Good wedding venue directions for guests come in two parts: a map link that opens turn-by-turn navigation to the exact entrance, and a few written lines for what a map cannot say, such as where to turn in, where to park, when to arrive and who to call. Put the venue name, full address and start time on the invitation, and the rest on a printed details card or in your digital invitation.
If you send a digital wedding invitation, the map link and the written lines can sit together under each event, so a guest taps once and sees both. On paper, the directions travel on a separate card in the envelope. Below is a checklist of what to include, sample wording for both formats, and what to do when the venue has two locations or sits down a lane where the map pin lands in the wrong place.
The wedding directions checklist
Go through this list with your venue’s contact details open. Skip the lines that do not apply to you; the “when it matters” column tells you which ones those are.
| Include | What to write | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Venue name and full address | The name guests will see on the sign, then street, town and postal code | Include it whatever the venue. Names can repeat, so the town and code separate yours from a namesake elsewhere |
| Map link to the entrance | A link to a pin on the gate or car park, not to the venue’s listing | When the listing points to an office, a back gate or the middle of the grounds |
| Plus code | The short code Google Maps gives a dropped pin, such as “JJXX+HR8, Seattle” | When the venue has no street number or the address search lands in the wrong place |
| The turn-in | “Turn in at the second gate, signed Barn Weddings” | When the entrance is not where the address puts it |
| Last landmark | The church, pub, farm stand or bridge just before the turn | When phone signal drops near the venue, or the turn comes up suddenly |
| Parking | Where to park, whether it is paid, and what the ground is like | Grass parking, limited spaces, a separate lot, or a fee |
| Drop-off point | Where a car can stop at the door | For older guests and anyone with limited mobility |
| Arrival time | When guests should arrive, not only when the ceremony starts | When there is a walk from the car park, a seating process or a religious ceremony that starts on time |
| Shuttle or coach | Pick-up point, departure time and return time | When you have hired transport, or parking is too tight for every car |
| Accessibility | Step-free route, accessible parking, how far the walk is | When the ceremony spot is down steps, across grass or a distance from the car park |
| Second location | The same lines again for the reception, plus the time to leave | When the ceremony and reception are at different places |
| Contact on the day | One name and number that is not yours | Include it whatever the venue. You will not be answering your phone during the ceremony |
For the last line, pick someone who knows the route and will have their phone on: a relative, the venue coordinator or a friend at the gate. Our guide on which number to give guests covers how to choose and label it.
Where the directions go: invitation, details card or digital invite
The invitation itself stays short. Traditional etiquette puts maps, directions and hotel information for out-of-town guests on separate inserts in the envelope, not on the invitation card.
| Piece | Printed suite | Digital invitation |
|---|---|---|
| Venue name, address, date and time | On the invitation | At the top of each event |
| Map | A drawn map card, a QR code that opens the map, or both | A map link under each event |
| Turn-in, landmark, parking, arrival time | On a details or directions card | In the event description, a line or two each |
| Shuttle times | On the details card | In the event description, or as its own event |
| Hotel and travel information | On a separate card, or on your wedding website | In its own section, or on your wedding website |
| Contact on the day | On the details card | In the event description and in the message with the link |
Keep the directions out of the main invitation text. That way the formal lines stay clean, and you can reprint or edit the directions without touching the invitation. For the wording on the invitation itself, see our wedding invitation wording guide.
Sample wording for a printed directions card
These are examples. Swap in your own venue names, roads and times. A printed card cannot be tapped, so the written lines do the work, and a QR code that opens the map link is worth adding if your printer can place one.
A venue with an easy address
Getting there
The Linden Room, 14 Mill Street, Easton, NY 12834
Parking is free in the lot behind the building. Enter from Water Street.
Please arrive by 2:30 pm. The ceremony begins at 3:00 pm.
On the day, call Priya at 555-0142.
A rural venue
Finding Hollow Farm
Hollow Farm, Ridge Lane, Easton, NY 12834
Map searches for the farm can land at the farmhouse. Instead, follow Ridge Lane for one mile past the white church and turn left at the green barn signed “Weddings”. Park on the grass field on your right.
Flat shoes are a good idea: the walk to the ceremony is about five minutes across the lawn.
Phone signal is weak on Ridge Lane, so load the route before you leave.
Drop-off by the gate is available for anyone who would rather not walk.
Questions on the day: Sam, 555-0187.
Ceremony and reception at different locations
Ceremony
2:00 pm, St. Anne’s Church, 22 High Street, Easton
Street parking only. Please allow time to find a space.Reception
4:30 pm, The Linden Room, 14 Mill Street, Easton
About fifteen minutes by car. A coach leaves the church at 3:45 pm and returns guests to the church at 11:00 pm.
If you print a map card, mark the ceremony, reception, parking and shuttle pick-up, and label only the roads guests will drive on. Ask a friend who has never been to the venue to follow the card before you print it.
Sample wording for a digital invitation or message
A digital invitation can hold the map link and the written lines in the same place, one event at a time. Write each event description as if the guest is reading it in the car park.
Event description, ceremony
Ceremony, Saturday, June 12, 2027, 3:00 pm
Hollow Farm, Ridge Lane, Easton, NY 12834
Tap Directions for the route to the gate. Turn left at the green barn signed “Weddings” and park on the grass field. Please be seated by 2:45 pm.
