Congratulations on your engagement! This is a really exciting time in your life. It’s also probably going to be a bit stressful.
During this next year, I want to walk through this process with you. I’ll give you a 12 Month Guide to planning your wedding and explain things along the way. You can start from the beginning here (click). Come back to this blog each week for the next installment.
Week 15 – Hotels for Guests
Hope your time sorting through rental options has gone well! This week should be a lot easier! We’re going to talk about how to set up hotels for guests.
When I was planning my wedding, I really didn’t understand this process very well. That’s why I wanted to give you a couple of pointers. A lot of the wedding process is new to most brides so I don’t want to assume anything.
1. Look at how many guests are from out-of-town.
If you are only inviting a few guests from out-of-town, then you won’t need to reserve a lot of hotel space. While looking at the list, you’ll probably have a good idea of who will actually make the trip (though there are always surprises to our expectations). Keep this rough estimate in mind while you go through the next steps.
2. Make a list of hotels that are close to your venue.
This will limit the number of places you have to research and call. Sometimes there aren’t a lot of options and you really won’t have to choose between places.
3. Do some research online.
Find the hotel websites and some sites that have reviews on them. You’ll want to look at two things: 1-Price and 2-Ratings. You don’t want to book a place that’s out of your guests’ price range, but you also don’t want to recommend a dumpy hotel.
4. Select a range of hotels.
By this I mean find two or three hotels that have good ratings are are in three different price ranges. If possible, have a back-up option for each one. This will keep you calm if a hotel isn’t available during the time of your wedding.
5. Call the hotels for a block of rooms.
When you talk to each hotel, let them know that you’re wanting to block some rooms for your wedding weekend. Give them the dates and ask what’s available. Take the number of out-of-town guests you’re expecting and split that number by the number of hotels you’re selecting. This will give you a good estimate of how many rooms you’ll need to block at each hotel (though I recommend adding a couple extra to each hotel…just in case). Once you know whether or not the hotel can accommodate your guests, ask what the policies are and how long guests have to make a reservation. Be sure to ask what happens to the blocked rooms that are not reserved by your guests. You don’t want to end up with an unexpected hotel fee.
6. Keep pertinent information handy.
You’ll need to have the same name or wedding title listed at each hotel to cut down on confusion. Write it down so you can tell your guests. You’ll also want to share the phone number, address and reservation deadline. If you’re sharing the information online (such as a listing on The Knot), then it could be appropriate to list the price ranges.
In conclusion, all you have to do this week is look at your guest list and local hotels before calling a few to block some rooms. What are a few ways you’re planning on making guests feel welcome?
Next week we’ll talk about something really fun…gift registries!
Katelyn is a certified wedding planner. She is available for consultations.
She will even meet with you on Skype to help you work through part of your wedding planning.
Click here for more information.