We blocked hotel rooms…but really…no one is forced to stay at this hotel. Their choice. We had to put $1000down to hold the rooms, but since we have 2 rooms for 2 nights…plus a breakfast and meet and greet, this $1000 can go towards THOSE costs. Or we can have the $1000 back (can’t think why we would do that).
Since we have mostly out of town guests, this woke for us. Also the hotel we chose is right across the street from the venue…and we are not running shuttle bus service to anything.
They will only hold the block until a certain date. Good.
@jym626 - glad they have a planner; sorry the process is nerve-wracking. On invitations: while I was stunned at how much time went into DD’s custom bi-cultural design and address formatting process (6 weeks of back and forth-even though she is a ‘closer’), a couple can find suites of invites and have them printed in a week, as a friend’s daughter just did. She is getting married the same weekend in June as DD and decided on the date a month ago; DD has planned for a year. Honestly, the shorter time-line can be liberating and simplifying, avoiding a certain amount of excess. What we didn’t expect was that some of our invites took 2 solid weeks for the USPS to deliver, causing angst and double checking.
Interesting about the variability of how hotel blocks work. DD is having a coastal wedding in a high summer visitor location and booked room blocks in 3 hotels, knowing many people would find their own lodging options. No deposit or number commitment was required for any of them; the rooms will be released a few weeks before the wedding if not booked. This is in a city where a Saturday night booking in summer often has a 2 night minimum, which caused them to choose a Sunday wedding. Room blocks are handy for some things, but often a short list of vetted possibilities would serve the same purpose at an almost identical cost to guests.
Oh @jym626, I know how frustrating this all can be. My S and DIL also dragged their feet on the invitations and I remember being asked to review a proof while I was driving upstate over Memorial Day weekend last year (wedding was Labor Day weekend). Then MOB was unhappy with their choice and it dragged on. Finally, they ordered them (and Mint was doing the addressing, as well), and when they arrived the company sent them someone else’s envelopes. Now, the problem was rectified and the correct envelopes were at my house within 36 hours, but it created stress no one needed and I ended up stuffing and sending the invitations. Depending on where they are ordering from, it can be done.
Deep breaths, but as for them having a wedding planner, if you go back to my posts from last year, please trust but verify. The planner my DIL and her mother hired would tell her/us that all was under control and she was actually doing nothing. And in the end, despite too much unnecessary stress, it was a wonderful, beautiful wedding.
D booked tickets to the wedding for her fiance, that left little time to go to the county courthouse to pick up a marriage license. What? Did she think county employees were models of speed and efficiency and that there would be no lines and she could get it done in an hour? Did she not know they both had to show up in person? After I pointed this out to her she rebooked the ticket for a day earlier. I was worried sick that the wedding would just be a show and not legal without the license.
Or there might not be a wedding at all. My daughter’s officiant said (in the contract and other paperwork) that it was illegal to perform a ceremony under these circumstances in the jurisdiction where the wedding was scheduled to be held, and the officiant would not do it. (It would not have been possible to hide the lack of a license from the officiant because the officiant took the license from the bride and groom before performing the ceremony.)
It’s also important to be aware that the facilities that issue marriage licenses often are not open on the weekend.
Spoke with the reservationist regarding room being cheaper online than with the wedding discount. She checked her system and put us in a nice unit for $400 less not using the ‘discount’ code. Go figure
Did the menu for the meet and greet (substantial appetizers), and morning after breakfast. Went with the full breakfast morning after. We figured…many folks will be traveling all day…so they should have a nice breakfast.
I suspect we are going to have stress with the license, too, since my D lives on a planet in which the fairies do everything for her with no effort on her part. Her sister, let’s call her Fairy Number One, spent hours yesterday become a certified wedding officiant, but the bride isn’t motivated yet to get the license.
I feel a little bad for my D. She invited only exactly as many people as she wanted to come, and since my family isn’t coming and there have been a couple of breakups in the social group, she is getting a lot of nos. She is taking it very personally, which of course it is not, but since we didn’t have a shower for her and they aren’t having a rehearsal event, she is feeling a little less than.
