How to plan transport for your Italian Wedding
Planning transport for an Italian wedding is a minefield. Transport itself varies between areas and with often remote wedding or guest accommodation locations, it can be a challenge to plan. Especially without spending a small fortune. Here’s a few things we’ve learnt over the years.
Before we get in to it as a rule of thumb, taxis are not readily available in many parts of Italy. Even in the daytime. Start with this thinking and it will bode well further in to planning.
Budget for transport at the start of planning. Even if you’re unsure of exactly what you’ll need, put at least 800 euro aside for a bus of some sort and it won’t be a surprise if some transport is required later on.
When choosing your venue, consider where guests could stay nearby and make note of this for later. A rule is the fewer places guests stay and the closer they are to the location will make transport a lot easier to co-ordinate further down the line. Also find out what sort of transport can get to the venue. Buses come in a range of sizes but remote places can only take smaller buses. If you have 120 people trying to get somewhere very remote, it’s like you’ll need a lot of small buses and this just wouldn’t be a viable location.
Start the transport conversation early in your guest communications. If you intend to put transport on for guests, mention this and perhaps also mention that it will only be to certain locations ie. a town or a range of accommodations.
At the point of securing transport, use a renowned company that has great reviews, modern and air-conditioned buses. It’s possible that when you book, you won’t know exactly where your guests are staying and what the exact routes and numbers will be, but it’s worth holding buses early on to get good buses at good prices, especially if your wedding falls around holidays or big events in the Italian or regional calendar.
At the point of booking you’ll be asked how many guests you have, where they will be going to and from and what sort of hours you’ll need the buses for. It’s unlikely you’ll get a quote without providing this information.
If you have multiple pick-ups and drop offs, it may be best for the guests experience to have multiple buses or shuttles. No one wants to be on a bus at the end of the night for 2 hours while the bus goes from place to place…
If everyone is close to the venue and there are a lot of guests, having a smaller bus doing quick shuttles to and from the wedding can be economical.
If guests are staying at large hotels, it’s very likely they’ll be able to get a taxi booked to get to the wedding via their accommodation. This can be a good strategy when you’re looking to reduce the guests getting the bus or if the hotel is a bit out of the way.
If you have a wedding planner, they will help you work through this logistical puzzle and get the best outcome for you based on regional knowledge and the number and location of your guests. Local knowledge is key to getting this to work and ensure that the guests experience is fantastic. No one wants to be waiting around in the sunshine for a late bus!
Check out La Lista recommended transport members for Puglia and Tuscany (coming soon).
If you have any wedding specific questions for us, join our private Facebook group where you’ll find the La Lista team and hundreds of other planning couples offering advice, recommendations and moral support!
Written by Lucy White, Founder of La Lista & Wiskow & White, with over 5 years and 150 weddings worth of experience.
