Budget Weddings Forum

Wedding Night Hotel-Worth the Cost?

Hi everyone,

We're getting married in the city we currently live in so there isn't an actual need for a wedding night hotel room. We'd love to save the money and just go home after the reception, but we're also worried that might kill some of the romance of the night to just jump right back into normal life. In your experience is having that "night away from home" worth the money? Thanks!

Re: Wedding Night Hotel-Worth the Cost?

  • We are in the same boat.  We live about 15-20 minutes' drive from our venue. We will be drinking at the reception, so we won't be driving ourselves home.  I said we should just get a cab home at the end of the night, but my partner thinks that would be sort of a lame end to the night and I can't say I disagree.  I don't know what we will end up doing, but I wanted to let you know that you are not alone in trying to figure this out.
  • It's up to you and what you think is worth it. We went back to our own house after the wedding, we wanted to wake up and nurse our hangovers in our own home. From my experience I'll tell you two things 1) if you are planning on drinking in any quantity then there is no wedding night romance to kill, more face planting on top of the bed and passing out, and 2) we had so many friends and family buzzing around us in the lead up to the wedding and obviously all day long on the day itself that going back to our own quiet home, just us two, felt so cosy and intimate that I wouldn't have swapped it for the world. But honestly it's your decision and there is no right or wrong here.
                 
  • We got a nice suite for the weekend of the wedding, ended up inviting people over after the rehearsal dinner and the reception for just some additional relaxing and drinks. Very low key and we kicked people out after a little time so we had some time to ourselves. I liked being at the hotel, our room was really nice, and we have a roommate at home so it was nice to get away. Nether of us had plans to get super drunk, H had quite a bit to drink but he was still completely fine. 

    I think the things you need to weigh is do you and your FI like being in hotels? I have friends that always complain because you can't control everything, you don't know how the bed will will feel or how noisy the area will be. But if those things are okay with you two then it could be a special trip. 
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  • Nothing says you need a $300 suite!  You can get a nice room at a hotel that would fit your budget better.  We stayed at a Super 8 on our wedding night in one of their whirlpool suites at that location (a nicer one) and didn't spend a fortune.  It was nice since we weren't yet living together to have that night, but was it necessary - no...  If you want to do something to spruce things up a bit, you can really do up your bedroom nice at the house, get some nicer sheets instead, get a flower arrangement for the room to dress it up a bit, or just add a night to your honeymoon!  Then you can use the "fancy sheet set" whenever you want to have a special time.  
  • We're also in the same boat. Instead of a fancy suite we've decided to book an adorable old B&B. Much cheaper than a regular hotel and even though it's pretty modest we can save the fancy accomodations for the honeymoon.
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  • Hi everyone,

    We're getting married in the city we currently live in so there isn't an actual need for a wedding night hotel room. We'd love to save the money and just go home after the reception, but we're also worried that might kill some of the romance of the night to just jump right back into normal life. In your experience is having that "night away from home" worth the money? Thanks!

    Something else to consider.....will you have a lot of OOT guests attending the wedding?  DD and her husband decided to stay at the hotel because so many friends and family were staying there.  It allowed them the opportunity to have breakfast together the following morning, and have a chance to say their "good-bye's" in a more intimate setting.  I believe their room cost was comped because of the number of rooms booked by guests. 
  • I think this is a lot of your all's personal preference.  For me, hotel room with a Jacuzzi in it was a must.  I love those.  I got married OOT in my mom's patio area.  We stayed at her house for the nights leading up to the wedding and then went over to the Jacuzzi suite at a nearby hotel after the reception.

    We almost got married in our own backyard.  If we had done that, I STILL would have wanted to go to nice hotel for the evening.  But then, we occasionally treat ourselves to a nice hotel anyway.

    I also like @MesmrEwe's idea that, if you want to save the money and go back home, then decorate your bedroom up!  Fresh flowers always perk up a room.  Add in some candles.  Some champagne already chilling in the fridge.

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  • I got married in my hometown and we stayed in a hotel that night. I used the hotel to get ready in and then we got late checkout and had breakfast in bed the next morning. It was a non-negotiable for me. I didn't want to have to super clean my house for getting ready/pictures and we had a nice space to wake up in/didn't have to make breakfast.
  • If our venue would have been closer to the house we would have just ended up back here. We got married in a different suburb without a lot of hotel options and just took the closest one - it wasnt fancy or anything it was a place to sleep. We could have gone downtown for something fancy but it didn't seem worth it. As it was we got there about midnight, I was stone cold sober and wired and H was drunk and passed out about 10 min after being there so it isn't like we enjoyed any hotel amenities or even paid attention to it. 
  • We're going back to our house, since the venue is about the same distance from both our house and the hotels most of our guests will be staying at. FI wanted to cuddle with the dog (lol) and we're having an open house/casual brunch the next day so we figured it would be easier if we were just already at home. But it's totally a personal preference thing! If it would feel more special to you to stay in a hotel & it's in your budget...go for it! :) 
  • My sister and her H stayed at their new house the first night and left on their honeymoon the next night. They had not lived together prior. 

    I honestly think there's something quite romantic about spending your first night as a married couple in your own home. 
  • We ran into this situation too. We live about 15 minutes from our venue, our reception went until 10:30, and then we our flights for our honeymoon left the next day at 6 or 7 a.m. I liked the idea of getting a nice hotel on our wedding night, but in the end, it was not worth the $2-300 of getting a nice hotel near our venue that we would've spent five hours or so in. We went to a bar after the reception, then went home. I don't regret it at all. We decided we'd rather have that few hundred dollars to spend on our honeymoon.
  • MesmrEwe said:
    Nothing says you need a $300 suite!  You can get a nice room at a hotel that would fit your budget better.  We stayed at a Super 8 on our wedding night in one of their whirlpool suites at that location (a nicer one) and didn't spend a fortune.  It was nice since we weren't yet living together to have that night, but was it necessary - no...  If you want to do something to spruce things up a bit, you can really do up your bedroom nice at the house, get some nicer sheets instead, get a flower arrangement for the room to dress it up a bit, or just add a night to your honeymoon!  Then you can use the "fancy sheet set" whenever you want to have a special time.  


    Thank you so much for this suggestion! We're getting married locally as well, but due to work PTO constraints and when our honeymoon cruise leaves out, we'll have a week in between our wedding and the honeymoon. I think it would be nice to save money for excursions on the cruise, yet still make our wedding night special.

    And truly, when you think about it, we will have already had sex before the wedding, so that night being spent somewhere extra luxurious/momentous is not too important. I imagine that's the case for most modern day couples.

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  • I think your idea is very sensible.  As the pp suggested, there are lots of very nice, lower cost hotels.  Where is your location?  Maybe we can help you find a bargain.
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  • For me, it would come down to cost and ease. Do you have pets you would need to find a friend to take overnight, or board? Would the cost of a taxi or Uber ride home near the cost of a cheap hotel room? On the other hand, if you think it would simply be fun and romantic to get a night away, I say go for it.
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