This was a wedding I attended last year. It was a destination wedding so guests really had to make an effort to book flights and hotel, and here's what happened:
1. The venue was not accessible with no local traspo, taxis or car rentals available. (It was in a mountain area) We were able to arrange airport pick up from our "inn" (they don't have enough hotels), but the other inns or b&bs don't even have airport pick up.
No transpo was also provided from the church to reception and back to your hotel. Van rentals were provided only for "select" guests, for the rest of us, we had to figure out our way. As I said there were no taxis or even jeeps available.Good thing we had a friend who travelled by land and brought a car so we were able to hitch. Other guests did the same, naki-hitch, para-paraan but no one even checked on us and asked how we would get to their separate venues at that.
2. It was insanely hot! People were in suits and gowns and were really roasting inside the church. The wall fans were not enough because it was extremely humid. Portable coolers should have been rented or at the very least provide abanico fans. Later on we were thankful to find provisions for cold bottled water, only to find out it was only for the entourage and the ninongs. It was torturous watching them drink the cold water while we were literally sweating at the back.
3. We did not have seats during the reception. This was the WORST. You fly, scramble for a hotel room (there was very limited accommodation available), block off your calendar, hitch a ride, and really make an effort to be there for the couple only to find out that you don't even have a table. This happened to several guests whose names went missing. Its offensive when this happens in Manila but so much more when it's a destination wedding because of the expense, time, and effort involved just to be there.
And again, it was a garden wedding in a very, very hot location with no portable coolers provided.It was sooo hot that later on the men took off their suits and ended up just wearing their under shirts, people whose hotels were near the reception venue ( the lucky few) were already in slippers, and everyone was generally just stripping down to be comfortable. Formalities were totally forgotten. That's how uncomfortable it was.
I appreciate nice flowers and event styling, but at that point I was thinking the couple could have diverted the money they spent on event styling, expensive gowns, and other aesthetics maybe to things that could have made the guests more comfortable and appreciated: iwata coolers, vehicles to transport all guests from church to reception, bottled water, and the like.
From being very hot and humid, it started to rain naman later on, at which point the ninongs, entourage and family members all seated in front, opened their umbrellas, aptly provided by the couple. This, while the rest of us, seated at the back all started to get drenched. A guest seated beside me couldn't help but comment " Is there a class system here?"
I think as friends of the couple we all try to be supportive and not bother them with our troubles because we already know that they're stressed and pre-occupied with so many things. Pero sobra naming pag le-let go and pagiging chill ito. Parang except for the VIP guests, it was pretty much each man to himself. We felt like our efforts to travel there and join them on their special day was not appreciated at all :-(.
I guess my point is, all couples, especially the brides have their dream wedding, and you want to fulfill it (hold it in a specific venue), do it a certain way ( i.e garden wedding), and get your dream suppliers as much as possible. But also consider the accessibility of your location and comfort of your guests. These are things that you shouldn't save on especially if your venue is out of the way.
