Getting Everyone Home Safe
August 19th, 2007 @ 10:27 am by Mrs. Lollipop
So, our hotel block didn’t work out too well. My fiance’s family booked a hotel 12 miles out of town so that they could save a few dollars, and my family procrastinated until the block expired. In the end, only five rooms out of the 20 were reserved before the deadline. We had planned to hire a shuttle service to drive everyone back to their hotels so that no one would have an excuse to drive while intoxicated. However, with our family scattered to the wind, such a shuttle suddenly became impractical.
What should I do? Would it be enough to frame some phone numbers for taxi companies, place them on the bar and leave it to the guests to make their own arrangements?
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14 Responses to “Getting Everyone Home Safe”
How many hotels are you talking about? You could still have a shuttle to drop them off if it’s only 2. My out of town hotel is already 15 minutes away, that’s not that far.
I agree with Natalie. You’ve done as much as you can and you shouldn’t incur a lot of extra costs trying to make everyone happy. I think shuttles are great and a nice idea but remember that 10 yrs ago…no one did this except for maybe the really realy wealthy. People have been getting themselves to/from weddings with their own cars since cars were invented and they will all figure it out.
Absolutely! You have enough to worry about already, they can have a DD or get a cab. I do like Natalie’s idea of sending them some information about how far away it is though… at least then they can designate someone to drive if they can’t afford or don’t want to pay for a taxi.
Hopefully your guests will know to drink responsibly. It’s such a nice gesture/idea to arrange their transportation, but if they cannot work with you to do that then you might as well not stress about it.
I think thats a great idea….
I don’t think you should stress about it. You did your best to set it up and they didn’t take the offer. They can’t expect you to find transportation for them if they didn’t want to book at the hotel you offered. They will find their own way. At most I would say to email out taxi phone numbers and post them at the bar.
While I agree with BaghdadBride, 10 years ago we did not have the kind of litigation that we have now. So if you do not have an iron-clad contract with your venue (we added this to our contract since we are both attorneys) you can be held liable if people get into an accident and hurt someone else/themselves after drinking at your event. That’s the reality of today’s world - check your contract.
Cut off the bar an hour before you expect people to leave, and then leave it up to them. The cab numbers are a great idea. These are adults here, it’s up to them to get themselves home. The only people I’m offering transportation to are my wedding party but that’s more because I don’t want them to get lost.
Susan, I signed up for extra event liability insurance just in case. I know that even with a shuttle available some people will still make poor decisions.
Wow — I can’t believe you were going to do a shuttle! I think it’s nice to do room blooks. We had the SAME experience — I blocked all 14 rooms are the B&B we’re staying at, 20 rooms at a Comfort Suites and another 15 rooms at a Best Western.
All 14 rooms at the inn were taken by our family, wedding party and closest friends. But the other two blocks were a big bummer — 4 rooms at one hotel and 2 at the other. You can only provide them with the information — after that, they are all adults and can make their own choices!
Absolutely - they chose their hotels, and/or to wait until after the deadline. I think under the circumstances you’re doing all you can reasonably be expected to do.
Yeah. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink…”
Totally agree - I’m continually shocked by the number of adults who can’t seem to “do life”. (Specifically RSVP’s - is it so difficult to check a box and put a postage paid card in the mail? It’s not rocket science, it’s good manners!). But alas, some people fly by the seat of their pants, and probably won’t even think about transportation until 5 min before they leave to go to your wedding. If you truly don’t think you will be able to leave it be, perhaps you can designate a person to be the “transportation expert”? If someone has a question about that, this person can help them figure out a taxi, who they will carpool/share taxi with, etc? Might take some of the worry off you, so you can just say, oh check with Mary, she can help you figure something out. Good luck! So frustrating though, I completely understand!
Mrs. Lollipop, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 26, Computational Linguist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager
Engagement Date: August 2, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2, 2007
Blogging Since: July 17, 2007
Venue: The PPG Aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo
About Me: I'm a Pittsburgh transplant who grew up in the deep south. I have a weakness for exotic alphabets, DIY projects, mobster movies and international travel. My fiance and I are both non-native Japanese speakers and we have a bullfrog named Skinny.
Yep, that’s about it - leave the taxi numbers there, maybe send them and email letting them know “considering the distance to your hotel, I am forwarding some transportation info. See you soon!” The bottom line is you already made arrangements for your family (the hotel block nearby) and they didn’t take you up on your offer. they are adults and you shouldn’t feel obligated to clean up the mess they’ve made. I know you want to make sure they make it your wedding - if they want the same, they’ll make it happen!