Travel Note
I, Alex, have lovingly compiled a Google Map of some relevant places and restaurants that you may miss if you just go by guidebooks. I can't guarantee you a typical trip, but these places give you a sense of *our* Oxford.
Flight
London Heathrow is the easiest London airport to get into and out of from Oxford. It's pretty much an hour between Oxford and LHR, but can stretch as long as two with accidents, big concerts, events, or construction, so plan accordingly on either end. If you want to try to find an off-the-beaten-path flight deal or are connecting on a shorter haul European flight, here are other airports near to Oxford to try. https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Nearby-Airports/Oxford For airport transport, I highly recommend The Airline, which is a very nice express bus service that goes between multiple London airports and Oxford. It's an inexpensive and efficient way to get back and forth, at ~£35 (40ish bucks) for a flexible return (round trip) ticket, compared to about £100 for a taxi service, one-way. https://www.theairlineoxford.co.uk/ For taxi service, I've used an app called Freenow and that's worked well. I've never used it for a full airport trip, but have used it for other journeys of similar length.
House Or Rental
Alex is helping coordinate accommodations, and is happy to chat with you personally about where to stay to make sure your needs are met, and you're in a spot with a convenient route to festivities on the big day.
Travel Note
DO NOT exchange money or use ATM's at the airport. You'll pay too much in fees/likely won't get a good rate. If you're anxious, you can order some pounds through your bank so you have a bit of cash on hand, but the UK is a hugely card dominant society, even moreso than the US. Contactless "tap" payments with cards or phones are pretty much everywhere, even at donation hubs in churches and with shockingly small-scale vendors at farmers markets. Never a bad idea to have a bit of cash on you just in case, but it's not an emergency. Wait until you're able to use a normal-person ATM at a high street bank or grocery store. Avoid any that say "Euronet" as the brand as they tend to charge extortionate fees. If you're asked on a card machine, or online if you're using Amazon.co.uk (yes, Amazon is evil but if you're in a pinch, there is one-day and sometimes same-day service to Oxford if you forgot a charger or other random things), DO NOT have the vendor convert the transaction into US dollars. Your credit card, 9/10 times, is going to offer the better conversion rate. Let your card/bank do the conversion. Pay like the locals, in pounds. If for whatever reason you're going fully local and have decided to go halves on multiple rounds of cheeky pints (or whatever it is British people do that might require the UK equivalent of Venmo or PayPal), locally, people use ACH transfers directly between bank accounts. It sounds mad, but it's a thing. People just exchange bank details. SO. If you need UK bank details, but don't want to open a bank account, you can use an app like Wise which is NOT A BANK and is therefore not insured, but *is* extremely convenient as a way to transfer money. You can deposit USD (dollars), and transfer it to GBP (pounds) and then transfer it to your new British buddies. Might sound complex, and it is for a short trip. When in doubt, just be ready to pay for your bit of the bill like the quaint American you are, with cash debit-carded from an ATM.
Travel Note
Here is a link to historical Oxford weather during the dates of your visit. <3
Travel Note
It can get dark early in the UK in the early spring/late winter. Make sure you have enough daylight for any sightseeing plans you might make with this link. :)
Travel Note
I created this guide for my Grad School cohort with some tips for being in Oxford without breaking the bank, and am sharing that link here (headers of the sections are below) just in case there are things that might be relevant to you. Student Discounts: Random Household Stuff: Sports Supplies: Food: Pharmacy: Transportation: Cell Service: