For Those That Have Already Had Their Weddings - Question!!!

krizstyling · October 18, 2010

I did a search on this and I did find old threads but most of them were from planning brides. Not brides who have already had their wedding and dealt with this.

My question is two part.

1. What was the average cost your guests incurred for their hotel stay? Was it All Inclusive? For how many days/nights? Did it include airfare?

2. How many guests SAID they would come, and how many actually showed up? An actual number. Like, you sent out 100 invites and 60 showed up, just as an example.

Any help is appreciated!

I'm debating on how I'm going to fill 15 rooms or if I can possibly fill 20 for a cheaper rate. I don't know why I'm so worried but I am. I guess I'm just wondering what past brides who have been there and done that dealt with and how they handled it.

Thank you!!!

mrs*j*2011 · October 19, 2010

I don't know how much help it'll be to you but we only invited immediate family and all 8 invited guests are attending!

We are staying at an all-inclusive and traveling during New Years so the prices are definitely inflated. Including airfare from either Albany NY or Burlington VT, they are paying either $3k (3 nights) or $4k (5 nights) per couple. Definitely not cheap but we were working with a strict time frame so there wasn't much we could do about it.

L&J · October 19, 2010

We invited 70. About 50 said they were coming. Our final count is 34 (with still 2 undecided 3 weeks before the wedding!) It's costing our guests about $1k-$1500 including air and hotel.

OceanWonderland · October 19, 2010

I'm getting married in less than a month so I'm assuming I have final head count numbers.

The average hotel cost for each guest was a little less than $500 for 4 nights/5 days at an all-inclusive resort (Dreams Tulum). That did not include airfare. Airfare ranged anywhere from $300-600 for most of my guests.

We sent out a LOT of invitations, to people we KNEW wouldn't come. Our parents made us. BUT, when someone said they were going to come, I'd say 95% of those people actually booked. We sent out about 100 invitations in all (200 people), and we have 73 people confirmed today (36 rooms). We also had 4 guests who actually booked their hotel and flight and cancelled a few weeks ago, so anything can happen.

Only go for 20 rooms booked if you've literally had 40 people (20 rooms) worth of guests CONFIRM they are going. Not just say "oh that sounds fun, I'll try to be there". The word "try" means "NO". No...they have to say "We are coming, we will definitely be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world".

Good luck!! You will have the best day of your life no matter who attends. Remember it's all about you and your hunny.

And to be honest...I would have preferred less guests as we are trying to keep this wedding on a budget. And for each extra guest, that's probably another $75 we're spending (food, OOT bags, decorations, gifts). Oh well, it's too late now, we're just spending more money than expected and we're going to have a blast!

krizstyling · October 19, 2010

Thank you so much ladies!!!

Ocean - First, LOVE your screenname - Second, thank you a TON for that detailed info! It really gives me an idea. You're right. About 30 people are saying YES DEFINITELY wouldn't miss it for the world...so I am guessing we are going to go with 15 rooms.

I hope your wedding is fantastic and can't wait to see pics! I LOVE Tulum!