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Transportation and Logistics

Our hotel blocks were made easy because of the Woman’s Club’s location in Midtown Atlanta. The Four Seasons is approximately two blocks from the ATLWC and the Marriott Suites approximately three blocks. Our first logistical decision was to reserve room blocks at both of those hotels, which we did well in advance and therefore were able to get great rates, on a holiday, during the Peach Bowl. Planning in advance here really helps as the hotel has absolutely no idea what their bookings will be over a year out and you are able to get great rates. We also reserved a block at a boutique hotel in Atlanta’s Downtown area, the Ellis. All of the blocks that we reserved were cancellable with no penalty – a great feature.

We were very lucky in our location, as all of the hotels were also very convenient to area restaurants. We provided everyone some area information in the [intlink id=”1005″ type=”post”]RSVP packets[/intlink] and [intlink id=”4086″ type=”post”]OOT baskets[/intlink] so that they knew what was closeby.

In light of the fact that many guests were flying in, we also determined early that transportation was going to be necessary to the Welcome Party and the Vow Renewal.

For the Welcome Party, it was a no-brainer. It’s Braves all the way, you see, so we set out to find the official transportation provider of the Braves and succeeded. Elite Transportation provided us with a bus with a Braves logo. I love the little detail of the guests being picked up by the actual Braves bus!

braves bus
{Image courtesy of Jenna}

atlanta braves bus elite transportation
{Guest’s personal collection}

braves bus
{Image courtesy of Jenna}

Although two of our hotels were very close to the ATLWC, with the unknown possibilities of rain and snow and the lack of parking in the Midtown area, it was deemed better safe than sorry, and we decided on a trolley. We actually had to do quite a bit of research to find a traditional red trolley in Atlanta, but after a few hours of hunting, I found Great Knight Tours.

This was supposed to be my trolley:

atlanta trolley

It was supposed to be gorgeous and classic and red, and have the “City of Danville” on the side, which is my dad’s hometown.  It was supposed to make my father feel all gooey inside and be a really special moment.

This is what we got:


{Jessica Claire}

Can we say “NOT MY TROLLEY”?  I actually just found this out when I received the picture from Jessica… and honestly I’m glad I didn’t see it last week because I would have been very upset.  I’m *still* very upset, and I am calling the company to try to deal with this – not only is the blue trolley is nowhere to be found on their website, but there were multiple conversations with the owner about having the red City of Danville trolley, including the fact that it was my father’s hometown..  So, be warned if you rent from Planet Double Deckers / Great Knight Tours.

It appears that my guests didn’t notice though!

trolley
{Image via Feisty Tourist}

We did not provide transportation to the Day-After Brunch, as we wanted to make it a drop-in, and it turned out that everyone staying at the downtown hotel drove to town and therefore were able to drive themselves easily.

Did you provide transportation for your guests? What kind of logistical difficulties did you have with your location?

E.