The Transportation Merry Go Round

So here it is in a nutshell….the agonizing of planning your guest transportation, hence the merry go round…we go round and round with the same things in booking wedding transportation. Forgive the humor and sarcasm as we need it to keep ourselves sane in the process:)

 

  • If you are the bride, the groom, parents of them, or in the wedding party and you took a trolley to the reception and said trolley drops and leaves after pictures, have you figured out how you will all get home if you don’t have cars at the venue?  Surprisingly we have driven, grooms, their parents, and a few bridesmaids in our day back to their hotels….note as indicated below, they are VIPS we do not do this for your guests…that is what cabs are for.
  • No, you cannot shuttle 200 guests from 6 locations in one 35 passenger shuttle and get them all there before the ceremony or reception. Oh and load on and load off does need to be factored into the timing of it all.
  • Please think about what we have to do with all the early arrival guests while we shuttle everyone else, especially if your first look is in the same location as the reception, it won’t be private that’s for sure.
  • Yes when I sent you out that vendor list months in advance and tell you to book your transportation immediately, I mean it.
  • Well, since you did not do the above immediately, yes I need to outsource to a vendor further away and it will cost much more.
  • Wait you want me to supply a coordinator at each pick-up location to herd your guests but you do not want to pay for it? Well, that is not going to happen.
  • Hire good vendors for this, ones who do it all the time, and know-how to navigate guests and the routes.
  • No, we do not drive the drunk guests home from the wedding who were too stubborn to take the shuttles and then drank too much and cannot drive, happy to call them a cab.
  • Oh, so you don’t trust my judgment on this and want me to call all my transportation experts to verify that I actually know what I am talking about.
  • Yes I can find you a horse n buggy, antique car, roadster, or hot air balloon but those specials cost more.
  • The contracted drivers work under our direction the day off for any changes or added stops, wait times, and the like…. they do not answer to Aunt Ida who thinks she knows everything, Drunk Uncle Johnny who wants to add bar runs for himself at the end of the event, or any wannabe planners ( who mean well but don’t help at all). Keep in mind you are paying on the clock for these drivers so give us the authorization to make sure they don’t listen to any of the guests for directions.
  • The Groomsmen and Groom almost always need to be onsite for the ceremony prior to the ladies.
  • Lastly, we cannot control the guests being on time and where they are supposed to be nor can we control traffic patterns or construction on roads and other unforeseen circumstances.
  • We are planners and can execute perfectly when all factors are unwavering….transportation is not one of those factors.  We plan for the worst and hope for the best and say WHEW when it all goes perfectly.
  • Most of all, it’s worth every dime to pay us to help you with this out of the planning gate, not two weeks before.
  • I believe you should only feel obligated to shuttle everyone the day of your wedding if there is no parking at your venue, otherwise, your guests have grown adults and should assume they can get themselves where they need to be and know how to get home.
  • No, we cannot make your guests take the required transportation or guarantee you they will.

I certainly do not expect clients to know this but reaching out with the questions before booking things or going not MIA on booking transportation is definitely something you should do to save your self agony on the back end..!  REMEMBER guests biggest complaint is waiting for the shuttles for too long!

And YES you can just hire us to help with this!

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