Wedding Shuttle Logistics

I'd recommend getting two shuttles from an external company, or, if the hotel shuttle is free - supplement with one external coach. The hotel shuttle making two trips at end of night is fine, since people will want to leave at different times.

You can also do Uber codes

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The hotel only has a single shuttle available that day.

Is everyone flying in from out of state or just driving? Some people driving may choose to just drive to the venue. My shuttle will do two trips if necessary as well and our shuttle only fits 10 people. The people who take the first trip are just going to have to be that early for the ceremony. You can't have people be late. I also think this is a hotel issue not necessarily yours. You can provide the shuttle but that doesn't mean everyone will want to use it. If you are super concerned, I would try to see how many people are going to utilize the shuttle.

I've been to weddings that were similar to your situation and there was a sign-up sheet at the front desk for a time slot. That might work for you?

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I believe what she is suggesting is that you pay for an additional shuttle or bus to have in addition to the free hotel shuttle.

Definitely don't have half your guests miss your ceremony.

I don't think it is a problem for guests to arrive 50 minutes early. Most guests usually arrive about 30 minutes early for a wedding anyway. Just have a light refreshment for them while they are waiting.

For my wedding, everyone had to drive from about 2 hours away. They just drove themselves to the venues. The reception was at the hotel everyone stayed at so there was no issue with them drinking and having to drive home.

I had to stagger shuttles. It wasn’t ideal but it was the only option for us so we made it work. I set up lawn games and had beverages to keep people entertained. It was also an interesting place so we encouraged people to come early to explore. No one seemed too bothered. From what I heard, most people tried for the first round of shuttles — people would rather hang and explore at the venue than wait around the hotel ! Because of my unique situation, I found expectation management was my greatest resource. People don’t mind waiting if they know what’s going on — it’s when they’re waiting and wondering that they start getting antsy and unhappy.

Definitely don’t make half the guests miss the ceremony. That would upset a lot of people, and it sounds a little chaotic. No one would want to volunteer for that , and if it was a first come first served basis, some important faces might be missing, and some people might end up really disappointed. I wouldn’t consider this an option.

I have something similar, but the venue is only 10 minutes away. Our ceremony starts at 5, I am having a shuttle leave at 4:15, and the second trip leaving at 4:40 because we are ok actually starting our ceremony a few minutes late.

We we will have the venue offer water, and potentially give guests who arrive early the option to purchase a drink from the bar (it’s a full open bar later so I don’t feel bad). We also have all of the bridal party/parents already at the venue, so that’s about 15 people who don’t need to take the shuttle there. I may also ask some close family to please plan to take the earlier one there (I know they won’t mind)