Timing The Invitations With Canadian Travel Packages

[Maggietron]

So from what I'm hearing here, once you lock in your rates, you have 30 days to put down deposits, and then 90 days to make final payments? So how do you time everything?  Do you lock in your rate and then immediately send out the invites so that once they receive the invite, they have 2-3 weeks to put down the deposit? How late do you wait to lock in your rate so that your guests have time to save up? I'm completely unclear on how this works.

[TinkerSofi]

I struggled with this too because it meant sending invites like a year before haha. We sent a save the date as soon as we paid our deposit (no one booked then) and then sent the invites 2-3 weeks before the deadline. We also called or texted people to remind them of the deadline a couple of days before. 

 

Basically once you and your fiance put your deposit, most companies will hold 30 seats for 90 days. Your guests have 90 days from the day you paid your deposit to put down their deposit. Maybe double check with your TA. We put down $150 each of us and that held those 30 seats but I know some hotels want $150 from every guest or for every guest for them to even hold the spots and that might be a bit different in terms of when your guests have to pay. We sent the invites 2-3 weeks before that 90 day deadline, when people got paid so they wouldn't have an excuse hahah. 

Edited September 30, 2014 by TinkerSofi

[Maggietron]

@@TinkerSofi What was your timeline like and who was your package through? Like did you have 30 days to put down the deposit, but your guests had 90 days? 

[calgarybride2015]

So ours worked a little different.

When we got quotes, we had 30 days to lock in the rate/sign the contract - to do this we had to pay our deposit - we paid $300 each for bride/groom and $200 each for our kids.  With Air Canada this held 15 rooms/30 seats and our guests had 90 days to put down deposits. What was nice, is because we paid our deposits with signing of the contract we weren't included in the 15 rooms/30 seats, so more available for our guests!   Once the 90 day deposit deadline passed, our guests then had another 90 days to make final payment or they lost the group rate.  So we booked our resort early May, then deposits due early Aug (we made the deadline mid July to ensure everyone paid on time - this also was our RSVP date), then final payment due early November (again we made the deadline mid October for stragglers).

 

What I did was book my resort early May and send invitations out mid May.  I sent reminders/calls/texts early July to remind everyone to pay their deposit. I plan to do this again in a week or two to ensure everyone makes their final payment. 

If I had booked my resort earlier, I may have done STD's, then invites, but didn't have the time IMO!

 

I wouldn't wait to lock your rates if you feel it's a good deal!   If I had waited I may have been upset, as the listed price for my trip is well over $400 more than my guests are paying  (when we booked, it was only $100 more, so prices have went up!  I know it's because there is next to no room left on our plane as per AC).

 

Hope that helps!

Edited September 30, 2014 by calgarybride2015

[TinkerSofi]

@@TinkerSofi What was your timeline like and who was your package through? Like did you have 30 days to put down the deposit, but your guests had 90 days? 

sorry I edited that post to death ahaha. Like Calgarybride said, it really depends on the company you travel with. We're going with Air Transat so with $300 they held those 30 seats for us so our guests could start booking. When our TA got us the quote we only had 3 weeks to make a decision whether we wanted to book or not, after that she needed to get another quote. She told us it was a really good price so we booked (we're saving about $200 on each ticket). Once we paid those $300 ($150 each of us), our guests could start putting their $150 deposits for 90 days (Until this past August). For those that already booked, we have until June 9 next year to pay the full balance. 

[calgarybride2015]

I also have to wonder if my timing just worked perfect for everything to be 90 days apart.  What I mean is, our deposits were due 90 days after we signed the contract/locked in the quote, but had I have been getting married late next year our guests would have had more time to pay for their trip.   I think most are due 90 ish days before travel, just worked out that way for our guests that 90 days before travel, was also 90 days after deposits were due.

