Valet or Shuttle or something else?

I might find it a little odd for someone to drive my car with me in it.

I'm not sure how easy it would be to find someone to hire for valet. And then the logistics of the valet person getting back to the entrance to greet someone else. And getting people back to their cars may also be an issue. Where will they be? Will guests have to walk up the road to the original spot, potentially walking past their car in the process? It seems like this could be a super lengthy and slow process.

The minivan idea may also take quite a while depending on the number of guests.

Maybe look into a party bus or something similar that can hold 20ish people might be an idea?

Before we booked our date, I was considering an outdoor wedding down a gravel road and considering renting a couple 6 person golf carts and having more ushers and have them drive 3 or 4 down the private road and pick up guests.

View Quoted Comment Thank you Mandi! To answer your question they would not be walking past their car. But you make a good point about the logistics and amount of time it would take with that scenario. There is only one car width in and out of our driveway with a small turn around at the base. The turn off road from the community private road is single car width as well and it crosses in front of our neighbors home (easement) on the way to the house. The private community road is a very tight two car width squeeze. The elementary school is roughly one- two minute drive from our home. It might work best to get a party bus. I just don’t think that size vehicle could turn around at the base of our driveway. But they could easily drop off at the top of the driveway and back up to get to the road from the entrance. Guests would then walk a short distance to the house. I just am thinking about the older guests. My mother, my husband’s uncle etc. Also, departure will be difficult as guests leave at different times it seems. But we could work with that. Somehow. Thanks again Mandi!

Valet companies know how to deal with logistics like these. I'd contact them and get their input. As a guest I'd prefer valet on site to being shuttled from a parking lot.

View Quoted Comment Good point. Thank you!

My future in-laws went to a wedding like this. We drove them there but there was an option to park at a local park that was about 5 minutes away, then they had a shuttle bring people back and forth. If you go that route, check with the property that the shuttle will be located at that you are allowed to do this. Maybe a nearby church or school or something. Wherever you choose, I would give a small donation to that location.

We had a backyard wedding with challenging access so a shuttle was an absolute must for us. The issue I’m seeing with a valet service is how far away the cars will actually be parked. If it takes more than 5 min to complete the circle of valet going to park/pick up and returning you’ll likely end up with a back up and long wait which could be problematic on both ends (arrival, it could delay the ceremony start, and departure people get antsy— they want to be able to leave when they’re ready to leave). Shuttles were a big expense for us, but, non negotiable— one of those hidden venue expenses without free venue. Our shuttles went to and from the hotel where we had a block, And they had an extra lot so allowed some of our local guests to park and ride without a room.

View Quoted Comment We also had a thin (single car) access road although it was a closed loop one way circle so drop off was easy and no turning around necessary. We looked around for companies with small shuttles that could hold a decent amount of passengers and found some 12-14 pax vans (Mercedes sprinter, and pictured— ford turtle top [mercedes vehicle is slimmer but taller). We rented THREE vehicles but with a close 2min drive parking lot, you could maybe get away with 2, though I wouldn’t do less than 2 if you have more than 40-50 people. We staggered departures leaving, and and made sure there was always 1 vehicle on the premises in case anyone wanted/needed to leave promptly. If the vehicles need to do a turn around make sure to do it while there are no passengers on board. Shuttling was definitely one of our bigger coordinating challenges, but so necessary for or circumstances.

Err I maybe didn’t math that right, but shuttle companies should be able to help you determine the number of vehicles. Though, you might have some better insight as to what type of party you’re throwing and your guests (ex if people will be leaving throughput the night versus if everyone will be staying to the end and all leaving at the same time — if everyone’s leaving st the same time, a number of shuttles running is important— the risk is the wait piling up with a long turn around time . The ride may only take 2 min each way, but people getting on and off also eats time. So , figure each shuttle trip would take about 10 min round trip, and then consider your guestlist! Haha sorry I have a lot of thoughts on this as I put in a lot of work coordinating ours!

As a guest theres an appeal to valet service, but unless there is a very easily walkable lot for the valets to run between , it sounds to me like a more complicated option

View Quoted Comment Thank you very much for your input! Very much appreciated!

I would say shuttle if you can. You might have someone who wouldn't trust you with their vehicle - and do you really want that liability anyway? I vote shuttle. :-)

I'm thinking some sort of shuttle service would be best based on what you described.