April 10, 2019

Happy wedding Wednesday! If you’re getting married at a church or your ceremony is located in a separate location than your reception, this blog may be helpful for you. We have come across a lot of couples who are unsure what to do with transportation. You have to take into consideration all the people that you could be providing transportation for. Some of those people may include two sets of parents, the wedding party, the guests and of course the bride and groom. You will also have to take into consideration the time frames you’ll need to provide for; going from hotel(s) to the ceremony and then after the ceremony, you’ll likely need transportation around the city for pictures, at least if you have time!

Wedding party transportation

In order to make sure all of your bridesmaids and groomsmen get to the ceremony on time we recommend having a shuttle pick them up from one location, possibly at the hotel you’re getting ready yet. This is a good opportunity to board a cooler and/or snacks for the few hours you’ll be on board. Even if you’re not providing alcohol, bringing water bottles on board is a nice gesture so no one gets dehydrated.

The other nice thing about having transportation for your wedding party is they can keep their personal belongings (no valuables though…) in the shuttle during the ceremony. Then after the knot is tied, everyone including the bride and groom can hop on to take pictures around the city!

Bride, groom and parents

While your bridesmaids and groomsmen are on the shuttle we recommend the bride and groom actually go with their parents (or other immediate family) to the ceremony. We recommend this for a few reasons!

1. Your wedding party shuttle is probably going to be a little rowdy. Whether you like it or not, your friends are going to be excited for the big day so we’re sure there is going to be high energy. Therefore it’s nice to get “in the zone” in a private car (even uber!) without your besties.
2. Your parents have been thinking of this day probably longer than you have. I’m sure they would be thrilled to be with you those last moments before your married.
3. This will help the bride and groom not see one another. We recommend the groom going with his parents first to get situated at the church/ceremony site and to greet guests. Wedding party can show up next, to make sure they have everything they need for the ceremony. Then have the bride and her parents show up last so no one sees them walk in!

Guest transportation

While it’s always nice to provide transportation for your guests, it’s not always necessary or in the budget. If you’re getting married in a city, there may be a lot of available public transportation that your guests can utilize. But, if there is a lot of elderly guests that don’t feel comfortable taking public transportation you may want to provide a shuttle.

Whether you’re providing transportation or not, you should let you guests know the parking situation around the church/ceremony site, at least for a city wedding. We all know there are many churches especially that take up an entire block with no parking in site. You should inform your guests where they can park OR let them know you highly recommend public transportation. If you don’t, there’s bound to be guests very late to your ceremony!

If you do provide guest transportation you can then have both sets of parents use this shuttle to get back to square one. You do not have to pay their limo/car/uber to wait around during the ceremony.

Photo Credit: Studio This Is, Heather DeCamp, Dennis Lee

-Ohana Events