Mr. Treasure and I have been amazed by the ease of the wedding-planning process so far. We booked the first venue we looked at, the first photographer we met with, and the second caterer we talked to. Everything’s been falling into place and we haven’t experienced any wedding-related stress…until now.
Last weekend, Mr. T’s parents looked online at hotel prices for our wedding. The Marriott, where they always stay, was priced at over $400 a night. WHAT?!? They immediately called to inquire and were told that the price hike is due to: 1) Ryder Cup going on in the suburbs and 2) a medical conference* in the Gold Coast.
I began to panic. Booking hotel rooms wasn’t even on our radar and probably wouldn’t have been something on our to-do list for a while. All of a sudden, it had to happen NOW. When I started calling other hotels in the area, most of them quoted me prices like $279 or $309 a night, significantly higher than I hoped our guests would have to pay. Fortunately, I was able to find a few places that were much more affordable. I guess the silver lining is that we got to check something off our to-do list without it ever being on there to begin with.
If anyone is having a wedding with lots of out-of-town guests who will need hotel rooms, call around to hotels before picking a date. Our date was non-negotiable for other reasons, but if we were flexible at all, this information probably would’ve led us to pick a time when hotel rooms would have been more readily available and affordable.
Also, don’t be afraid to bargain. I am not a good salesperson, but I got one hotel to take $20 a night off the initial price they had quoted me just by asking. The worst they can do is tell you “no.”
Wedding problem #1 down. Probably dozens more to go.
*Ironically, the medical conference is being hosted by the American College of Surgeons, the same organization that owns our reception venue.
I feel you. We don’t have a ton of out of town guests so we didn’t get a block of rooms. Also the town we are getting married in is pretty small. There are two hotels in the town and the thought of them filling up seemed impossible. WELL about 8 months before our wedding one of out of town guests informs me all the hotels are booked because it’s college alumni weekend… Uh oh. Luckily there are towns close enough with more hotel options so they were able to find something.
I ran into a similar issue! I was being quoted rooms for 165-175, which might not seem super bad to some people, but I’m getting married in rural Ohio and was shocked by it! It’s peak tourist season though and apparently people really like to drive down there to look at the leaves and see the Amish (so not exciting, I promise!) I thankfully got the one hotel down to something manageable (130)
I live in a college town and there is always an event, conference or camp here in the summer. I knew I had to avoid graduation and I tried to avoid reunion, but for some reason, the date I found for the 2012 reunion back in 2010 was different from the one that is being used…our wedding day.
The regional Marriott rep (up in Washington, DC) seemed stunned by the price that our old, worn-around-the-edges Residence Inn wanted for our wedding weekend. She did a little investigating and found out that the Courtyard a little further up the highway was going to be completely renovated this winter and she could get me a reasonable price for it.
Thank goodness! Those regional sales reps really are wonderful!
I recommend that if anyone else has hotel blocks to book, try HotelPlanner.com. We used their services, and it allows hotels to bid on your block within a certain radius. We got some great bids simply because they can give you a better rate. Also, it gives you what percentage off they are actually offering, right on the site. With a LOT of out of town guests (basically our entire list), it was a life saver!
Ugh, it seems like there is always something happening in Chicago! We booked our church and reception venue for May 19, 2012 in April 2011. Then in the summer, the G8/NATO summits were announced to be held in Chicago that same weekend….
90% of our guest list was traveling and not only was every hotel booked (and I don’t mean too expensive, I mean zero rooms available), we were pretty sure that the added security would absolutely shut down the Loop (where our wedding was being held). In the end, the G8 was cancelled in Chicago afterall. Ha. ha.
This story has a happy ending. We were able to change our date, keep our same church and venue, and find accomodations for our guests. I’m also glad to be avoiding the stress of G8/NATO (and the accompanying protests!) altogether. In any case, I feel ya, Miss Treasure!! I’m glad your situation worked out as well. 
