Short answer
Ask guests for their flights three to four months before the wedding, send reminders at six weeks and three weeks, and lock the list two weeks before so transfers can be planned. In the week of the wedding, follow every arrival live and check guests in at the airport, then do the same for departures on the way home.
Key points
- Ask for flights once most guests have booked, usually three to four months before.
- Two reminders are enough: one at six weeks, one at three weeks.
- Lock the list two weeks before and send it to the transfer company.
- The week of the wedding, follow arrivals live and plan pickups by the hour.
- Departures need the same care as arrivals, especially the morning after the party.
The timeline at a glance
A destination wedding usually brings guests in over two or three days and sends them home over one or two. Most of the stress comes from flight details that are missing or wrong and get found too late. A simple timeline prevents that: ask early, remind twice, lock the list, then follow every flight live.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 3 to 4 months before | Ask every guest for their arrival and departure flights |
| 6 weeks before | First reminder to guests who have not answered |
| 3 weeks before | Second reminder, then check the list for mistakes |
| 2 weeks before | Lock the list and plan transfers by the hour |
| The week of the wedding | Follow arrivals live and check guests in at the airport |
| The days after | Follow departures and confirm who boarded |
Three to four months before: ask for flights
Ask once most guests have booked, which is often soon after the save the date and the hotel block. Ask much earlier and many guests have nothing to give you yet. Ask much later and the hotel and the transfer company are left waiting on you.
Ask for the exact details
Flight number, date and arrival airport, for the way in and the way home. A flight number and date are enough to track a flight. An airline and a city name are not.
Ask about connections
Guests often give their first flight only. The flight that matters to you is the last leg, the one that lands at your airport.
Use one link
A short form or link on the wedding website gets more answers than a reply by email, and guests can come back to fix their flights later.
Give one deadline
Pick a single date, for example six weeks before the wedding. Guests remember one date better than a range.
Six and three weeks before: remind and check
By six weeks, most guests have answered and a few have not. Send a short, friendly reminder to those few only. At three weeks, send a second reminder and start checking what you already have. These are the gaps worth looking for:
- Guests with no flights at all
- Guests with an arrival but no departure
- Connecting trips where only the first flight was given
- Arrivals at an airport you did not plan for
- Dates outside the wedding days, which may be a typo or a longer holiday
Two weeks before: lock the list
Two weeks out, the transfer company needs numbers and the hotel wants arrival times. Lock the list then, and treat anything that comes in later as a change. Changes will still happen: a guest moves a flight, a couple adds a night, an airline shifts a schedule. Keeping one list as the source of truth makes each change quick to handle.
Group arrivals into pickups by the hour. Flights that land within about an hour of each other can usually share one vehicle. Leave some room for long connections, which are the flights most likely to run late. Plan departures the same way, working back from each flight time and the drive to the airport.
The week of the wedding
This is when flights change most. Schedules move, connections get tight and the odd flight is cancelled. You want to hear about it before the shuttle leaves, not when a guest calls from the arrivals hall.
Set a delay limit
Decide how late a flight can be before you act, for example 30 minutes, and get an alert when a flight passes it.
Check the day each morning
Look at who lands today, at which airport and at what time, and confirm the pickups with the driver.
Give greeters a list
Whoever meets guests should see who is due on each flight and mark each guest checked in as they come out.
Move late guests
When a flight passes your limit, move that guest to a later pickup and tell the driver straight away.
The wedding days and departures
Once everyone has landed, things go quiet until the first guests fly home. Use that gap to confirm departure pickups. The day after the wedding is often the busiest, with early flights after a late night.
- Confirm each departure pickup the day before
- Leave extra time on the morning after the party
- Watch for cancelled flights: those guests may need another night or a new plan
- Note who boarded, so you know who is still in town