When you think of memorable moments from your wedding, you don’t want your uncle’s DUI arrest to be one of them! Let your wedding guests relax and party without worrying about choosing a designated driver by making sure that you have transportation to get them safely from the reception site to the hotel.
Shuttle your guests!
If you can afford it, hire a shuttle company to run shuttles to and from the wedding reception at specific hours. For example, if your reception is from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m., you might have shuttles leaving the hotel (or ceremony site) at 5:45 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Then, have shuttles returning to the hotel at 9:00 p.m., 10 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and 11 p.m. Make sure to put information about shuttle times in the guest welcome packages.
Plan the pickup and drop-off!
If you have a small guest list, and you trust everyone to be ready on time, you might just hire one motorcoach to drop off and pick up wedding guests at one particular time. Most charter bus companies have a minimum amount of time to rent a coach, usually around 3 hours. For most smaller gatherings, this is enough for a single drop off and a pickup. Ask your charter booking company if they offer different kinds of transportation, or if they can provide references to reputable companies that they have worked with in the past. Sometimes, booking more than one type of vehicle with the same company can save you money. Doing this can save you more than you might expect. One of the biggest unexpected expenses during a wedding is time over runs on venues. Most reception venues and ceremony locations have given you a very strict set time that you must start and end. Using a start and stop shuttle can help eliminate that big surprise after the night is over.
Book Smart!
When looking for a charter bus company, make sure to check for things like minimum hour requirements and charges for mileage, policies about alcohol on the coach and whether driver gratuities are included in the price or extra. Also, check with the FMCSA website to check the safety record of the carrier you are interested in using. You can find a link to that service here. Remember that budget is important, but the safety of your guests should always be your number one concern.
No Budget? Think Taxi.
If there’s simply no way to work transportation into your wedding budget, then make sure to ask your wedding reception site to have taxis waiting at the end of the night. It’s much easier to persuade a tipsy guest to take a taxi if that taxi is ready and waiting. Arranging transportation for your wedding guests may seem like one more thing to-do in an already crowded list, but this sort of thoughtful planning will help your guests relax and enjoy their evening.