I have heard more stories of wedding guests missing the bride walk down the aisle because of a misunderstanding on the transportation arrangements made by the bride for her wedding guests.

Have you and your daughter thought about providing transportation for out of town wedding guests from their hotel to the wedding ceremony and reception?  Doing so takes away the worry of guests who want to party hardy.  Offering transportation is especially welcomed by guests when the hotel and wedding venue are not located near each other.

But the devil is in the details, and with all you and your bride have on your to do list as the wedding date approaches, it is understandable that the party bus is not top on your list.  Trust me on this one though.  You need to be very detailed with your guests on the transportation arrangements you have been kind enough to provide.  A hotel full of wedding guests can become an instant party, and like lemmings, the guests just follow the crowd…sometimes onto the wrong bus!

A friend recently attended a wedding where transportation was provided for the out of town guests.  One of the guests inquired at the front desk as to the time the bus was to depart for the wedding church service.  He was told there was a 3:45 and a 4:15 bus scheduled.   The guest spread the information to others gathered in the hotel lobby.   Not aware of the driving distance to the ceremony, most guests simply opted for the 4:15 departure.

Turns out the hotel had registered guests for two separate weddings that day.  The drive to the wedding my friend attended was a distance, and her bride had reserved the 3:45 bus!  Uh Oh!

The bride waited for her guests to arrive and walked down the aisle an hour late.  (She had waited months to get married, what was another hour?) 

The story has a happy ending.  The bride handled the situation with grace and humor, the wedding reception was the best party ever, and all of the wedding guests made sure to step on the correct bus for the trip back to their hotel and a good night’s sleep.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to move your plans for communicating wedding transportation with your guests to the top of your busy to do list and consider tagging someone with the responsibility of coordinating guests the day of the wedding.