Destination Weddings Discussions

Charging guests for lodging if they want to stay on the premises for the weekend?

I am considering having our wedding at a mountain lodge and cabins about 2 hours away from our home city. The wedding package includes the whole place, which sleeps up to 30, for 3 nights and includes the event fee, tables, chairs, and cleanup. It is only a bit out our budget but I believe many of our friends and family would enjoy a long weekend in the mountains because there are lots of activities around and the property has a hot tub, pool, etc. Is it reasonable to offer those invited the additional option of booking a room there for the weekend for a certain amount of money? I have a friend who did something similar in a different state and said it worked out fine. People who wanted to were happy to pay to have somewhere to sleep, and those who did not want to just came to the wedding. Has anyone else encountered this sort of scenario? It's awkward to think about because it is sort of a destination wedding but not quite, and while I would love to be able to just invite everyone to stay for free, it just wouldn't be possible.

Re: Charging guests for lodging if they want to stay on the premises for the weekend?

  • Talk to your VIP's. See what they think about a weekend at this location. They may love the idea, they may not.

    It is in your best interest though to budget as if no one is able to stay. You do not want to put yourself in a financial situation that you cannot afford nor do you want to have to depend on your guests to make your DW feasible. 

    You should be able to afford your DW without any financial participation from your guests. I'm not saying that in a mean way at all, it's just very awkward to try to plan something you (general you) aren't sure if you can manage without the participation of others.

    There were many resorts when we were planning our DW in Mexico (including the one we ultimately chose, although we didn't take them up on this) that offered free or reduced priced wedding packages if X number of rooms were booked. Sounds great right? Especially since in our case we knew everyone who would attend would have to travel because it was out of the country. The drawback is the rooms had to be booked within some silly amount of time from when you book the wedding, and they had to be guaranteed. So instead of planning a wedding I knew whether we could afford we'd be gambling and/or hounding our intended guests, "Hey, um, you guys coming? We need you to book like a year in advance if so. Oh, what's the rush? We're just trying to be able to afford this particular property." That was NOT the conversation we ever wanted to have and I'm betting you don't want to either, OP! 

    But you and your FI may have really big families that will jump at the chance for a mountain lodge weekend getaway, so you may discover you have enough willing and ready participants to make this venue an easy reality. Take the opportunity of the holidays to float the idea to your peeps and see what they have to say!
  • I don't think it's ok for you to charge guests or collect money from guests.  I completely understand and get where you are coming from, but it would rub me the wrong way if the bride and groom asked me to pay them.  
  • I think it is OK to ask them if they want to stay there and charge them a certain amount. If they were staying some where else they would have to pay for their accommodations. Your way could be a cheaper option for them
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