Five Things Every Bride Should Know About Planning a Hotel Wedding

June 2, 2009 at 5:26 PM | by Jenna | 1 Comment

Wedding season is here. For many of us, that means it's time to dust off the dancin' shoes, check out those registries and clear room in the closet for that hideous bridesmaid's dress — but for a lucky (or unlucky) few, now's the time to be picking out invitations, scoping out florists, test-driving DJ's and showing off that blinding bling. This week, we're kicking off a summer of bringing you all the new need-to-know info about hotel weddings — tips, news and info about what goes down at hotels during the summertime vow season — whether you're attending one or saying your nuptials. Got some hotel wedding tips for us? Send 'em over.

Look, we know there's a lot to consider when you're planning your wedding. There are certainly more than five things to take care of — but when we really step back and look at what it takes to plan a hotel wedding, five things really stand out to us.

Here are the top five things we think brides should know about planning a hotel wedding, which we've put together based on our work experience and own wedding planning experiences — start with these and, um, you're on the right track to making sure your wedding doesn't turn out like Bride Wars.

1. Read the contract. Thoroughly. Very, very thoroughly. There is the (very strong) possibility that you're going to have a bajillion fees to consider here: from service charges for the hotel banquet waitstaff to extra charges for the house AV equipment. Ask tons of questions — the most important one: are gratuity/tips included?

2. Try to get a special rate for guests. You will need to work with the Sales and Marketing team for a special rate for your guests at the hotel you've chosen — or at least a special rate for the wedding party. Try to do this four to six months prior to your wedding date; secure a block of rooms as early as possible. Also, remember to look around the area to find and include other budget hotel options for your guests as well — Alofts, Courtyards, etc. can be great for this; not everyone's going to want to fork over the cash for the hotel you've selected.

3. Know the house/hotel rules. This is big: some hotels have lists of approved vendors — florists, bands, DJ's, etc — that you have to pick from. Ask about that when you're scoping out the hotel. Also, make sure you ask how late the place will stay open for you — and is there somewhere else your guests can go post-reception to keep the party going? Lobby bar? Anywhere?

4. Who else is getting married that day? Does the hotel have two ballrooms/banquet halls? If not, may we suggest you take a look at the movie Bride Wars? We've heard horror stories about hotels running out of resources or planning out the timing poorly between a convention and a wedding or some such — don't let it happen to you.

5. Know the deposit schedule. Make sure you take a look at the contract to get a feel for the deposit schedule; some hotels will require a 50% deposit when you book the event space, and then the other 50% closer to the day of — others work a bit differently. One fancypants NYC hotel we used to draw up contracts for asked for 50% the day of the booking, then required the next 25% 30 days from the wedding date and the rest of the payment the day before the wedding.

This is all just scratching the surface, though — got more or better tips for us? Send 'em our way and we'll share them.

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Tags: Hotel Wedding Guide 2009 / Hotel Weddings / Tips / → All Tags