Getting To and From Your Wedding Venue

One of the most crucial choices an engaged couple faces is where, exactly, they’re going to get hitched. When looking for a venue, we must consider things like the maximum number of guests, alcohol restrictions, and catering policies. Oh, and we have to find a place that meets all our requirements without going over budget. Once that happens, it feels like a miracle that’s almost more unlikely than the fact that two people met each other, fell in love, and decided to get married. But now that the venue has been determined, there’s still more work to be done. Namely, how are you going to get yourself, your wedding party, and your guests to and from the venue?

Proper etiquette

There’s so much talk about proper wedding etiquette, but it generally focuses on things like writing timely thank you notes and whether or not to list the gift registry on the wedding invitations. Figuring out what you owe your guests in the way of transport is another matter entirely. There are few hard and fast rules, but here’s one thing to consider: how far out of the way is your venue? If you’re getting married at a bustling event center in the heart of downtown, then your guests have plenty of options for getting there. The same isn’t true if you’re being wed at a location that’s a forty-minute drive from the nearest gas station. A country club wedding in the suburbs is somewhere in between the two extremes. Shuttled transport to your wedding is a nice perk for guests no matter what, but it becomes especially important if you’re getting married at a place that’s especially hard to get to. Also think about how many guests are coming from out of town, since they’ll probably want to stay in a hotel that’s within a few miles of the venue. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get married on a lakeside pier out in the country, but it’s something to keep in mind.

The wedding party

Your wedding party is another matter, since it’s a smaller and more exclusive group. This is a case where getting to the venue is going to be a bit harder to coordinate than leaving it, since you and your new spouse will presumably be leaving together, whether it’s in a horse-drawn carriage, a classic Mercedes, or just a personal vehicle without any special frills. Some people like to arrive and leave in a limousine, but that’s not exactly a cheap option. If you want to split the difference, you can ask your wedding party to carpool to the wedding in their personal vehicles, then arrange for car service as they depart the wedding and head to the reception.

Potential liability is also something to be aware of, especially if you’re hosting a reception with alcohol. The venue may require you to pay for event insurance as part of your wedding package. If you’re hiring a car company, ask about their insurance policies as well. Think carefully before deciding to leave your wedding on a motorcycle, too, since motorcycles are more likely to be involved in injury accidents. Sure, you might think you’d look cool driving away from your reception on a Harley Davidson, but is it worth the risk?