If guests are travelling a large distance to your wedding, it is quite probable that they will need somewhere to stay, at least for one night. It is quite understandable that the bride and groom may not be able to host them themselves. It is a good idea to put together a list of accommodation which you can send out with invitations to help guests find somewhere suitable to stay.
Some reception venues will stipulate a minimum number of bedrooms to be booked for the wedding, so do make sure these are filled before suggesting other accommodation to guests.
Unless you are paying for guest accommodation yourselves, which is unusual, make sure there are options in a range of price brackets. If you have time, check out the hotels or guest houses beforehand, so you can make personal recommendations. If you have lots of out of town guests you could even strike a good deal with the hotel or block rooms. Encourage your guests to book their own accommodation rather than block-booking on their behalf, which can leave you liable for the cost of any rooms that are not used.
Some of your guests may like to stay on a bit longer, so why not look for self catering options as well.
If local accommodation is not an option you could ask family or friends that live close to the wedding to host families, but it is important to match guests appropriately if they don’t know their host families already. For example if you have an elderly couple, it is best to pair them with an equally senior couple. Similarly if you have a family with young children, if you pair them with a family also will children, they will be used to the noise that comes with having children. If you are going to do this you need to let the host know as soon as possible and make the host details known to the out of town guests so they can make arrangements promptly. If may be a nice idea to drop a note to the hosts thanking them for their generosity.
