Guests
Looking after out-of-town guests at a Vermont wedding
Give traveling wedding guests the actual event buildings, arrival times, lodging booking terms and transport plan. Hotel Champlain’s wedding page states it does not provide an airport shuttle despite offering guest room blocks. A lodging reservation is therefore not evidence that airport or ceremony transfers are included.
Write the arrival instructions for each guest group
Distinguish people attending only the ceremony from those staying for a weekend. Provide the event entrance, approved parking or drop-off point, named room and contact for a late arrival. If an assumed shuttle departs at 3 pm for a 3:30 arrival, publish the departure as well as the ceremony time, after the driver confirms the route.
Give guests an offline copy of directions and the final itinerary. State the actual indoor or outdoor arrangements, invited children, access contact and return transport.
Ask for personal access needs privately. A room-block link should include its booking cutoff and the provider’s availability conditions rather than implying everyone has a guaranteed room.
References
Out-of-town guests need five things from you, and most can be answered in one page on your wedding website. Where to sleep, and how early to book it. How to get there, with directions that work without cell signal.
What to wear and pack for the season and the hour. What the weekend schedule is. And what is available for children and for guests who need access.
Many guests will drive in from Boston, New York and Montreal, and Burlington's airport is the state's largest. Rural venues sit far from a town, so a guest who arrives without a plan can lose an hour. Tell them the plan before they book anything, and update it once.
What to tell out-of-town guests before they book
Which nights the wedding weekend covers, and any events on Friday and Sunday.
Where to stay, with a room block or a list, and when rooms fill.
How far the venue is from lodging, and whether a shuttle runs.
Whether children are invited, and what is arranged for them
What the weather is likely to do, and what to wear for an outdoor evening.
Directions and travel to a rural Vermont wedding venue
Give directions that work without a phone map: the last three turns, a landmark, and the venue's entrance in words, since cell coverage is uneven in the hills and a guest who arrives on a secondary road at dusk with no signal will not find a driveway that the map shows a quarter mile away. See signage for arrows on the road.
Tell guests how long the drive from the nearest interstate takes, once you have tried it. Say whether a shuttle will meet them. See parking and valet.
- What out-of-town guests should pack for a Vermont wedding
- Say what to wear and what to bring for the season. Autumn evenings are cold and dark early. Late spring brings insects; Soft ground favors flat shoes. See Vermont weather surprises.
If guests need to bring anything special, such as boots for a mud-season road, say so; Access and children for guests travelling to a Vermont wedding; For families, say whether children are welcome and what is arranged. See childcare and kids.
Are children welcome at Vermont weddings?
That is your decision. Say so on the invitation and the website, and apply any exceptions to everyone in the same position. See childcare for arranging care.
How do I welcome guests on arrival?
A welcome bag, a Friday gathering or a note at the inn. Any of them tells guests the schedule and the plan for the weekend. See favors for what to put in a bag.
How early do guests need to book lodging?
As soon as you have the date and a venue. Once you have the date and a venue, share the lodging list, so guests can book before popular weekends fill. See guest lodging.
Do out-of-town guests need to know the venue's rules?; Yes: parking, children, dress and end time. Put them on the website so guests do not learn them on arrival, and add anything the venue restricts, such as flame or pets.
- Wedding Website & Registry
- What a wedding website should say for a rural Vermont venue: directions, lodging, weather and transport information, without publishing private guest details.
- Weather surprises
- The weather problems couples miss for a Vermont wedding: cold nights in the hills, insects in outdoor spaces and the backup arrangements for rain or wind.
More in The Vermont wedding weekend: Vermont bachelor, bachelorette and bridal shower ideas, Vermont wedding guest lodging, Vermont rehearsal dinner.