Wedding Vegas brides - room blocks?

[pjean]

So I know there are others on here who got married or are getting married in Vegas. Did/will you block rooms at hotels? Or leave your guests to the mercies of the internets?

 

[FrekeChild]

Hey pjean. Haven''t even gotten engaged yet, but we''re planning on leaving them to the mercy of the internet. We''ll probably be staying at Mandalay Bay, and I wouldn''t want my guests to have to pay that, OR stay there if they didn''t want to. Besides, I want them to stay in other hotels so we can have some privacy! Other places sometimes don''t have the option of several (dozen) hotels in such a small area and I want to take advantage!

 

[pjean]

Date: 11/17/2008 6:37:34 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Other places sometimes don''t have the option of several (dozen) hotels in such a small area and I want to take advantage!

So true! One advantage to Vegas for me is that my mother and father can stay at two different hotels. (I hope.) But my FMIL was asking what I was going to do about blocks, and it scared me into thinking maybe I should have thought of this already.

I certainly don''t want everyone to think they have to stay at the Venetian, where the wedding is. I don''t even know if I''ll stay at the Venetian. We''ll see what the budget looks like. We may all default to the Monte Carlo.

Are you thinking of getting married in the chapel at Mandalay Bay? (Sorry if you''ve already said somewhere - I''m defending my thesis in 15 days so I''m more scatterbrained than usual).

 

[FrekeChild]

Yeah, we''re considering it. It''s either MB or Planet Hollywood I think. FF and I both wanted a chapel that doesn''t look like something that is in a church or really Vegas-y looking. At first we both really wanted to get married in the Shark Reef, but then I found out that it''s limited to 9am and only 10 guests. Which isn''t enough for our less than twenty people wedding.

And I remember what FF was like when he had to defend his thesis, so no worries. I haven''t really talked about our wedding in a while anyway. I actually haven''t even thought about it in a while. Lol.

 

[brandy_z28]

Hey pjean!

We''re just leaving our guests to find their own hotel. They all want to stay different places anyway. I think we''ll be looking for something close to Fremont. I love downtown Vegas.

 

[pjean]

Well, apparently I''m going to be making room blocks. And I just freaked out and cried all over my FI because I''m doing this wedding planning thing completely wrong, and I suspect he''s seriously regretting planning a wedding at all.

Yay.

 

[blissfulbride]

We were going to block off rooms and seats on a plane, but it''s to much work. Planning a wedding alone is work, so i gave up. Guest can stay and do whatever they want. They can get to vegas and leave vegas when they want. its almost impossible to try to figure out when people can get there or leave. So we are not stressing ourselfs out over it. I say send an email with prices, and thats it. At least you did something and then just send your invitation. Try to make the planning as simple as possible. your guest will understand that your plate is to full.

 

[pjean]

Yeah, but my FMIL thinks I should be able to get a really good deal if I make a room block. Generally I adore her, but not at the moment. Especially since her idea of a good deal and my family''s idea of a good deal will not be the same.

I told FI that I thought we didn''t need to do it, and he got this really closed look on his face and crossed his arms and said "fine". I, of course, then reversed myself 98 times trying to make everyone happy and then burst into tears. sigh... Money + Family + PhD Thesis = pjean in tears. Sigh... guess what we''ll be talking about tonight?

 

[FrekeChild]

((((((((HUGS)))))))))

Don't stress about it honey!!! This isn't something to worry that much about. If she wants room blocks, I say, let her organize it! Or just email your wedding coordinator, and see what they have to say about it. Honestly, if I were going to a wedding in Vegas, I wouldn't want to stay in the same hotel, because I wouldn't want to run into any other guests (Not long ago, my FSIL wanted us to go with them to Vegas, stay in an adjoining hotel room, and have seats on the plane next to us--

--Needless to say it didn't happen!) or bail on some get-together thing and then get caught red handed.

So delegate this to someone else (FI, FMIL, wedding planner), concentrate on your thesis, and when you feel like you can, indulge in some chocolate (or ice cream!

) and a glass of wine or whatever helps you relax.

And if there is anything we can help you with, let us know, K? Even if it's just to listen, we're all here for you!

ETA: And I'm thinking that, just because it's Vegas, and there are something stupid like over 100,000 rooms, they aren't going to give much of a discount unless you're blocking off a couple hundred rooms. Then again, maybe they'd surprise me!

 

[pjean]

Thanks, Freke. It definitely helps to be able to come here and vent. I know FI doesn''t read this board, so I can be unreasonable and one sided all I like here.

Defense in 13 days - then I can have my life back.

 

[julabean]

Hi pjean:

Our venue (Paris) offered a 10% discount for all of the Harrah''s properties for our guests. Only a handful of couples used it (my parents, grandparents, some friends...I think there were 4 couples in all) and everyone else found better deals on the Strip. It was nice, though, to have the option to stay where we got married. We kept running into everyone who was in our hotel - even when we were not at our hotel!

 

[julabean]

Yikes - I just posted without reading everyone else''s posts! I guess my question would: how common is it for Vegas hotels to DO room blocks for weddings? I know that the Paris (and other Harrah''s properties) offered us the discount in lieu of doing a hotel block. So for those properties, it wasn''t even an option. I''d definitely have your MIL check to see whether hotels do that ... it''s Vegas, they may just not want to bother with the hassle of hotel blocks.

I''m with you, though. Let everyone else find a room that you''re not responsible for!