[discouraged]

Wedding location is somewhat remote (15-20 minutes from a major metropolitan area), in the forest. The road is in a mountain area with dangerous roads. Hiring shuttles is out of our budget. About 60% of the guests are out of towners. I didn’t want to deal with calling 135 people and figuring out the logistics of pick up times, there are three hotels. In addition to this the venue will only allow 24 passenger vans and guests are only allowed on the property 30 minutes prior to the starting of the event. My MIL offered to pay for the shuttles and insisted we were responsible for guests safety, but when she found out the cost she didn’t want to do it. I told her my guests that were local, that live within the area don’t need it and they would be fine (plus I didn't wnat to put her under financial burden). She opted out of getting transportation. Then I just recently found out that she is providing transportation to only her guests, or only her family and friends she made it clear that she would only be getting one shuttle. When I questioned her decision that it wasn’t fair to my family and friends that were coming from out of town to be offered the same, she said they could use it too. Logistically and time-wise it would be impossible to transport 150 people in one shuttle to the venue.

How do I deal with how this might make my out of town family and friends feel? I cannot afford a shuttle.

[Weddings by Shayna]

That's a really inconsiderate solution on her part. She will either need to have those guests picked up at a location where no other guests will see them and have them dropped off before anyone else is ready to depart, or she will need to stand guard over the hotel "traffic" that will try to pile into her vehicle. I would explain to her again that she is making a poorly advised move that will offend many, and see if she backs down. If not, be sure to keep her group separate from the rest so the perception of mistakes and misguidance is at least minimized.

[Etiquette Now]

Agreed. And, it is your fiance's job to speak to his mother.

Perhaps you could find a better guest friendly venue. The number one rule of being a good host is your guest's comfort.