Help for Out-of-Town Guests
Because you'll likely be inviting out-of-town guests to a large wedding, you may want to make sure that their needs are taken care of — after all, they're shelling out a considerable amount of cash to attend this event; they'll appreciate knowing that you're concerned about their well-being. Consider finding and reserving a block of rooms at a nearby hotel. Some hotels will offer a discounted price for reserving multiple rooms.
Include a map of the area in the invitations that are being sent to nonlocals, a list of things to do between the ceremony and reception (or during any downtime), and explicit directions from the hotel to the ceremony and reception sites.
ESSENTIAL
If you do reserve a block of rooms for out-of-towners, make sure the hotel is clean enough for the nit-pickiest Jane, and not above the average Joe's means. You'll be hunted down at the reception if you put your guests in a seedy motel.
Keep in mind that some people have no sense of direction. (It doesn't matter if they're blood relatives of yours, and you've given yourself the nickname of The Human Compass.) In addition to sending guests north or west on a certain route, include some landmarks so that even the most hopeless navigators will know that they're headed in the right — or wrong — direction.
