9.10.11- should we book early or wait?

[JNL2011]

hi !!

 

im so happy that i came across this forum. I have been wondering the same thing about booking with the hotel and getting a date. Im planning a May2011 wedding too and am wondering when to start taking with the hotel. Will they give me information this far advance if i want to book the location for ceremony and dinner? . im planning to go to ROR (i think) 99% sure and starting to feel overwhelmed with all the information i need to gather.

AHHHHHHHH

[TaniBBurwell]

Hi!

 

For the 9.10.11 Bride, I would book it now. Find a resort that you like and have them lock down the date. If the 9.10.11 date is already locked down in the US, then that may be the case with other locations.

[JOSIE]

I would say that if you CAN then you should....but I'd tend to agree with the other girls that you'll have a hard time booking airfare/hotel rates. Although I'm sure there are some resorts that will at least accept a downpayment for to reserve your wedding on that date.

 

PS: 9/10/11 is an amazing date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[heartbeat]

Thanks for all the advice guy's i'm still trying to figure out what resort i want but when i do that i guess i'll just go ahead and book the date when the resort allows....

[Marie]

Hi Heartbeat.......Im not sure if I already replied to this thread...I guess I hsould have looked...anyways--had I previously replied, I probably would ave said, "yesss book it@",...but not so much now...I wouldnt be saying that...

 

I just posted a thread actually to get some advice for myself.....we booked our wedding for RIU Ocho Rios for May 6th 2010....we booked it in March 2009.....so its' only a year and a couple months--not too far away........anyways--Im facing craziness now with the flights....its weird--cause i COULD book the date at the resort fine n well.....but getting there is the problem...depending on whether you purchase an all inclusive package, or just the air...it may be a little difficult.....Im less then a year away now and I just found out that there are NO flight offered the forst week of May YET To Montego Bay from our original departure city--even tho they let us book 27 people back in March to fly down May 3rd...now they're saying, "sorry--our schedules are changed, we wont be flying until May 8th"....not only that...but........getting to toronto Ontario for our guests home here in Newfoundland, can be a little pricey--back when we booked it was the closest departure city they were offering,....and NOW---they are offering a closer departure city--its juts a lot of thinking,a a lot more planning when I thought all the planning was done..I may have to change my departure date...my departure city...my wedding date...all me effort back in March ...gone--at it all over again now 10 months before the wedding...*sigh*.......and of course, guests now are questioning me, wondering if I have a clue what Im doing..lol......

 

So after all my venting to you---my dear.....I know you want to book right away--its exciting, and to be able to say "we booked" felt awesome to me....but now...I wish I had to wait...until NOW to book, about 9 or 10 months ahead....when flight schedules actually come out..and airfare rates are out.....doing it too far in advance may not get you anywhere! Booking my date at RIU was fine....but for what? Now the air the I booked wont work...theres really no way to tell when you book that far, you just hope it all works out,..........

 

ANyways...sorry if I brought you down,......I mean, certainly book your date witht he resort, go ahead and get quotes 13-14 months away...you can book and hope...it may all work out for you......or just send out your save the dates...let all your guests know you are going to RIU it will be "such and such date" be prepared to come with us around taht date if you're interested...then when it gets close-book....and you can avoid flight schedule chnages......ok Im rambling........the best of luck to you !

[Perplexy]

That date could be a little tricky to keep as your own. 9/10/11 is pretty cool, and I am sure a few other brides may be thinking the same thing.

 

My advice is to book a little later. Don't do it now, since it's a long way away. If you're booking all inclusive, it'll be much less expensive to book closer to the date. And, if you're booking all inclusive, you can secure your date a little easier.

 

Marie is right though...wait until 9 or 10 months prior. That way, the prices are out and you can budget accordingly. There's really no way of knowing exactly what the economy is going to be like in 2011, and what your chosen resort is going to be like too.

[yumyum90]

I think you should try to book at least a year in advance, especially if you are going to have it at a popular resort. When I booked at Riu Ocho Rios, my TA said they were already starting to book for 2011.

[Marie]

Interesting.

When I spoke to RIU in March, they said they book the current year, and the one after...so I find it odd they are booking 2011 already? I find you always get so much info that conflicts with everyone elses info...it's best just to narrow down your resort then contact the resort directly & ask if you can book this far in advance, and if there's anything else you need to do.

 

Of course, if you book this far ahead-you'll have to understand that they probably cannot give you a price just yet, but they'll go by the current year or whatever.......if you can book your date without any hassel, no matter how far it is in advance, then I say do it too...it feels a lot better knowing your date...........

 

Back when I booked my date--I found out that in order to confirm the date-I needed to get back to RIU within 90 days with my booking reference, proving that I was indeed to booked to stay at the hotel......so thats why we went ahead and started the group so fast..........we obviously wanted to book with a group-to be eligible for the discounts etc etc.....so Im not sure if that will be an issue for you....depending on where you book......

[Ashleyciv]

Heartbeat,

I am running into the same questions as you! I just secured my wedding date for July 2, 2011 but didnt know if we should book our flight and hotel room yet. The airfare was JUST released last week and package prices are way higher then ive seen them to be during all my research for the resort we chose. Therefore, we are going to wait a few months until the prices come back down and then tell people to start booking it. Hope this helps!

[akua420]

I booked as soon as I knew the resort and date, its better to be safe then sorry, and if the price drops talk to your TA abuot only paying the lowest price, a lot of brides did that and ended up dsaving a ton.