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All you need to know about hosting out-of-town wedding guests
In a world getting smaller and with our horizons getting bigger, our family and friends often reside throughout the country—if not the world. As you begin to plan your wedding, it’s important to factor in these long-distance relationships and keep in mind that many of your guests may be making a long journey to share in your celebration, and therefore, may require a little extra attention in your plans.
We’ve done the work for you, gathering local experts’ advice and ideas for making your out-of-town guests feel right at home.
Save-the-Dates
Sending save-the-date cards is a great way to announce your engagement and help out-of-town guests prepare and plan for your wedding. In today’s busy, jam-packed world, a save-the-date card—sent with plenty of notice—is essential to ensuring your friends and family are available to share in your celebration. Sent six to 12 months in advance, a save-the-date card gives far-away friends and family the benefits of advanced bookings and package deals with flights and accommodations.
This is especially important if you are getting married over the holidays or on a popular wedding date (like this year’s hot date: 9/9/09). A save-the-date card should be simple and concise, and should include the bride and groom’s names, the wedding date, the wedding city and state, and possibly some accommodation ideas.
Wedding Web Site or Newsletter
A wedding Web site or a printed newsletter can be a great communication tool for you and your out-of-town guests. Amber Sawaya, a recent Utah bride and local Web designer, created a Web site for her own nuptials and encourages other brides to do the same. “You can use local vendors to build your Web site, for example Xmission.com, and find a local freelance designer to help you design the site,” she suggests. Online sites such as weddingwindow.com or weddingtracker.com allow brides to create their own wedding Web sites.
Anything wedding-related can be included on a Web site or newsletter, but some ideas that will specifically help out-of-towners include: a timeline of events leading up to the wedding, such as showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and the rehearsal dinner; a list of gift registry locations and Web sites so guests can purchase and send a gift rather than traveling with bulky or fragile items; accommodation information for your block-booked hotels, as well as alternative accommodation ideas; local airport information and directions; an itinerary of events for the wedding with directions to locations; information on local weather and attire suggestions for the season and various wedding events; tourist information about your city with information on local attractions.
Invitations
Invitations can incorporate a lot of information into one little envelope. Invites should be sent to out-of-town guests approximately eight weeks prior to the wedding date. A custom-designed pocket invitation with individual cards can include helpful, well-organized information for out-of-towners. Pocket invitations can contain reply cards, gift registry information, invitations to other events like the rehearsal dinner or a post-wedding brunch, and accommodation and travel information. You can even help your out-of-town guests with their packing by making attire suggestions on the invitation based on the season and location of your wedding.
Welcome Packs
Surprise your out-of-town guests with a gift bag or basket in their hotel room upon arrival. A welcome pack is a thoughtful way to show your guests you appreciate them traveling to attend your wedding. Include small goodies and toiletries in the pack to make your guests feel comfortable and relaxed, as well as information about your city to help familiarize them with the area.
Arlynn Muehlmann from Rocky Mountain Baskets and Gifts in Park City suggests including regional delicacies and snacks in your welcome pack—a great way to support local vendors and introduce your guests to some of the tastes of Utah. She also says you can customize welcome packs to fit wedding themes and colors: Tie a basket with ribbon in your wedding color, place items in a container that matches your theme (a galvanized bucket for a country-western wedding, for example), or print a gift bag or picnic tote with your initials and wedding date for a personal touch.
Accommodation Assistance
Block-book hotels close to your wedding venue as soon as possible to ensure there are plenty of rooms available for out-of-town guests. Provide your guests with a selection of at least three hotels, taking into account varying budgets. Inform your guests of the block-booked price quoted from the hotels. Check ahead with each hotel to see if they will offer shuttle services to/from the airport and to your wedding events, and inform guests so they can plan for alternate transportation if necessary.
“Remember, not all your guests are Internet-savvy—some may need accommodation and travel information in writing rather than referring them to a Web site,” says Jacque Riehl, owner of Riehl Events in Salt Lake City.
Riehl suggests you help guests traveling with children plan for child-care services. “If your budget allows, provide a nanny service on the day of the wedding. If this is not within your budget, provide your guests with reliable babysitting or nanny service contact details three months out so they can make bookings ahead of time.”
Activities and Events
Out-of-town guests should be invited to all events and activities during your wedding weekend. Lillie Garrido, owner of Soirée Productions in Park City, suggests organizing a “welcome event” for your guests, such as an informal barbecue or casual cocktail hour. The rehearsal dinner also provides the perfect opportunity to welcome out-of-towners, and gives them the chance to meet family and friends before the wedding.
Garrido also suggests organizing a common area in a hospitality suite at your guests’ hotel where they can meet and mingle over the weekend. “Create a lounge area, complete with fresh fruit, snacks, bottled water, drinks, music and television,” she says.
Allow your guests some downtime, however, and an opportunity to explore on their own. (You don’t have to pay for everything or plan every minute of their weekend.) In their welcome pack, include a list of local activities and attractions. Encourage guests to plan group activities so they can spend time together and get to know one another, as well as share transportation costs and take advantage of discounted group rates.
A post-wedding brunch is a great way to round out the weekend. Guests can spend more time catching up with you and your hubby and have a chance to say farewell before you leave on your honeymoon. And you can thank your out-of-town guests one last time for making the trip to be part of your celebration.
