Saving our Wedding Guests Some Money

Finally! A wedding related post! It's been forever.

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Obviously saving money is a BIG concern for us when planning our wedding. But I am not only concerned about saving B's and my money, I am also concerned about saving our wedding guests money. I am very aware that it is a lot to ask of our guests to travel to attend our wedding. That means they will need to pay for a plane ticket or gas, hotel, eating out, cabs or rental cars, etc. I want to do as much as I can to reduce some of that cost.

Accommodations

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Obviously, we can save our guests money by reserving a block of hotel rooms at a certain rate. Another way my wedding guests can save money on accommodations is by renting a vacation home and sharing it with other guests. That's what B and I did with 2 other couples for the last wedding we attended in Denver. It was so much fun and we saved a ton of money! Sometime between now and March I will be doing some research on VRBO to find some rental homes around the area and posting links on our wedding website so that our guests have some easy to find alternatives.

Airfare

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Did you know that you can secure a discounted price for plane ticket flying to or from a particular airport? American Airlines will offer a discount to your wedding guests if they are all flying into or out of the same airport. I am sure there are other airlines that offer this service as well, but since we have a lot of guests that will fly out of DFW, American makes the most sense for us. Once we get a little closer to our wedding day, I will submit a proposal through AA.com and find out what kind of rate they can offer us.

Transportation

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We are lucky to be getting married in an area that is pretty central to everything. It is less than 5 miles from the airport and downtown, so guests may not need to rent a car to get around. However, I am sure people are not going to walk to the wedding, no matter how close, and it seems like a lot to just rent a car just to drive to the wedding. Of course they could always take a cab, but if there are a large number of people all traveling to and from the hotel, I don't see why they can't ride together. Some hotels will offer a shuttle service if a certain number of guests are all traveling together. Not only will we be saving money because we won't have to rent a bus, but our guests won't have to worry about getting to and from the wedding.

If guests do plan on staying in town for some time and want to rent a car, there are some car rentals that will offer a group rate, like Budget.

Food and Entertainment

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Like most big cities, there are lots of places in San Diego that are destinations in and of themselves. The Zoo, Balboa Park, Sea World, Petco Park, etc. Some places will offer deals or discounts for large groups or a certain amount of tickets purchased together. There are also a number of restaurants that I will definitely be recommending to my out of town guests and I am hoping that with a little sweet talk I can get a few coupons I can throw into our out-of-town gift bags.

Are there any other ways I can save my guests money traveling for our wedding?