UGH! That sucks T! Although, I’m glad you guys were finally able to figure it out. One of the perks of our venue is that they work closely with the hotel across the street so that task pretty much took care of itself. Whew!
you survived your first bump in the road of wedding planning! there will be more, and a good attitude will see you through.
we had assumed that the hotel the venue recommended, saying they had a long-standing relationship with, would be the one we stayed in with our OOTs. it’s right on the waterfront and very nice. at Christmastime when we got around to checking in with the hotel (our wedding is this August so we thought we were super early!) he said, good thing you’re talking to me now.
sadly, the best he could do was $160 a night, which was WAY higher than I felt comfortable asking my guests to pay. I know they could have figured out their own accoms if they didn’t want to stay there, but isnt’ that the point of us making a wedding block, so it’s easy for them AND there’s a discount?
we’ve ultimately decided to go with a motel-style Best Western that has a pool, and with our block the price dropped to $115-120. definitely more doable, and apparently for summer in Vancouver, that’s a good rate!
we’ve also decided to not stay in a hotel the night of the wedding. it was a fancy dream, but we’d rather save the money and put it towards our honeymoon in Whistler. 
The hotel is the only not perfectly easy thing we’ve found too! There is a hotel literally half a block from the venue, and every other one is 5 blocks or more (which, as a winter wedding where there may be snow, is just too far for us), otherwise we would have ditched this hotel ages ago. In person one person quoted us one price, then the event manager quoted a higher price (and aren’t large blocks supposed to be CHEAPER!) and they haven’t been helpful in getting a honeymoon suite for us for cheap (I’ve heard of many hotels giving it for FREE) or anything…and it is NOT a popular vacation spot EVER, let alone in late January, so there’s no reason for them to try and charge so much, especially when we’re booking almost half the hotel. And in the end we had to go with them anyway, because it’s just too durn convenient to the location…and they know it…
@EH – I’m graduating from law school that weekend, and I’m trying to figure out what to do with my parents who are coming in from out of town. It’s so frustrating!
I waited WAAAAAAY too long to sort out hotel rooms (i.e. I’m doing it right now, which sucks) and I am tearing my hair out. We don’t really have enough rooms and there is not a lot of option. Sucktacular. Brides with more time left to go — GET ON IT. Seriously.
@Miss Treasure: Oh, that is really the worst! I thought most of the schools had changed their graduations for that reason. Has anything opened up hotel-wise since they cancelled G8? I know there will still be NATO, though, and that won’t be easy. I’m tempted to just leave the city entirely for that weekend!
The only thing I can suggest is possibly a hotel further out in the suburbs? There might be something out by one of the airports. That was going to be our plan if we couldn’t move the wedding date. Good luck on working that out and congrats!
This makes me grateful that our small town is full of hotels, but lean on visitors Hoping you were able to find something that fit your needs.
@Miss Mink: Miss Mink, I went to U.Va. and will be in C-Ville for your wedding day if it’s the same day as reunions! So jealous you’re getting married in Charlottesville, my FI and I miss it so much!
We had to worry about a major military function. We got burned by an Army training graduation while in Oklahoma and finally found a room after three hotels were booked.
LOVE THEM!
I wore my wedding shoes for some of our engagement pictures but we haven’t showed anyone those pictures yet because my shoes are a secret to our family until the day of. Bascially I love our shoes & don’t want to hear how they aren’t appropiate for a wedding!
I only started contacting hotels to put down a room block this weekend, and was surprised to get quotes back around $150, which I thought sounded high. I guess comparatively, that’s really not as bad, so I shouldn’t be as worried that I’ll making my guests pay too much money.
We’re getting married on a graduation weekend so we nailed down the hotels over a year in advance which “saved” us.
But now we’re up against the reservation deadline and have to keep telling the guests that there will literally be no room at the inn if they don’t book a room!
Hi!
I was just searching for hotels for our 6-1-13 wedding today and panicked because there’s a big conference in Chicago that weekend. I remembered this post of yours and was wondering if you could offer some tips on finding reasonable options.
Mrs. Treasure, Chicago Age and Occupation: 24, Law Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Equity Analyst Engagement Date: July 30, 2011 Wedding Date: September 2012 Venue: Saint James Chapel at Quigley Prep/Murphy Auditorium About Me: I was born and raised in Indiana, but now live in sweet home Chicago. I'm a third-year law student and aspiring trial lawyer, which means Mr. T never wins an argument. Other than Mr. T, I love singing, exploring the Chicago restaurant scene, and Notre Dame football. We met in a musical (just like my parents!) and after 4 years together, we are excited to be planning our urban "destination" wedding.
Latest Gallery Pics