Wedding Blog
As I mentioned in my post about the remoteness of our wedding, Mr. Cherry Pie and I have decided to rent a few vehicles to to shuttle guests from the hotels to and from the wedding site.
We think this is an awesome idea for a few reasons:
At first, I imagined shuttling our guests to and fro in some of Glacier Park’s classic renovated “red jammer” buses.
But our wedding coordinator, Katalin, had worked with them before and found them to be prohibitively expensive. I was disappointed, but I’d guessed as much based on the fact that there are a limited of red jammers and taking a regular tour on one is quite pricey.
Instead, Katalin found us two shuttle bus companies near Polebridge (Kalispell and Columbia Falls, respectively) with affordable rates. They were fairly comparable, and each offered regular old-school school buses in addition to the fancy-schmancier charter buses. The school buses are definitely more cost effective, but they don’t offer the amenities (air conditioning, bathrooms, video monitors, etc.) of charters.
I don’t think that we really need the charter buses for the 20-mile trek from Glacier to Polebridge, but having the option for AC might be nice if the weather is warm. And honestly, I really love the school bus look. Maybe I’m just a huge dork, but aren’t they cheerful and nostalgic? Not really rustic OR elegant… but a nice bit of classic Americana, right?
Our plan is to have the bus drive into West Glacier, pick up guests at the Lake McDonald Lodge, head to the Apgar hotel (which is on the way) and continue to Polebridge. We’re thinking of starting the ceremony at 3 or 4 pm and making sure our guests get there at least half an hour beforehand so they’ll have time to mill about, socialize, and find their seats. After dinner and dancing, we’ll have another shuttle waiting to take guests back to their hotels.
We’ve budgeted for two buses, which we’ll reserve if enough people RSVP for the shuttle. Regardless, we’ll probably have two staggered shuttles to return guests to their hotels so that the elders and party poopers can get back to their early bedtimes while the rest of us can stay until “last call” or have a bit of an after party at the saloon.
I’m hoping that offering a shuttle will make life easier for our guests. But we also want to make the shuttle ride (about a half hour to forty minutes) fun and interesting. Any tips on how we could do that? Or should we even bother?
If you were a guest at our wedding, would you want to ride a round-trip shuttle? Would it matter if it were a school bus or a charter bus?
( Image source: 1, 2 )
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I think that the school buses are cute and more cost effective but if you are truly trying to be as accomodating to your out of town guests, I would go with the nicer chartered bus with a bathroom and AC. I know that when I am drinking all night I might have to use the bathroom on the way back to my hotel 20 miles away! Also, another consideration regarding the ACs, are helpful if it is warm for the elderly guests (heat stroke is could ruin a party, no?) and just the fact that the idea is to make your guests as comfortable as possible.
I have had several clients who chose to rent school buses and it definitely added charm to our photographs! I say go for the school buses with a laugh!
One of the groomsmen photos is in this entry:
http://decenturbanlifestyle.org/?p=294
We had school buses to transport our guests at our wedding and the guests loved it! We even had a “mini” bus for the groomsmen and it really made for some fantasic pictures!
I just found the better photo… check out the little flower girl peeping out the window here:
http://decenturbanlifestyle.org/?p=291
I love the school bus idea. Much cuter than a charter bus! I don’t think you need to offer things to do on the bus as the scenery should be pretty enough. Plus some people may get queasy if they have to read anything or participate in anything besides general conversation. You may want to have garbage bags and water bottles on the buses in both directions. Water bottles if it is hot, and garbage bags for both the water bottles and for those guests who may have too much fun at your reception and feel a little ill on the bus!
I’d want to ride the shuttle, but I’d vote against school buses. I know that for a lot of adults, there’s just not enough knee room to be comfortable. Plus, a 20-mile trip is kind of long to be riding in a bus with bench seats and no AC…
Would I want to ride a round trip shuttle?
hmmmm…
I’m one of those people that really likes to control when i arrive and when i leave an event. Example, i’m always the driver when i go out with a group of people somewhere so i can decide when i want to go home.
so, me personally, I’d rent a car and drive myself. but i’m not a drinker so this would be fine for me.
this seems like a great option for the elderly and drinkers!
I’d go for the charters though. back in school, I never had enough leg room on the bus and I’d personally like some good ole AC….
i was a bridesmaid in a wedding that used school buses to shuttle people. it was june in wisconsin and hot, hot, hot. this was not an issue when we left the reception at midnight, but the bus also transported the bridal party around for photos that afternoon, and we were all melting. however, the seats were comfortable and it was pretty fun to be drunk and dressed up and in a school bus, bouncing around after midnight.
We are doing the same thing, but I could only find charter buses. I would have gone with school buses if I could, both because of cost effectiveness and charm. I think the school bus would add to your rustic theme. Either way, guests will appreciate the gesture:)
Since I’m usually one of the “last call” people at weddings, when there’s been a shuttle I’ve never cared if it was fancy - It’s just a relief to finally sit down! Also, I love not having to worry about a DD or a taxi (which doesn’t sound like an option in Polebridge!) for the ride home.
As long as it’s not _too_ hot out, the school bus is a great idea. Considerate and charming.
