congratulations power cropper m so glad you enjoyed it and it all went so well!!!
D shower was today. I planned it and was nervous but the bridesmaids and MOG really helped. It was lovely. People told me I should do event planning. I would have done a few things differently ,but overall it was great.
Ordered invites today.
I too wish I lost more weight
I broke a toe yesterday. Ugh. Only dark spot.
Ack! I found out yesterday that the event planner at the hotel where the ceremony and reception will be has been less than truthful. We are attempting to make arrangements long distance, dd is out of state doing an internship and I live in a different state altogether so it makes things more complicated.
There have been a few things that caused me to raise an eyebrow but now I have a whooper in writing and it’s causing me to question everything she’s told me. I just learned from DD that if there is to be a rehearsal meal it’s something that we’ll likely need to cover which really isn’t a problem for us but we will have to start paying more attention to costs so things don’t get out of hand. I mentioned to the wedding coordinator at the hotel that we were starting to look into this and because of timing of the actual rehearsal and costs had decided a luncheon would be best. I didn’t have a firm number yet but because there weren’t any attendants, just family is would only be a group of 15-20 She suggested one of the banquette rooms on site. She sent me the details, listed room rental with minimum food purchase and when I added in the service fee and tax I know will be charged it came to about $150 a person!
I replied that I didn’t think this would be an option for our group but asked if she was in charge of booking any of the private dinning options at the on site restaurants. She then offered a “discount” which came out to around $2 off person and stated that the restaurants private dinning rooms could only “seat a maximum of 14 and that would be a tight fit” and wouldn’t be an option for a “large” party such as ours. I was very shocked to read this since I was sure I had read reviews of parties of 20+ in the hotel restaurant’s private dinning room. So I called the restaurant directly and spoke to a waitress and asked how many people they usually seat in their private rooms and she said between 25 and 50!
In the same email she stated that I needed to book this and the hotel rooms needed for the event by July 1st (the wedding is in January) and not wait until August 14th when DD and I can meet with her at the hotel in person as we’d previously discussed. Group bookings at this hotel are different than I’ve dealt with in the past, I will be held financially responsible for 75% of the hotel rooms blocked off. I think a 6 month prior commitment to the exact number of hotel rooms is a bit much, in other group bookings I’ve done the hotel would just hold the rooms with locked rate for a certain time prior to the event (usually 2 months to 6 weeks) and then just release any unbooked rooms.
I thought the room pricing she quoted was odd - one price for the nights up to and including the wedding and a higher price for nights after the wedding. I looked on the hotel website and found rooms that were LESS than the group room block price she stated and with no penalty for cancellation! What’s even stranger is if you plug in dates for 3 nights (2 nights prior to the wedding and the night of the wedding) into the hotel’s regular on line reservations it’s less total cost that if you only stay 2 nights (1 night prior to the wedding and the night of the wedding). This makes no senses to me!!!
I feel like I’m going crazy! Would anyone like to PM me for the details and take a look at the hotel’s regular reservations page and see if they come up with the same thing? I think I could used another set of eyes at this point.
3scountsmom, is this,liason inexperienced? I agree it seems off.
@3scoutsmom, ouch!!! Whether she’s dishonest or incompetent, those are glaring inconsistencies. Good for you for being on top of this so early, and for not taking the event planner at her word.
I worked with group sales managers at 7 hotels in planning my daughters’ 3 weddings. One was sterling, two were spotty, and the other four really seemed untrustworthy. I had to send repeated emails to get oral agreements in writing. One manager was replaced 3 months after our contract was signed, and then the contract went poof on their end (though of course I had my copy). One was truly horrendous, and I wound up canceling because it was clear I couldn’t trust a word she said. Worse - neither the hotel manager nor the franchise owner ever responded to my complaint.
You say you’ll be responsible for 75% of the rooms blocked off. That’s different from the way I’ve seen group bookings handled, too - we had a date (3 weeks before the wedding?) after which unbooked rooms were released. If you will have an obligation for unbooked rooms, it might be safer to book less. Are there other hotels nearby that could handle guests if you book up all your rooms?
