Who pays for parking?

You should pay for it or provide transportation. Maybe pay for it only at the venue then provide a shuttle to and from the ceremony. People can leave their cars there for the duration of the evening.

Edit: If you guys can't pay for it, I don't think it's the end of the world but if you can, you should.

I am not really sure since I don't live in a bigger city, but I have seen a few people on here say that they've been to weddings that they had to pay for their own parking.

I would pay for it as the couple. Parking is free at our ceremony, and we have valet parking included in our package for the reception

I would pay for a shuttle service to take my guests. We are having a shuttle before and after the wedding taking our guests to local hotel we got rooms blocked at. I was more worried about drinking and driving than anything else. I don't think it'd be a huge deal if they are made aware of parking expenses before hand so they can be prepared. Put it on your website or something if you don't intend on picking up the tab for parking or providing shuttle service.

The rule of thumb I use is if your venue is in a location that free parking is expected (e.g., suburbs or country) and there's no where free for your guests to park, you should pay. If it's somewhere where most people would expect to pay for parking and there's public transportation (e.g., city), it's ok to let them pay.

You are talking about making them pay twice though, so I would probably provide transportation between the two locations and let them pay once.

Our valet parking isn't going to work out, and we are trying to figure out what to do about parking too. Everyone I've talked to said that people generally expect to pay for parking. There is a ramp one block from our venue that is only $5/car. For those of you who paid for parking, how did you figure out how many cars to get vouchers for?

@minnemiska, 1 per household that accepted the invitation

I would at least provide guests with the option to easily get to your ceremony and reception without cost to them. If for example you and your FH provide a shuttle service to both the ceremony and the reception and they choose instead to drive and pay for parking then that's their choice. Also, if you were going to go with an option like this make sure you communicate the cost of parking if they choose to get there on their own accord.

I wouldn't want my guests to open their wallet, for anything.

Hmm..so mixed reviews.

Ok good point about putting it on the website - the should know in advance if there are parking charges.

Both our families are from around here so they know what parking in the city is like. They won't be shocked to have to pay. I'm just concerned about them doing it twice because I would probably be annoyed.

Good point about the shuttle. We are trying to cut costs as much as possible, I'll have to check on the cost difference.

Thanks

Some venues in the Twin Cities, MN offer reduced or free parking for wedding reception guests. As a vendor, I charge any parking fees back to my client. I also think the Bride and Groom should cover the cost of guest parking.

I'm sorry, but why would you choose venues that is going to give you an outrageous extra cost?

I don't know what the proper etiquette is, but damn would I hate to pay for parking TWICE. That would be really annoying. I liked the idea of leaving cars parked at the venue if possible and then shuttling people to the reception. But then I would worry about getting people back. That shuttle has to basically be on call all evening as people will leave at different times.

I see really mixed reviews, but coming from California, Los Angeles to be exact I wouldn't be surprised or shocked that I would have to pay for parking in the city. I see you're from Chicago so I'm assuming that your guests might feel the same way. I would definitely put the information on your website and maybe have some of your close family members spread the word as well.

I am getting married in the loop in downtown Chicago where parking is ridiculously expensive. The wedding coordinator at our venue recommended trying to negotiate with the nearby parking garages. As that area is not particularly busy on the weekend, in the past they have given reduced rates for weddings that can guarantee a certain amount of cars. You could try talking to the coordinator at your venue to see if they have had that experience as well, or just using google to locate garages near your venue and contacting them directly.

I do not intend to pay for our guests' parking, the cost would be outrageous. Most of our guests are from the area and know how expensive parking is, I would not expect my parking paid for at a wedding in the city. Most likely our guests will either take cabs/Uber or be pleasantly surprised we got them a reduced rate.