Mrs. Toucan, Boston
Age and Occupation: 25, Full-time Research Assistant, Part-time Graduate Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Actuary
Engagement Date: February 18, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: November 07, 2007
Venue: St. Catherine of Genoa, Jin Asian Cuisine Restaurant
About Me: I’m a Gemini to the extreme. On one side, I’m a girly girl. I read countless bridal and fashion magazines, and have an obsession with keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip. On the other side, I’m a sports fanatic. Despite being a full-time bride-to be, full-time research assistant, and part-time student, I’m also a full-time Red Sox fan from spring training to October, and a full-time Patriots fan from mini-camp to February. I devote almost as much time researching my for fantasy football team as researching for our wedding!
Blocking The Block
November 28th, 2007 @ 5:06 pm by Mrs. Toucan
Last month my MOH and sister were home from college for fall break, so I decided to go home for a couple of days. While at home, I decided to check out the new hotel that opened in my hometown since we’re considering blocking off rooms here for our wedding guests. The Hampton Inn and Suites opened just this summer and has a big sign out in front of it to come in and take a tour. So, that’s just what I did. 
The lobby
TV in the lobby area
My other sister (BM) hamming it up in the lobby living area
Free warm/cold breakfast!
Parents and little sister walking up and down the hall
Color/design board for the hotel
They also let us in to see one of the rooms, but I didn’t take pictures of it.
Here are a few of the plusses and minuses of the hotel (among others):
+ Proximity to my parents’ house: The majority of the out of town guests are my family (upwards of 30 rooms), and per Chinese tradition, relatives often stop by the house to see the bride get ready. Additionally, we’ll be having a day-after BBQ at my parents’ house, and the hotel is near my parent’s house.
- Proximity to the church and reception: It’s about a 30-40 minute drive to the church and reception venue
+ Price: Given its distance away from the city, it’s A LOT cheaper than cities closer to the city
- The area: Since it is further from the city, there is also a lot less activities around the area.
+ It’s new: The fact that the hotel is new is nice because it’s probably cleaner or at least less worn in.
We will probably look into some other hotels and give guests a few options. What did/would you consider before blocking off hotel rooms?
5 Responses to “Blocking The Block”
I’m personally not a fan of hotels that are far away from the weekend activities - but sometimes you can’t help it.
I had the same issue you have - I live in one town, which held some activities - but the wedding was about 45 minutes away at a B&B and where other activities were. There were no other hotels close to the B&B. So I booked a hotel in my hometown - and the guests just had to drive. At least we’re in the middle of no where so it was a fast 45 min - rather than being stuck in traffic!
It’s a hard call - maybe you could find a nice affordable hotel somewhere in the middle. Of course giving the guests options is also great - be sure to let them know ‘where’ things are happening!
Horror Story (kinda) - I was maid of honor 3000 miles away at a Sunday wedding in Newport Beach - the bride and groom lived near UCLA. Well we’d (my mom and I) booked the hotel in Newport starting on Thurs - when most family guests were arriving. Well I assumed the bride and groom would also be at the hotel then. No. They didn’t check into the hotel until SAT! There were also many last minute projects to complete - which was all happening in LA. It was a huge pain in the ass to drive between LA and Newport beach - with traffic it could take over 90 minutes! It worked out - but it just kinda sucked and was very hectic! If it had been my wedding everyone would have been in one place (Long Beach) from the beginning!
After that I vowed not to do the same thing to my guests - but I kinda did. Oh well - I fell in love with my B&B and everyone couldn’t fit there
The distance from your venue is a drawback, as well as there not being many things to do- which might not be that big of a problem if your guests aren’t staying that long…I don’t know.
But, Hampton Inn does have the most COMFORTABLE bed in the whole world. Just thought you should know
Price, convenience/proximity, and cleanliness is important for us.
The hotel looks very cozy, kind of like a nice Marriott! 30-40 minutes drive is brutal, though, especially for OOT guests that may not have rental cars or may feel compelled to get one and carpooling may not be a convenient option for all the OOT guests together.
I live about 40-45 minutes away from the reception/ceremony site. We’re blocking off rooms in our hometown and also near the reception/ceremony site in varying budgets for different OOT guests. We’ll be running a hired bus from our hometown hotel to the venue in the city so it helps guests deal with traveling/commuting and also the $4/car toll on the bridge.
I agree that the distance to the venues is a downside, but at the same time if guests are going to be spending time with your parents and the bbq is going to be at their house then it seems that it actually IS convient to most of the weekend. If you book a hotel close to the venues, then guest wil have to drive the same 30-45 minutes out to your parents’ house and maybe more than once, where as if they stay near your parents’ house, they’ll only have to make the drive once for the wedding.
I’m a fan of hampton inn, too. I kind of have the same proximity issues, though. It’s a good 20 minutes without traffic from the hotel to the church, and probably another 20 from the church to the reception. Annoying, but I really can’t help it. There are closer hotels, but they have outrageous prices. And complimentary yummy breakfasts are a good money-saver. Our hampton is, however, very conveniently located near the expressway that passes the church and the reception, so it’s easy to get to, if a little far.