We never were financially responsible for a given number of rooms. They blocked a group and whatever wasn’t booked was released three weeks before the wedding. Something definitely smells fishy.
I thought someone said way upthread that it’s holding rooms open to a very late date that brings some $ responsibility (for any not subsequently booked by general public.)
Anything going on in this area near your January date? Could large enough dining rooms be already booked for other events?
My S and his wife ran into this room block problem with their wedding. They would have been responsible for all rooms in the block. They made the choice to not block any rooms. I was initially sure they were wrong but confirmed it with the hotel myself. What I did was tell my family and friends that would be staying at that hotel to book early.
@3scoutsmom I bet the on-site person works on commission. When my D worked in banquets at a well known hotel the banquet managers, catering managers and sales people each got a sizable cut on each event they booked or managed.
This hotel is part of a larger international chain and I expected better. I have a wee bit of standing with them and after I cool off and have all my ducks in a row will likely get the corporate level concierge involved in this. I’m sure they’ll tell me that each hotel handles their own events/catering but I’m pretty sure they’d be happy to help with rooms and a private dinning event at the hotel’s restaurant.
I’m dealing with two people the one is the catering manager she’s been there a while and was covering the wedding coordinators job. Now the new wedding coordinator is on board but knows nothing as she just started so pretty much everything is coming from the catering manager. I really don’t know who is doing what on their end at this point!
My D’s wedding is this coming Saturday! Feeling a bit overwhelmed but I know it will all get done.
I know it’s been discussed previously but I’m unsure who gets a tip.
The groom and my H have made sure we will have plenty of wine and beer. The caterer will provide lemonade and ice tea. I am unsure about amounts of non alcoholic beverages. Most of the online calculators are for alcohol. So far I’ve purchased a case of 24 La Croix and a case of 30 Spindrift which I think is same as La Croix. My D wants some Martinelli cider for another non alcoholic choice. Any suggestions as to how many bottles to buy? Guest count is 135 people.
@mom60 Some of it will depend on the weather. If it’s hotter, people will drink more. My own preferred method of entertaining is to overestimate. I’d rather have excess than not enough especially when it comes to nonalcoholic beverages which are not expensive. Excess can be consumed for personal use, used for another event, donated, or returned.
In addition to lemonade, iced tea, sparkling cider and the LaCroix and Spindrift, I’d suggest making sure you have plain old water on hand. Some of us dislike sparkling water and I’ve been to events where it is the only water option made available which has been a bummer.
@mom60 I think you’re spot on about the commissions. The thing I find most puzzling is quoting room rates for the blocked rooms that are more expensive then booking directly with the hotel! It a huge hotel and there are also several other large hotels in the area so lack of rooms won’t be an issue even though it’s over New Years. I know our side of the family will need between 10 and 12 rooms but I have no clue about his side of the family, some are local and others may prefer to stay some place less expensive
@doschicos there will definitely be regular water. I’m one of those people who don’t like sparkling water. I also am an over buyer but I’m hoping to have plenty but with not a lot left over. The venue is remote and we have to bring everything and haul the leftovers all home.
@3scoutsmom -I think someone on CC suggested way back that it pays to check the room rate online as it is sometimes lower with better cancellation. I think the price difference is based on the room block rates being set by group sales versus the internet rate that can fluctuate.
I don’t think it is unusual for hotel rooms booked as a group to be more expensive than what you can find on the internet. That used to happen to us when sports traveling. We had a parent who would block a group of rooms, but most of us could find the rooms cheaper through the hotel or one of the many travel sites. A comparable hotel next door could be $20-$40 cheaper.
I think this is especially true for a holiday weekend. Get the word out and have people reserve their rooms now for a cheaper price.
It’s not unusual for block rates to be more expensive and restrictive than booking individually. (I have a lot of past experience with this for sports tournaments and always found it a rip off). One benefit is locking in a rate and the number of rooms needed and often they charge a premium for that. If there are plenty of hotels and no big events going on at the time, it might make sense to skip the room blocks.
We were never responsible for blocked rooms. The rate(s) we got were the same or more expensive than their online rates 6 months prior to the wedding, so we asked many guests to book directly online, but as we got closer to the date the prices started to go up.
