Byron Bay weddings almost always happen somewhere with a beautiful view and a narrow road, and the guests arrive from three different airports. Transport is where a well-planned day either holds together or slips half an hour behind. This is the planning we do with couples, in the order we do it.
Work backwards. If the ceremony is at 4pm, guests should be seated by 3:45pm, which means arriving from 3:20pm, which sets the first pickup time once you know where people are staying. We build the run sheet from that single fixed point and everything else falls into place.
Most Byron weddings need two or three pickup windows rather than one: the couple and immediate family first, then the main guest movement, then anyone arriving from further afield.
It depends less on the head count than on how tight the window is. A single vehicle can shuttle a hinterland venue several times if guests are staying nearby and the road is short. A one-shot arrival for everyone at once needs more vehicles running in parallel.
Tell us the guest numbers, the accommodation postcodes and the ceremony time and we will tell you honestly what it takes: we would rather size it correctly than sell you a vehicle you do not need.
This is the part that goes wrong most often. Rideshare coverage out of the hinterland late at night is thin, and a venue curfew does not care. Book the departures at the same time as the arrivals, in staged waves so nobody is standing in a driveway at 11pm.
A late run is the same arranged fare as an early one, and we would rather be booked in advance than called at 10:45pm.
Wedding guests arrive through all three airports. Our fixed fares from the airports to Byron Bay are $79 from Ballina Byron Gateway, $189 from Gold Coast and $399 from Brisbane, the same in either direction, with 10% off the return leg on a return booking.
Plenty of couples send those fares to guests with the invitation so people can arrange their own arrivals with a known price. We are happy to coordinate multiple guest bookings under the one wedding date instead.
How far ahead should we book wedding transport? As early as you have a venue and a ceremony time. Byron Bay wedding weekends and school holidays fill first, and an early booking lets us hold the right number of vehicles.
Can you handle guests arriving from different airports? Yes. We run Ballina Byron Gateway, Gold Coast and Brisbane airports every week and can coordinate multiple guest arrivals around one wedding date.
Can you run late departures after the reception? Yes, and we recommend booking them at the same time as the arrivals. Staged departure waves work best where a venue has a curfew.