What to Include on a Wedding-Guest Itinerary

While preparing for any celebration, especially a destination-wedding weekend when the majority of your guests will be traveling, providing an itinerary both in your initial invitation suite and another copy waiting for them upon arrival is a helpful tool. 

Read the details below to learn more about what I recommend including in your wedding itinerary.

The Event Date, Time & Location

It goes without saying that your wedding-guest itinerary should share what events will take place, what time they will happen, and where they will be. Even if you’ve sent an invitation, it’s helpful to have the entire weekend laid out for guests in one place, as many people don’t remember to bring along the formal, mailed invitation to the actual event, especially when traveling to a destination wedding. 

A good time to provide an itinerary would be when they arrive to their hotel for check-in or inside of custom welcome bags, if you opt to offer those at your event.

Transportation Details

Share what guests should expect related to parking, shuttles, or rideshare instructions. If the venue has valet, say that. If there is limited parking and you suggest they arrive via rideshare, share that. If the venue has no parking and guests are required to ride a shuttle, include that, along with details on where and when the shuttles will pick up attendees. 

Also, when transporting guests via shuttles is the only option, be sure to leave out the address of the wedding venue so they’re not tempted to drive themselves.

Attire

The itinerary is the perfect place to remind guests that you prefer “cocktail attire,” “black-tie admired,” “beach casual,” or the like. This can also be a good spot to share any special details they should know about the venue when selecting their attire. 

For example, if the ceremony or reception is on grass, it can be helpful to tell guests so they don’t bring out their favorite stilettos and get stuck making holes with every stride. Or, if they’re going to be celebrating outside all night, people may appreciate this information so they can consider adding a layer to their attire or bringing along an extra, lower-heeled set of shoes.

Contact Information & Website

In addition to sharing your wedding website, which may include answers to frequently asked questions and/or an easy way to see all of the wedding details in one place, you may also want to include contact information. 

Just in case your guests have questions about the wedding, encounter shuttle mishaps, or experience other hiccups, it’s nice to give them someone to call that is not the couple or the parents of the couple. Your wedding planner or a responsible friend, one who doesn’t mind answering questions on your behalf, are the perfect options to include here.

Written Wedding-Guest Itinerary Examples

Here is an example of a fully written itinerary from a multi-day wedding celebration: 

We look forward to celebrating with you all weekend long! 

Wednesday, August 17th
Welcome Party
7:00pm
Villa Cimbrone
Festive Italian Attire 

Thursday, August 18th
Rehearsal Dinner
7:00pm
Belmond Caruso
Cocktail Attire
This celebration will take place outdoors and on grass. Please keep this in mind as you select your attire and shoes for the evening. 

Friday, August 19th
Ceremony & Celebration
6:00pm
Villa Cimbrone 
Black Tie
Shuttles will depart from Belmond Caruso promptly at 5:15pm and return throughout the evening. 

Saturday, August 20th
Farewell Excursion
Details to be Announced

For additional details, please visit our website, [include your wedding website], or contact our wedding planner at [include your planner’s email contact information]. 

Here is an example of an itinerary for a more traditional wedding: 

We look forward to celebrating with you! 

Saturday, August 20th
Ceremony & Celebration
6:00pm
Rosewood Miramar Beach
Black Tie

This celebration will take place outdoors and on grass. Please keep this in mind as you select your attire and shoes for the evening. Rideshare is encouraged, however valet is available.

Overall, the itinerary should prepare your guests’ expectations for the wedding, as well as anticipate their needs as they’re planning for your big day. It should include high-level details presented in a clear and concise way. If it is too verbose, expect lots of questions from your guests, so no matter what, keep everything brief and informative.

For more tips from Beth Helmstetter of Beth Helmstetter Events, Inc., discover what to do once you get engaged, find out how to curate your wedding reception music, and learn how to keep your wedding guests on the dance floor.

This story was originally published in the Spring 2023 issue of Inside Weddings magazine. To order a copy of the Spring 2023 issue, visit our library of Inside Weddings back issues available for purchase.