If it helps at all, my dil felt the same @zoosermom. It was amplified by her H (my S) had a better yes count than her. She was down about all the no’s on her side. I felt terrible for her.
I’m actually getting very excited. Had lunch today with two friends. All three of us have kids getting married before the end of June. We just had SO much fun talking about the different plans we are doing.
This Saturday we are going for her first wedding dress fitting. Her dad said he would pay for the remainder of the dress(50%). D1 asked me if he could come to the fitting. I said, “if he pays he comes.”
D1 asked me if I would like to come when they go get their license at the city hall. I said I wouldn’t miss it.
It just feels like so close. Not sure if I am ready for her to be married yet.
My mother also got her the tea set for the tea ceremony.
My husband and i are taking ballroom dancing lessons…and DD will do one the week she is home. I’m not sure how terrific we will look…but we are having fun.
@runnersmom and @travelnut-
Thanks for the understanding! They have chosen the invitation design so hopefully they have ordered them. The venue they are using has a package deal, and some of it includes the wedding invitations (up to a certain dollar amount). They are , I believe, having the addressing done (computer generated calligraphy I am guessing) by some company, and the RSVPs will be on line, not mailed. Lots of things are new and different. Even the way they address the envelopes ( e.g.“Mr. and Mrs. Sam and Janet Evening”) is different.
Oh, here’s a good one. Separate from the rehearsal dinner is the welcome party, which we are hosting.The kids chose a nearby bar and have reserved the outside deck. There was a form I had to fill out to reserve it, with all my credit card info. They wanted me to take a photo and email it, but that’s not secure so I said I’d fax it to the fax # on the form-- they get back to me telling me they don’t have a fax! (well whats the # on the form???) Anyway… the event planner tells me to mail it-- which I did… on March 22. Event planner emails me the other day asking if I’d sent it because they don’t have it (replied yes) , asked when (I told her and asked me where I mailed it from! (I actually did drop it at the PO on my way to work). I told her to whose attention I sent it (the guy who was on the form and who told me he didn’t have a fax). So today she emails me and tells me he only checks his mail every few weeks. Say whaaaa??? why were they hocking me about where the form was when they told me to mail it and don’t check their mail? Can anyone guess that my comfort level with this place isn’t the best?
I am on my 3rd pair of shoes, trying to find shoes I like with heels low enough - my dress doesn’t have enough hem to let out, so I have to have shoes that are low enough so the dress “just touches the floor,” according to the tailor. I have a pair waiting at home to be tried on (I am out of town this week).
We are starting to get the RSVPs in - lots of folks we had hoped would come, are not able to be there. H’s favorite cousin & her family can’t come … her D is graduating with her master’s & it turns out she is the top student, so they don’t want to miss the ceremony. Some elderly aunts & uncles had to say no, and my favorite uncle just passed away on Easter Sunday (sad, but he was lucky enough to simply not wake up - tough on the family who wasn’t prepared, but it’s exacty the way he told me he wanted to go when we were with my mom at the end of her life). We will end up around the 125 D wanted, but we are going to miss the folks who can’t be there.
The rehearsal dinner is set, and the brunch has been booked at the hotel where we have our room block. Everything seems to be falling into place.
We received a save the date for an August wedding about a month ago. Today, we were sent a password protected link to the couple’s website. Very informative, listing event times. Welcome reception for all invited guests, day before wedding, ceremony/reception/ cocktail hour times listed. While church has been listed, the venue is TBD. We were told the site will be later updated.
Thought about you guys here, and vaguely remembered that venue is supposed to be one of the top priorities.
I liked their. Q&A on the site. Few things discussed here, were also covered.
Q: Does my invitation include a plus one?
A: Unfortunately, unless your invitation specifies that you have a plus one we cannot allow guests to bring additional guests.
Q: How do I get to the venue(s)?
A: All three hotels in the room block provide free transportation within a 2 mile radius. The church is located within 1 mile of all of the room blocked hotels. Transportation will be provided by the bride and groom from the church to the reception venue.
Q: Are the ceremony and reception locations wheelchair accessible?
A: Yes!
Now I have to find a long dress as that is the required attire for an August wedding in the southeast…
