Transportation Needed?

So I am In A similar situation.


I'm getting married at a barn, that is 20 minutes from us, but 35 minutes from the next closest person and up to 6 hours away for some. My venue allows camping, campers, tents as well as a house for bridal party to stay in. There is a hotel that's in the same city as our venue and maybe 10 minutes away. Because I want everyone to drink and have a good time I prefer no one to have to stay sober to drive an hour home, but most people will probably drive home.
It is definitely a nice added touch and makes the guests feel like they can relax and enjoy more. If you have it in the budget and it's not going to break the bank I'd see about 2 shuttles. One prior and then one at the end. Should only need them at max 4 hours.
Are a lot of guests staying over? Would you be upset if any of these guests didn't make it (think car problems and they got stuck not the bus)? Does the hotel offer any shuttles?

I would wait and see how many guests book rooms at the hotel. If most live less than an hour away they probably won't get a room, and thus won't need transport back to the hotel.


If you find many people (Id say more than 15 rooms booked, not including those on your party bus) are staying at the hotel then you 100% should book transport to and from venue to the hotel. That's what guests will expect.

If they live 30-45 minutes away, I can't imagine why they would even need/want to stay at the hotel. It doesn't make much sense to me to pay for accommodations when they could just drive home. But if a bunch of people do decide to stay at the hotel then I would recommend having some sort of transportation to and from the hotel for your guests.

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So I guess I should have clarified better. My FMIL thinks that we should tell people, who aren't even staying at the hotel, to park there and then we'll shuttle them to the venue. Because the hotel is right off the highway and going directly to the venue would mean they have to drive on "hilly and curvy" roads. So the transportation is essentially just so people don't have to drive those roads on their own and can have an easier time just getting to the hotel.

View Quoted Comment I would say that's not necessary and unless your in-laws want to pay for that then my answer would just be no we aren't doing that.

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I agree with this. I'll also add, that unless there was no parking at all at the venue, H and I would drive - people like to be able to come and go as they please and not be tied to a shuttle

Providing transportation is never your responsibility. Guests can either catch an Uber or rent/bring their own vehicle and carpool.

Transport is usually booked in hour blocks and can cost up to $1k (depending on location) even if you only use it before and at the end of your reception. I would assume your guests can drive themselves or coordinate a carpool or Uber. Maybe you can stick road reflectors or snow reflector sticks along the windy road if there is poor street lighting. I'd check w/local agencies first.

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Gotcha! Then nope. I wouldn't provide transportation. Everyone I know would rather drive on some curves than have to take a shuttle back to their car. Telling people to park at the hotel seems super weird. Also, it seems likely the hotel would have rules against people parking there without having a room.

My opinion is that if alcohol is served, transportation should be provided. Personally I can't justify expecting my guests to enjoy our open bar but not help them get home/to the hotel.

I agonized over this for my wedding. A shuttle was $1,500 so I ended up going to Uber voucher route. Only a few people used them and everybody else just coordinated a dd or got dropped off in other ways. They are adults, they can find their own way to the wedding as long as taxi and Uber services are available in the area. Open bar or not, it’s not your responsibility, you have enough on your plate.

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Can they even do that a lot of hotels usually only allow guests to park in their lots and often give out parking passes at check in. If you have a large number of guests staying at the hotel I d definitely look into transpiration esp if its not the easiest of rides. Good luck to you!

I just attended a wedding an hour away. There was no transportation for the guests? Is this something new? I can see using transportation for the wedding party, etc. But, I am in California everyone drives everywhere anyway. I agree with Aileen!