Event description, reception
Reception, 5:00 pm
The Linden Room, 14 Mill Street, Easton
About twenty minutes from the farm. Parking behind the building, enter from Water Street.
The message you send with the link
Hi Aunty Leela, here is your invitation to our wedding:
[Link]
The venue is down a country lane, so we have put a directions button and the turn-in under each event. Phone signal is patchy near the farm, so open the route before you set off. If you get lost on the day, call Sam at 555-0187.
Send the directions again a few days before the wedding, as a short reminder with the same link and the contact number. It puts the directions at the top of their chat on the morning itself.
Ceremony and reception at different locations
A day with two venues needs its own directions for each one, plus a plan for the time in between.
- Give each event its own address and map link. A guest at the reception should not have to scroll back to the ceremony details to work out where to go next.
- Check the drive at the time guests will make it. A route that takes fifteen minutes on a quiet Sunday can take longer on a Saturday afternoon. Check it in your maps app at that hour, then add slack for cars traveling together.
- Say what happens in the gap. If there is an hour between the ceremony and the reception, tell guests whether to go straight to the reception, check in at the hotel, or wait for photos.
- Give coach guests the pick-up point, not only the venue. Name the exact spot (“the church car park, by the hall door”) and both departure times.
- Invite each guest only to what they are coming to. If the ceremony is family only and friends join for the reception, each guest should see the directions for their events and nothing else.
For several events over one or more days, our guide to putting several events in one invitation covers how to lay out the schedule and replies.
Rural venues where the map pin fails
Some venues are hard to find on a map. A farm listed by the owner’s house, a hall that shares its name with one in the next county, or an estate whose address points to an office at the other end of the grounds can all send guests the wrong way. Three fixes:
- Drop your own pin at the entrance. Stand at the gate on a site visit, or find it on the satellite view, and touch and hold the map to drop a pin. Share that pin’s link instead of searching for the venue’s name.
- Use a plus code. The panel that appears for a dropped pin shows a plus code, a short code for that exact spot that works even where there is no street address. Tap it to copy it, then add it to the directions card and the digital invitation.
- Write the last mile in words. A pin gets guests close. The landmark, the turn-in and the sign on the gate get them in. Signal can drop on country roads, so ask guests to load the route before they leave.
On the day, a sign at the turn and a person at the gate solve what the directions missed. Ask the venue whether they put signs out or whether you should bring your own.
Test the directions before you send them
Run this check once the details are final:
- Open the invitation, or a photo of the printed card, on a phone that is not yours.
- Tap the map link for each event and check it lands on the entrance, not the venue’s listing or the town center.
- Read the written lines to someone who has never been there and ask what they would do at each turn.
- Call the contact number you printed and check the person knows they are on duty.
- If anything changes later, such as the parking, the entrance or the coach time, update the digital invitation and send guests a short note that the directions have changed.
Guests who need more than a link
Some guests may want more than a map link:
- Older relatives may prefer a phone call. Give the route in the terms they know: the road they take, the town before the venue, the landmark at the turn.
- Guests coming from abroad need directions from the airport or the hotel, not from home. Add a line on the nearest station or how long a taxi takes, or point them to your wedding website.
- Guests driving after dark need the turn-in described in a way that works without daylight, such as a lit sign or a gate light. If the lane is unlit, offer a lift or a shuttle.
Directions for every event in one invitation
Link Invitation puts your ceremony, reception and any other events in one invitation, each with its own maps and timelines. For each venue, you add the location name plus the address or city and Link Invitation finds it automatically, or you paste a Google Maps link. For a rural venue, drop your own pin at the entrance in Google Maps and paste that link into the event. Guests get directions to each venue in one tap and save the date to Google, Apple or Outlook with a single tap. You assign each guest to the events they are invited to, and they only see those.
Each guest gets their own invitation link, which you send on WhatsApp with your own message, one tap per guest. If the venue, the parking or the coach time changes, update the invitation once and guests see the latest version at the same link. For printed cards, a scan-to-open QR code takes guests from the paper to the same page with the directions.
Essential is $29 and you build it yourself, free to build and preview before you pay. Excellence is $99 and it is designed for you. Both are a one-time payment per invitation with unlimited guests. See plans and pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Should directions go on the wedding invitation itself?
Put the venue name, full address, date and time on the invitation, and keep turn-by-turn directions off it. Maps, directions and hotel details traditionally travel as separate inserts in the envelope, such as a details or directions card. On a digital invitation, put a map link and a short written note under each event, so the formal wording stays clean and the directions can be updated.
Do I still need a map card if I send a digital invitation?
You can skip it if your guests get the digital invitation, because it can carry a map link for each venue that opens turn-by-turn directions on the guest’s phone. A drawn map card is still useful for a rural venue, a multi-venue day, or guests who prefer paper. If you send some invitations on paper, add a QR code that opens the same map link.
What if my venue does not show up correctly on Google Maps?
Do not send guests to the venue’s listing. Drop your own pin at the entrance, by touching and holding the map, and share that pin’s link. Add the plus code from the same panel to your directions, then write the last mile in words: the landmark before the turn, the gate, and where to park. Test the link on someone else’s phone.
When should guests get the directions?
Send them with the invitation, so guests can plan travel and parking early. For timing, see our guide on when to send wedding invitations. Then send a short reminder with the directions and the contact number a few days before the wedding, because that is when guests are about to drive there and will look for them.
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