When I was looking for a venue, I cast a wide net and searched through all the options for my wedding. I knew I wanted a more glam feel, but still looked at the barn options anyway. A bride has so many decisions to make and with venue options that include barn, museum, backyard, outdoor tent, conference center, country club, restaurant etc.—I’m here to share why getting married at a hotel is a great way to go!
For me, it was incredibly important to ensure my guests had a great experience at our wedding. We had a ton of people traveling from out of state (and out of country) and I wanted to spend as much time with everyone as possible and make sure that everyone felt comfortable.
Guest Benefits:
- By getting married at a hotel, your guests can simply get ready in their room then take the elevator to your ceremony/reception. There is no need to worry about parking (I’ll never forget attending a wedding in a church held downtown in a city where it was nearly impossible to find a close parking spot–we were late and had to sneak in the back!) And for the direction-challenged people, like myself, nothing is easier than planting yourself at one location for both the ceremony and reception. There’s also no need to pay for a shuttle to transport guests to and from the reception!
- Guest safety while partying—we knew we wanted an open bar, and there was no need to worry about our guests driving under the influence to get home or no need to worry about people missing out on the party as the designated driver. (Not saying that by not drinking you can’t have fun, but this allowed for our guests to drink if they chose to.)
- The AFTER PARTY! Like most venues, the reception ended at 11pm, but because we were all under the same roof, we invited guests to join us in the Presidential Suite we had reserved and we had an awesome afterparty for the ones who still wanted to celebrate lol. We ordered 20 pizzas and just had fun in the suite until 2am or so. I also went to a wedding at a hotel where the bar/restaurant area was open late so we had the afterparty there. It just makes it easier to keep the party going!
Wedding Couple Benefits:
- I mentioned how I visited a lot of venues for my wedding, and from a price perspective, the hotel option was the least expensive. With a hotel, you do usually need to use their food and beverage, but they all have packages that include all of the chair covers, tables, chairs, linens, silverware—things that you need to rent separately at other non-hotel venues. Those individual rentals add up! With my hotel, everything was priced per person to include all of the essentials. The open bar was a separate cost but hotels tend to give you package options or allow it to run on consumption up to a price-point that you provide. The one-stop-shop for the reception was a convenience and a cost savings for me. Yes, I needed to sacrifice that the carpet was soo ugly in the ballroom, BUT, with all the tables and the up-lighting we had, I never noticed the floor anyway.
- HOTEL REWARDS PROGRAM POINTS– If you get married at a major chain, like Marriott, you can contract to have a signing bonus for reward points. You also receive points for every $ you spend and you can receive points for the rooms that your guests reserve under your wedding block. These reward points add up and you can use them at a hotel or transfer them to airline miles like my husband and I did—we flew to our honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands for FREE because of the points we received when we signed the contract. With hotels, you can also receive complimentary guestrooms and other concessions that you may not receive from other wedding venues.
At the end of the day, a hotel can provide cost-savings, convenience, ease of partying and the most memorable wedding experience! I have no regrets!