I think the school bus is a great idea. I don’t think the bathrooms are an issue - we’re talking maybe 30 minutes here, right? And if you drove, you don’t have a bathroom in your car! The heat obviously won’t be an issue on the ride home, and I guess I doubt it will be in the ride there. I don’t know Glacier, but spent the past 10 years living in Colorado, and it’s usually in the 70s in the afternoon in the mountains in July and August - no way hot enough to need air conditioning. Altitude for Polebridge says 3600 ft, so I can’t imagine tempertures in the 90s are normal. As long as you haven’t had the bus shut up and parked in the sun all morning I don’t think it will be an issue.
I went to a wedding where they transported us in a school bus about 30 miles to the reception place and they gave us each a small brown paper bag with a juice box and a starcrunch for the ride. Everyone thought it was so clever!
We rented a school bus to shuttle our guests around and everyone loved it.
I agree that if its only a 30 minute trip, bathrooms aren’t needed. I think that it’s really thoughtful of you to provide transportation! I am sure your guests will be thankful.
I think my guests are getting a retrofitted school bus. I also got 2 busses for $1200, so if they dont like the retrofitted school busses, THEY CAN WALK! 
Just kidding. But I really think that guests are happy to be provided with ANY transportation. Its very gracious, whether it be a school bus or a luxury bus.
And again, if they dont like it, they are welcome to drive, right? So everyone wins!
I think the school bus idea is great. Infact we are thinking about it. Half of our guests are from out of town and the roads in my home town are windy and narrow and mostly unmarked. Plus his family likes to drink. the locals will probably drive themselves but we think it would be great to have the guests, all staying at the same hotel run back and forth on a school bus (the local bus company doesn’t have the large charter buses anyway). We are lucky that it will be a short ride. about 15 minutes.
I went to a wedding last year with a shuttle for the 30-minute ride between the ceremony and reception (and then back to the hotels at the end of the night). On the way from the ceremony to the reception, people filled the ride easily just by talking to friends they hadn’t seen in a while. On the way home from the reception, the shuttle made maybe three trips (10, 11:30, 1 a.m.-ish?) and we left on the last one — at which point I spent the whole ride back asleep. So I wouldn’t worry too much about entertainment!
we got a london double decker bus for our shuttle for our guests! its sooo cool, i love it, i cant wait to see their faces when it pulls up! also my grandma (who is no longer with us) used to work on one in London when she was a teenager!
we are having the shutte begin pickups at 10pm- till 1am to give guest the option of when they would like to leave: )
I love the school bus idea, and we’re doing it too! There will be AC at their destination so hopefully it wont be too uncomfortable without it for the drive (ours is only at most 20 minutes). A lot of our guests are from the UK, who don’t have yellow school buses, so they are gonna be ecstatic, lol.
I love Laura’s (#12) idea. And, a school bus would be adorable. If it’s not too hot, I say go for it!
School bus! I love it. I recently went to a wedding in Paradise, TX, and because it was kind of in the middle of nowhere, the brides’ family had chartered a car service to pick guests up and drop them off to and from the airport and the ranch.
I guess it was different because it was a whole weekend sort of thing, but as an out of town guest, I REALLY appreciated not having to rent a car, on top of buying the flight and paying for the room at the ranch.
I think it’s a great idea, and as a guest, I would appreciate it. This way, there’s way less worry about having someone be “designated.”
My FI’s brother & sister-in-law did shuttle runs for their wedding, which was about 30 mins down a windy river road–and I’ve always thought that was a spectacular idea. And as I understand it (this was pre-me), there was only positive feedback from guests about having a shuttle…
As a lot of others were saying, if the weather isn’t too hot then def go for the school buses!
Love the schoolbus!!!! And you should get some pix of the two of you in it, on it, around it— so fun!
[...] groomsmen and Mr. Cherry Pie got on their bus. My entourage and I got onto ours. You remember our school bus shuttles? Yeah, everyone RSVP’d that they’d ride them, and then no one did. Welp, city folk, [...]
Love the schoolbus idea! Just curious, how did you handle the RSVP for the shuttle? Did you include that on the RSVP with the invitations? We really want to have a shuttle, but we’re not sure how many to reserve.
@mountaingirl: Hey there! Yes, we had a box people could check to indicate whether or not they wanted to ride the shuttle. This gave us a measurement of how many buses we needed to rent. The bummer is that most of the people who said yes didn’t end up riding the bus. So we had private shuttles! I’m glad we had them still, and they were NOT expensive. But something to keep n mind.
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Miss Cherry Pie, Seattle/Polebridge, Montana
Age and Occupation: 25, Marketing Communications Specialist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Nurse Practitioner
Engagement Date: August 26, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: April 1, 2008
Venue: A tiny town just outside of Glacier National Park
About Me: I think of life as a journey and I love the places it's taking me! I went to school to study Magazine Journalism, ended up with a second major in Japanese language, and now work at a company that makes software for libraries. I love writing, computers, photography, and the great outdoors. I spend most of my time playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band or geeking out online with Mr. Cherry Pie. I'm happiest when I'm on the road, especially traveling abroad, or just nesting quietly at home with my sweetie, who is a fabulous cook and bakes a delicious rendition of a certain cherry-filled dessert!
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