We very purposefully decided to work with a wedding planner not affiliated with any venue/hotel because we wanted her to have our best interest at heart. We were also planning a wedding from afar. The planner was able to find a very nice local restaurant for the rehearsal luncheon. I think between the food/beer/wine it was around $40/person. She was also able to find many deals and discounts for us.
Hmmm…just booked from a wedding block for November. That was one of couple’s negotiating points–they were going elsewhere unless a very good room rate. The two nights in the room block rate: $136/each. I also booked two nights flanking the block nights: $208/each, with my AAA discount or it would have been more.
In @3scoutsmom’s case, not sure I’d do the block–I have heard of that policy, but wouldn’t want to be financially liable for that much. I’d just reserve a whole bunch of rooms on my own for the wedding party and close family (assuming easy cancellation policy). And encourage friends and family to book early!
@3scoutsmom we are planning a wedding at a Marriott property in January. Initially, the contract had a room guarantee, but that turned out to be an easy negotiating point. I made sure I got that corrected in the contract.
Our room block rooms are more expensive than the regular rate, but they include discounted parking @ $14 vs the $30/day parking. Some guests will be flying in and not using the parking, but they can also look online to see if they can get a better rate at the same hotel. Overall the rooms are $135 in January vs $250 had it been a summer wedding.
A couple of months ago, we were informed that our contact, the hotel’s wedding coordinator was leaving. We are waiting for a replacement to be announced. I will then have a meeting to make sure we start off with the same expectations.
Memorial Day Weekend, we traveled to the groom’s family home in Mississippi and attended their engagement party. All went well. The postcard style Save the Dates have arrived and should be going in the mail tomorrow.
Thank goodness for Minted and their addressing format. I just need to add stamps!
I not sure of the benefit of block booking at all - seems to be more expensive and more trouble than it’s worth! On line booking it is! Now to see if they have a limit on the number of rooms I can book on line, we are paying for 6 of the 10-12 room we’ll need for our side will need and I’ll advised the rest of the family and guests to book early.
Now to figure out why 2 nights costs more than 3 nights! These are the rates I’m coming up with on line, our family will be staying 3 nights so I guess goody for us;-)
Quoted blocked rates (standard room) no discount on over night parking, $25 per night
2 nights 12/31 to 1/2 - $209 + $209 = $418 x .14125 = $59.04 Room, Tax & parking = $527.04
3 nights 12/30 to 1/2 - $129 + 209 + 209 = $547 x .14125% = $77.26 Room, Tax & parking = $699.26
on-line pricing -free cancellation up to 48 hours in advance credit card required for reservation but no payment needed until checkout
Dec 31 -2 January (2 nights) includes tax
AAA $483.91 standard room
hotel loyalty rate (free to join) $522.53 standard room
Suites (AAA) $696.19
Dec 30- January 2 (3 nights) includes tax
AAA $463.37 standard room
hotel loyalty rate (free to join) $508.14 standard room
Suites (AAA) $601.47
My D contacted several hotels regarding blocks for her wedding. She refused to consider the 2 hotels that did not respond quickly enough, and she wouldn’t consider the hotel that wanted a guaranteed number. She settled on an upscale chain hotel that offered a refundable rate that was better than public rates & included a discount on valet parking.
If there are no alternative hotels in the area, and if this is “the” hotel, I would not reserve a block. Are they sending save the dates? Will they have a website? If so, they can include info letting guests know that they should reserve rooms early; no need to explain, but some may ask & you can let them know why.
From the info you posted, I think the chain may be the same one we used for D’s wedding. An inept booking agent made an error on my MIL’s room reservation - he told her she couldn’t get the block rate when she called to reserve (she doesn’t use the internet to book). He somehow talked her into reserving at the higher rate even though she said she wanted to wait to talk to me before reserving … and he put her in a nonrefundable rate. After I found out, I contacted the hotel GM, who was very apologetic & straightened things out right away. You might want to email the GM to share your experience & inquire about their booking policies for rooms & restaurants.
I think the 3 night rates might be for a special weekend/holiday package. Sounds like you should jump on that rate, especially since you can cancel without penalty. See if that is on ebates for more of a discount.