We will have a lot of family and friends that are coming in from OOT. The airport is about a half hour drive from downtown, where we are getting married and having the reception. We will probably be paying for a shuttle to get people from the hotel to the ceremony and back to the reception, but what about getting to and from the airport?
Hotels don't offer shuttles since the distance is so far. My family is the type that would expect all of this to be taken care of, am I to explain that they will have to rent cars? IDK what to do. I don't mind having that conversation. We don't have boatloads of money to pay for the shuttle/cab for all these people. Do you think it's reasonable to expect them to take care of themselves for the rest of the trip excluding the wedding?
I feel bad at the amount they will have to pay for flying here and staying at a hotel. I hate to add an extra expense to it. I also don't want to be worrying about picking everyone up and driving them back to the airport the day before and after my wedding.
Re: Another wedding post - halp
From the hotel to the ceremony- fine. From the ceremony to the reception- fine. From the reception back to the hotel- fine.
But you have no obligation to provide transportation from the airport to their hotel.
The end.
ETA: And no one will think any less of you for not providing transportation. All guests will assume that it's on THEM to get to their hotel.
Currently Reading: Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
Imoan - you don't know my family. I do 100% agree w/ you though.
And no Motzie - no intown relatives.
In planning a wedding, you HAVE to come to terms with the fact that you're not going to be able to make 100% of your guests happy. One person will be pissed that you didn't give favors, another person will be pissed that you wasted the money giving favors when you could've done a charitable donation. This goes for every.single.aspect of your wedding.
Currently Reading: Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
I know I know. I won't have a hard time w/ this, but I am frustrated with the unreasonable assumption made by most of my family that I should take care of everything for them.
Good idea Motzie. I can do a "welcome to NC" prepackage for people traveling with things to do, places to eat, cab/car rentals, etc.
Do you have a website? Put the link of the save the dates and include cab/rental invitations there.
In my invitations, I put an accomodations card that has the hotel info. You could do something like that and put cab/rental car companies on there.
If someone doesn't come to your wedding because you didn't pick every last person up at the airport, then that person doesn't really care about sharing this moment in your life. Screw 'em.
You may volunteer to pick one or two special people up at the airport, but you do that because you want to and not because you are expected to. That's it. It is ridiculous for people to expect to be waited on hand and foot when you are a day away from your wedding.
Good idea. The website is on the save the dates!
Absolutely not necessary to arrange airport transportation. I'm assuming most people will come into town for more than just the day of the wedding, so chances are they'll need a rental car anyway. That's NOT your responsibility.
I had a very similar situation to yours - everyone coming from OOT. I sent out a one-page sheet with the save the dates that went to OOT guests with some info about the area. I probably still have it if you want me to email it to you - it basically gave people a bunch of info about the area - hotels, airport, fun family activities, etc.
On that sheet was also a quick blurb that explained that H and I had arranged a "slumber party" for the night of the wedding so that all kids whose parents had traveled from OOT were covered - we rented a hotel room in the hotel we blocked, paid a couple college girls $100 each, ordered delivery pizza ahead of time, and rented a couple movies. walla, OOT parents don't have to worry and kids don't have to come to the wedding.
Unless all your relatives are basically flying in at the same time, providing transportation from the airport is ridiculous.
I've been to MANY OOT weddings and never once has transportation from/to the hotel been offered. Never.
If your fmaily expects this, then that's on them. It's unrealistic and they need a reality check.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
Not at all on you, DL. Like imoan said, you will never be able to meet absolutely everyone's expectations. The beauty of it is, it doesn't matter!
It's entirely unreasonable for them to expect you to provide transportation to and from the airport. Can you imagine the work that would go in to figuring out flight schedules and the like? No. They can do it for themselves.
If they complain about it, thank them for putting in the extra effort.
The only OOT wedding I've gone to where they had any kind of transportation arranged was the one we just went to in Vancouver, where it was a destination wedding, nobody lived there, and almost everyone arrived at the same time.
H & I still rented a car. lol.