Transportation Nightmare

Do guests already know about the shuttles?
If not, I would just let them figure out transport on their own. I assume adults can handle that.
If they knew shuttles were being provided and they didn't need to rent a car, probably a good time to let them know "Please be aware that due to unforeseen circumstances, the shuttles are no longer an option." So they know there might be an added expense for rentals.

View Quoted Comment My fiancè's family knew about the shuttles. Friends and my family did not quite yet. So you think that isn't too much to ask for guests to do their own transportation after already buying flights and hotel room? Where is the middle ground?

View Quoted Comment I’ve travelled out of state for quite a few weddings. Never has the couple paid for my transportation all weekend long. We either drive, rent a car, or stay in the city so we could walk and cab around. I have been to one wedding that was 1.5 hours from the city and airport. The wedding was nice but the town was tiny and quite boring. We rented a car and couldn’t wait to get back to the city post-wedding. 😅 We just wanted a different experience with our vacation time than that particular city offered. Some people like small town, middle of nowhere and others want the big city.

View Quoted Comment Definitely. That makes me feel better about not having to worry about the airport transportation and only venue transportation.

I made a list of all sorts of things to do in the town. There are lots of micro breweries, antique shops (my family loves those lol), regular local shopping (so it isn't just chain stores, good food that is local, hiking and cool stuff to see. So I am hoping I can fill at least a few gaps for guests outside of wedding festivities. But yeah it definitely is not a big city haha. And that is okay with us.

I would just let them know that they might need to rent a car or carpool with one another. I don't think you're asking too much because they agreed to go to a wedding in a different state so they had to plan for those costs.

View Quoted Comment Okay. Thank you! This is making me feel a lot better.

If I fly I always assume I will be renting my own transportation when I arrive. I don't feel it's too much to ask. I would definitely make sure your guests are aware of how far away the wedding will be from the hotel, but if they are staying in the city they may not even need a car outside of the big day.

View Quoted Comment I think it's an expense most people are expecting when traveling. The thought of providing them transportation is nice but not always feasible! I think you're okay!
We had a wedding scenario similar to yours and we knew a few people couldnt afford a rental so my folks acted as the shuttle make sure they got around.

You should probably look into arranging transportation as an option for those guests who may want it (especially since you have over a year). It’s enough that guests will spend money flying to your wedding and booking a hotel. And even if they rent a car, I feel it’s still a bit much to ask them to drive 3 hours round trip in an area that’s unfamiliar (and you know how it feels anytime you’re driving somewhere unfamiliar... it seems like it takes FOREVER!! 😩). Either way, you’ll want to let guests know upfront about the transportation and distance to/from the venue.

View Quoted Comment Definitely! Every guests knows the location and how far away it is from the airport. I did already let my fiance's family know about the new situation. And updated my wedding website.

If I were you, I’d provide transportation to and from the wedding for this reason, but, only that. I think that is the nice middle ground. You’re not responsible for chauffeuring your guests all weekend. If they don’t want to rent a car, I’m sure there is a local taxi/car service that can take them from the airport to the hotel area. I’d just be sure to give people the heads up ASAP that there isn’t hotel-airport shuttle service

I wouldn't provide transportation for the whole weekend. Maybe look in to just a shuttle from the airport to the hotel or maybe Frome the hotel to the venue only. You could probably rent a party bus to provide transportation from the hotel to the venue. If you were to do transportation I would only worry about that, not the whole weekend. Good luck!!

Are the hotels in Minneapolis or near the venue? Either way, I wouldn’t worry about providing transportation from MSP or throughout the weekend. If the hotels are near the venue, I would consider providing day-of shuttles. Also, remember that you can’t predict how people are going to plan their trip. We assumed that our guests would stay downtown near the reception and booked a shuttle to bring them to the ceremony (20-ish mins away on the outskirts of the city) and back. Well people are now staying all over the place and half of our OOT guests can’t come, so we’re looking at doing Lyft event codes since it’s silly to have the shuttle driving all over the city for like 7 couples/families.

View Quoted Comment How do you do lyft event codes!? That sounds like a great idea.

This is something completely beyond your control, so guests will understand! I went to a wedding where the shuttle broke down that morning. We just carpooled in our own cars with other guests at our hotel to the ceremony (about 35 minutes away with road construction) . We then had three hour break where we went back to the hotel bar, and got Ubers to the reception venue (about a 20 minute ride). We had no problem doing this!

Luckily, Uber and Lyft are available in your area. If people go in rideshares together, they can split fares! If cost for the guests is a concern, you can send free or discounted ride codes in Uber and Lyft from your account!

Good luck! Everything will be perfect, I promise!

I would literally never expect the bride and groom to pay for my transportation from the airport

I believe you can either totally pick up the bill or set an amount per code. Lyft will charge you upfront the total amount in your “budget” and then refund any unused amount but they don’t (currently) charge a service fee/percentage. We initially did the math and it was going to be cheaper to get a bus than fully pay for everyone’s trips and we liked the predictability that everyone would come and go together. However with so many no RSVPs and people staying all over, I think this is the best solution for us.

https://www.lyft.com/events

The only transportation I would look into is to and from the venue. If you can rent a shuttle or bus of some type for just the rides needed to get from the hotel you blocked rooms at to the venue, and then back, you're being generous and accommodating and your guests should be grateful.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm getting married in two weeks. I am providing a shuttle to and from our venue from a hotel 8 minutes away. Most people have told me they're just driving their own car anyway.

I also have 4 people who have asked us if we can take them to the airport the next day, or pick them up, or if we can pay for their hotel room.....mostly my FH poor college friends. I said absolutely not. One had the nerve to say "oh but you're going to the airport for your honeymoon the next day anyway right?" 😂😂😂😂

You can also give people an Uber or Lyft code

FH & I are going to a wedding about an hour outside of Portland (OR) in a couple weeks, in a winery/brewery town. We are flying into PDX a couple days in advance and making a weekend out of it. They're providing transportation within the town for the ceremony & reception (which is really nice), but we're on our own for getting there, and don't mind having to pay for a rental car for a few days. If you're able to provide transportation for the wedding itself (e.g. to the ceremony/reception), that would be a nice touch.