Wedding Accommodations
What is my responsibility to my out-of-town guests?
Your responsibility to your out-of-town wedding guests is to, first of all, give them enough information ahead of time so that they can make their arrangements. You're going to block-book some rooms at the hotel perhaps, or give them airline information. If they're invited to other wedding weekend activities, let them know ahead of time so they can book those air flights at the right time. If they're invited to a brunch on Sunday morning but they don't know, then how can they possibly book their airplane at the right time? They might book their flight back at 9:00 in the morning and then it's a big problem for them. Give them as much information ahead of time as you possibly can to smooth their way, and to make it easy for them to attend your wedding.
Do I have to pay for my out-of-town guests' accommodations?
No, you do not have to pay for your out-of-town wedding guests; unless it's your favorite uncle Joe, and you know that he can't afford it and you really, really want him to come, in which case you might do that. Otherwise, nobody expects you to pay for their accommodation. They come to the wedding because they love you and they want to share with you.
Do I have to pay for my wedding party's accommodations?
Generally speaking, you do not have to pay for the wedding party's accommodation. For the most part, we might think that a lot of your wedding party lives in the same town that you do, so they won't really need accommodation, unless they choose themselves to stay overnight at the venue. Those that are coming from out of town will most likely take care of their own accommodations. If you can help them out, if they need some help, if you can get them a room with a friend, that would be a very nice thing for you to do.
If I reserve a block of hotel rooms for my wedding, how much can I save?
If you reserve a block of hotel rooms for your wedding, you will get what the venue will call a wedding rate and that will help you out with the price. I can't tell you exactly what it is. Some venues will give you a much better wedding rate than others. We find that there are some venues that will give you a wedding rate but if you went online to book it yourself you could do even better. You just have to feel it out for each venue depending on the circumstances.
Where should I choose a hotel for my wedding guests?
Let's begin with the venue. If you are having your wedding party at a hotel, that's the first place which you're going to look to block book some rooms. It would be a great idea to save rooms at that hotel because then the wedding guests can stay in the same place. After that, you would be looking for hotels that are proximate to the wedding reception. Let's say your wedding reception's at a private country club. They don't have rooms there, so you look for hotels that are in the vicinity. It's also very nice to offer your guests blocks of rooms at two different price levels of hotels. Perhaps one might be higher end, and one might be a more medium-priced hotel that would appeal to a certain number of your guests.
How far in advance should I reserve hotel rooms before my wedding?
That depends on what time of year your wedding is and what's going on in your town. If it is a holiday weekend, you should try to set that block of rooms up as soon as you can because the hotel is going to get booked. If you are a town that tends to get a lot of conventions or you're a destination resort town, you want to book those hotel rooms far in advance of your wedding. On the other hand, if you don't have those factors you might be able to wait until just 3 months out and then book the rooms. However, I think that your out of town guests will know sooner than that if they're going to be coming and that you'll want to have those rooms on hold sooner. Try to go for 6 months before the wedding: that would be a great time to block book those hotel rooms.
How do I inform my wedding guests about their accommodations?
The first thing you'll do is, if you have a wedding website, you'll put the accommodations details on there. Secondly, we very often do a separate letter to out-of-town guests even before the invitations go out. It's like a hold the day card but it has more information than that and it tells them: we hope you can come to the wedding, we've reserved rooms at these hotels, these are the airlines we know that fly in here, etc. Give the wedding guests as much information as you can. When you give them the information on each of the hotels, give them the direct phone number to the sales representative that you're working with. If it's a Marriott hotel, don't give them the 800 number because when they call it, the person there in reservations may never have heard of you. If you give them the direct number for the sales person at your hotel, they will know about your wedding and they will immediately put that into that room block and register it properly.
Where should I sleep the night before my wedding?
Even if you are living together already, most couples choose to stay apart for a couple of days before the wedding. It just gives them a different feeling. It makes it more special. You might stay at the hotel if you are having a hotel wedding. Lots of brides like to have that bridal suite the night before so that they don't have to worry about moving in on the day of the wedding and having a time constraint there. A lot of women like to stay at home. If it's the same town where their parents live and if it's the house where they grew up, sometimes there is a lot of nostalgia there. They want to stay in their old bedroom just for fun. Any of those accommodation options work very well.
Should I sleep with my fiance the night before our wedding?
Don't sleep with your fiance the night before the wedding. It's a little old-fashioned perhaps, but I think it is nice to be apart a few nights before the wedding. It gives you a different kind of a feeling when you come together on the wedding day and when you see each other. It's nice to be apart. Give yourselves that little breather and then have your wedding day and have that be special.
