Parking garage etiquette????

Is it possible to pay the garage beforehand and when your guests pull up to the garage they can get a parking pass or something? Or is the parking garage self pay?

Ashleigh that's really cool that you're thinking of this. It's a really nice touch. Maybe speak to the garage and see if you can send passes to the guests that aren't at the hotel.

Maybe it's just me but, I would never assume the bride and groom would cover my parking. I live in a fairly large city and understand parking is a requirement. I think your guests would feel the same. But as usual, you know your guests better than I.

Ashleigh I live by Sacramento as well. I think your guests will understand paying for parking the day of. However if you wanted to you could see if the garage will do a voucher type thing. Only problem is if the garage fills up and they park elsewhere.

I have never been to a wedding or any event where parking was covered. There is options but I have yet to attend one. My venue has $2 parking and I don't plan to cover the parking since there is no real good solution other than handing out $2 to each guest to reimburse them.

@Matt - I already spoke with the venue and the only thing they offered was to hand out $2 coins to our guests as they get their parking passes validated by the restaurant. I think where we live it's either you hire valet or hand out money back which is very odd.

Also the parking garage is public so it's a bit harder to keep track of how many cars. The venue does not own the parking garage so the only thing they offer is to validate the parking passes that come through so the guests only have to pay $2 instead of the normal standard rate.

If your guests have to pay for parking, make sure they know. I'd do more than just put it in the website (because people like me don't always look at wedding websites). If you don't tell people, then some will be aggravated if they don't have the cash on them.

@E-Tex. Agreed. My guests will know the parking situation in the invite and website because I am concerned some may park elsewhere and pay much more. Downtown Toronto can pay up to $20 so by letting them know there is a designated underground parking garage for $2 is something I will absolutely inform them about.

@Matt nailed it perfectly. You certainly don't have to cover parking but it would be a really nice touch and one that I'm sure your guests would really appreciate.

Also, Ashley - it would be really helpful if you change your avatar from the double rings. With the rings, you blend in with all of the other MANY ring-posters. We recognize people by their avatars. It helps us get to know you.

I would never assume that you were covering my parking - just like I wouldn't expect you to pay for my gas to get there. I wouldn't worry about it - but I would definitely list some places to park nearby on your website if you can!

Parking near our venue is $8 and FH and I will be paying for all guest parking. We don't believe our guests should have to open their wallets once they arrive at our wedding, but that's just us.

My venue had a parking garage attached to it, and they offered any event the option to pay to have the top lot reserved for your guests. We were going to pay for that and then notify our guests. But I have to say, if it didn't come as an add-on, we never would have thought about it. I have been to plenty of weddings that took place in a city and I paid for parking each time and never thought twice about it. It was never mentioned in an invite or website that I remember, because I just think people assume if you are going somewhere in a city, the chances of finding free street parking is slim.

I wouldn't expect for you to pay for my parking either. We went to a beach wedding (just the ceremony) in March and we had to pay the meter. It wasn't a big deal since we live in a big city and know that in most places you have to feed the meter.

I was worried about this, too. We're getting married at a university and lucked out; our guests will be allowed to park in the garage for free. We were going to call about pre-purchasing passes, and I think it's wonderful that you're being considerate of your guests!

Thank you guys. I will try and visit the garage and see. Unfortunately my venue doesn't have parking bc downtown Sacramento is wayyyyy crowded. And if I can't pay for their parking I will at least alert them when I mention where the reception will take place. I haven't read on here yet how you handle this situation so I wanted to make sure. Hopefully I can figure something out.