both sides of the family are picky so we said get your own hotels then just dont go so far out from the venue we have asked we'll see

Is it common for local guests to stay in hotels? In our families and social circles, an hour drive from home to venue and driving back home the same evening is not uncommon. A hotel would only be reserved by someone driving 3+ hours one way or flying in. Honestly I would not worry about any of these things for an hour drive because most may not be used. Even those traveling from far away will find their own lodging, unless these are the only hotels for 100 miles in tourist season.

I think booking the hotels would be a good idea. Unlike previous posters, I think a shuttle to the hotel is necessary if you're giving alcohol at your event.