Taking Care of Out-of-Towners
Going to a wedding is amazing for so many reasons: you get to celebrate special people in your life, eat cake, and dance until you drop. The only part that can be not-so-great? Traveling to get there. Whether you have to drive 5 miles or 500, traveling for a wedding can be an ordeal on the guests as well as the lucky couple getting married. Whether you have a few out of towners or are hosting an all-out destination wedding, check out the ideas below for showing your out of town guests some extra love.
If you know ahead of time that a lot of guests will be traveling to get to your wedding, try to choose a venue that is in a prime location. Some factors to look for when choosing a good location include easy to follow directions, nearby accommodations, and lots of food options. While this may not be possible in all situations, any of these factors will make traveling that much easier for your out of town guests.
Lodgings for your guests is another factor to think about when considering how to help out-of-towners. Putting together a room block at a reasonably priced location is a great way to make sure there are options for all travel budgets and goes a long way in helping your out of town guests keep their costs down.
Transportation is huge when traveling for a wedding, so providing your guests with options for getting to and from your venue is extremely helpful. If your venue and accommodations are at separate locations, try working with your venue and/or hotel to coordinate a shuttle for guests to use to get to and from the wedding. Many venues even provide shuttles when paired with certain hotels, so it’s always a good idea to check with your coordinator.
A welcome dinner is one of my favorite ways to include out of town guests in a special way. There are many different options for this, such as inviting them to the dinner part of your rehearsal dinner, hosting a separate cocktail hour or dinner, or even holding a post-wedding brunch. You can even be casual with this idea and invite out of town guests to meet for drinks, either at a location nearby your room block or even in the hotel itself. It also gives you extra one-on-one time with the people who traveled to come see you, which is plenty of incentive in itself!
Whatever you decide, showing your traveling guests that you appreciate their efforts will make them feel right at home and ready to celebrate with you. Planning ahead will also take a lot of guesswork out on their part and keep you from worrying about them, allowing everyone to relax and enjoy the wedding festivities.