Wedding Blog
There is one issue that I’ve noticed while wedding planning that has become one of my greatest aggravations: parking.
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When we went to visit venues, they paid for our parking. When Mom H and I went to wedding events, we usually received a sticker to cover our parking. So why, I ask, do venues charge you for parking? I wouldn’t ever ask our guests to pay for their own parking at the event to which I invited them, even though our venue gives us a discounted rate on parking.
Not only do most venues charge for parking, but they charge outrageously. Originally we were asked to pay $10 for each car, and we negotiated down to $5. In the end, if we estimate 180 to come, and we’ll guesstimate 90-100 cars, that’s a whopping $450 - $500 just for cars.
Now I do realize that it’s valet parking and there is probably some public parking in the near vicinity of the venue, but I want our guests to be able to pull up, hop out of their car and come right on up to the reception. If the hotels can pay for their own events to have their guests have free parking, why can’t they waive this fee for their client who is about to drop a decent chunk of change for one night?
How did you all handle the parking for your weddings?
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I hear ya! However, unless $3,000 magically drops out of the sky and into my hands (and even then, I could think of many other ways to spend it!), we won’t be able to afford parking for our guests in Old City, Philadelphia. There are several lots WAY close to the reception site, though, so I’m feeling okay about it.
I feel the same way! Our hotel was valet-only and there is no public parking anywhere nearby, so we had to pay for everyone’s parking. It was a pricey chunk of change.
I struggle with this as well. Unfortunately, our venue does not have its own parking, so there is no reasonable way for us to organize payment. Actually, I feel worse about making our guests search for parking, since many are from rural areas and are freaked out by city driving. (The venue is serviced by multiple modes of public transit, and we provided information). I have had to pay for parking at weddings before – it irked me a little, but I also understood. I hope our guests do, too.
I think it’s one of those things that is acceptable, but it’s appreciated if you can arrange to pay the cost. $10 is pretty steep – but $5 is much more reasonable. Good negotiating!
$5 is CHEAP!! I wish we could do something like that. However, in San Francisco, where the going rate to park downtown for work for a full day is $32/day . . . .
We’re providing a shuttle between the church and the reception, and a shuttle after the reception instead. That way no one will be encouraged to drive themselves home after the party and the drinks. (They can take taxis or public transportation to the church in the first place.) But arranging the shuttles has been one of the most aggravating parts of wedding planning to date!
We had to pay for two valets for the night of our wedding. The contract said we needed one valet for every 40 guests, we have 100 guests and luckily they are only charging us for the two. We are still having to pay $300 for the four hours!
unfortunately many resorts and large venues charge–I would say that $5 is a pretty inexpensive fee per car–our venue charged $15! We were fortunate that many of our guests were staying at the resort already so the hotel waived the fee for those guests so we ended up having to pay for only about 20 cars. Still pretty pricey though!
I don’t think that’s too bad… The hotel I’m staying at in Houston has valet parking for $12/hour.
There is a free lot by the park our reception will be in, but it fills up fast on nice days (there is a beach close by). If that fills up, our guests will have to find their own street parking. I am begging people to carpool and take cabs, but I realize not everyone wants to do that. I feel bad about parking, but there is nothing I can do besides change venues.
Our venue charges $8.00 per car, so we are giving them a credit card that will be charged after the event so our guests won’t have to pay. Thinking of that… I need to get that taken care of this week!
Ummmm - $5 is pretty cheap for parking for the whole evening. Most city hotels do charge parking - even for their guests. I was just in Seattle for the weekend, for a three-night stay at a nice hotel on First Hill, and paid $60 for parking for that period of time (in the hotel garage). I have yet to live in a city that is any different. If you want free parking, I suggest that you find a venue out in the ‘burbs.
Yeah, one of the sites we looked had to have valet parking and I said no way. I stayed in a hotel for my fiance’s brother’s wedding in Manhattan that was $40 a night and we were there a couple days. It was NOT cheap.
just pay for the parking….it’s a nice touch and totally worth it…you do not want guests to have to even pay tip when they leave your wedding….leaves bad taste in your mouth…..
I consider myself extremely lucky - my fiance’s family runs a parking and valet company!!! While its nice when I need a spot for an event, its even better for our wedding!!!
I had never even CONSIDERED this until a recent episode of “Whose Wedding is it Anyway”, when they dropped the $15 parking issue on the bride at the last minute. Totally agree with you that they should at least discount the parking, when you’re giving them so much business.
Our parking runs $16 for 6 hours or $32 for the entire day. We can’t afford another $1000 for parking, so we will be offering valet tickets for those nearest and dearest (I guess the wedding should be all of those nearest and dearest, but it isn’t) and everyone else may have to walk a block or two from the parking garages nearby. I wish that didn’t have to be the case!
Our parking is $12 per person, which would be about $800 for us to pay if we wanted to pay for our guests, which we just can’t afford. They don’t offer a discount, but it’s possible for guests to find street parking, so we’re just going to suck it up and hope our peeps don’t hate us for making them shell out the dough.
Parking is disgustingly outrageous in the city! We’re fortunate that there’s free parking at our venue, but it’s extremely limited and I’ve been kind of worried that our guests won’t have anywhere to park. I think I would rather pay $5 a car to be assured they have somewhere to park, but it’s an outrageous amount for us to pay too. Good luck!
Our wedding is in Chicago, and most of our guests are out of town too. I hate to make the guests pay for their own parking, but we really cannot afford it.
Hotel parking is $36/night
Parking in a lot next to our wedding venue is $8.
The hotel isn’t far from where our wedding will be…maybe a $7 cab ride.
Is it wrong that we’re not providing a shuttle?
We just figured that a lot of the guests who have cars will help with giving rides to guests who don’t.
Thanks for any advice!
I am having this dilemma. We live in Miami. The valet at the hotel we’re getting married at is $25 per car. If they stay over night its $32. We’re having about 35 people at our wedding. We really can’t afford the parking on top of everything else. We tried getting in touch with the company to get it discounted, but they won’t call us back and the hotel out sources their valet. There is street parking and public lots near by. Is it really that bad to let our guest figure out their own parking?
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Mrs. Hydrangea, Dallas
Age and Occupation: 26, Administrative Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Network Analyst
Engagement Date: June 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: January 14, 2008
Venue: Catholic Church and Reception at The W Hotel
About Me: Mr. H and I come from very different cultures and backgrounds so I'm excited to plan our wedding with a balance of both traditions. My mom has always been a DIY queen, and I'm just now starting to get into it with a new house and a wedding to plan!
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