[TinkerSofi]

I also have to wonder if my timing just worked perfect for everything to be 90 days apart.  What I mean is, our deposits were due 90 days after we signed the contract/locked in the quote, but had I have been getting married late next year our guests would have had more time to pay for their trip.   I think most are due 90 ish days before travel, just worked out that way for our guests that 90 days before travel, was also 90 days after deposits were due.

ohh, that would make sense. Maybe that's what happened. Yeah we have until 90 days before we leave to pay the whole thing

[Maggietron]

Ok. So I have ordered my save the date cards, that basically just say November 2015 and direct them to our website for details, which buys me about three weeks to get the details settled. So if I started getting the rates set up within the next couple weeks, then I could put our deposit down in early November and send out the invites at that point (1 year in advance) so they have until mid Feb to put down their deposits, then they will probably have until August to make their final payments?

[calgarybride2015]

Ok. So I have ordered my save the date cards, that basically just say November 2015 and direct them to our website for details, which buys me about three weeks to get the details settled. So if I started getting the rates set up within the next couple weeks, then I could put our deposit down in early November and send out the invites at that point (1 year in advance) so they have until mid Feb to put down their deposits, then they will probably have until August to make their final payments?

 

If you haven't picked your resort 100%, then you will probably need 3-4 weeks to settle on something once your TA is requesting quotes.  The process was lengthier than I had imagined.  The airlines easily took 1 week to send back a quote, and if there was errors (yes it happened, they would use the wrong gateway, etc.) I had to wait even longer.   So by the time your STDs come in and you get them ready to go, you will probably have your resort and wedding date booked

 

This is what I did - once I had decided what resort I wanted and the week, my TA emailed the resort's wedding department to find out what wedding dates were available for that week.  Once we knew we could get my wedding in the same week, then I booked with Air Canada. Once Air Canada info was sent in, I then put my deposit down with my resort to hold my wedding date.  Then I sent out my information.    I wanted to make sure everything would work out before I sent any info to my guests/directed them to my website!

 

Since I didn't do STDs, I didn't have to worry about who to also send invites too (see posts on that).  I did my RSVP date as my deposit deadline to streamline things, but I figured it they were coming they would put down a deposit.  Some didn't and they contacted us and said we may come but it will be last minute.  So we gave them the deadline of October 1st (tomorrow!).

[TinkerSofi]

@@Maggietron I think that's a good timeline. Definitely settle the details first because sometimes travel arrangements or the hotel's availability can really change your plans (it definitely changed ours). Trust me, 3 months is plenty of time when your wedding is a year away. Most people will not book until the very end so try not to worry too much about that. I really stressed out with people not booking but most came through for us in the end

If you haven't picked your resort 100%, then you will probably need 3-4 weeks to settle on something once your TA is requesting quotes.  The process was lengthier than I had imagined.  The airlines easily took 1 week to send back a quote, and if there was errors (yes it happened, they would use the wrong gateway, etc.) I had to wait even longer.   So by the time your STDs come in and you get them ready to go, you will probably have your resort and wedding date booked

 

This is what I did - once I had decided what resort I wanted and the week, my TA emailed the resort's wedding department to find out what wedding dates were available for that week.  Once we knew we could get my wedding in the same week, then I booked with Air Canada. Once Air Canada info was sent in, I then put my deposit down with my resort to hold my wedding date.  Then I sent out my information.    I wanted to make sure everything would work out before I sent any info to my guests/directed them to my website!

 

Since I didn't do STDs, I didn't have to worry about who to also send invites too (see posts on that).  I did my RSVP date as my deposit deadline to streamline things, but I figured it they were coming they would put down a deposit.  Some didn't and they contacted us and said we may come but it will be last minute.  So we gave them the deadline of October 1st (tomorrow!).

 that's pretty much what we did. First we talked with our TA, our first choice for hotel didn't work out for us, so it took about a week to choose something else, another week or two for her to get quotes, when we liked the prices she asked the wedding department whether they had the date available (that took another 2 weeks), then we booked, and then the countdown began for the 90 days. We sent e-mail STD a week into those 90 days, and then waited to 3 weeks before our booking deadline to send the invitations (we made their deadline about a week before the real deadline in case anyone procrastinated, and I'm sure glad we did). That's when most people booked. I agree, sometimes it's a lot more time consuming that you think it will be but even then, I don't think you will be rushed to get people booked and everything.