Hotel madness

sabatron

I have two concerns regarding my hotel situation:

1.) Maybe I'm clueless, but I think putting cut-out inserts regarding hotel reservations is gonna look lame. Our invitations are super formal, and I'm afraid of sticking some cut-out piece of paper in the invitation just to tell people where to stay. I don't know what else to do though.

2.) Apparently people make goodie bags for guests staying overnight ... is this a custom that guests have come to expect. Didn't think I was going to be spending any more money on frivilous details. What do these bags usually include? Is rude to not do them?

danieliza1127

1) then just don't do them.  It's not a requirement, it's a fairly new thing.  Most people know to find hotels and make arrangements.  If you have a wedding website, you could put the info there instead or if you send out save the dates, you could put the info there instead. Or just skip it and leave guests' to figure it out.  If they need help, they'll ask you.

2) Totally not necessary or expected.  Nice to do if you want, not a requirement.

sabatron

I wanted to reserve rooms at a particular hotel, but if I reserve rooms, do I definitely need to do an insert or can it just be word of mouth? Not sure if this is tackier than an insert. We don't have a website.

danieliza1127

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_hotel-madness?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:691c5d52-45b6-46a4-8ef2-29ec7483293bPost:9bad2fb6-d6cb-45a6-947f-99d7239f423f">Re: Hotel madness</a>:
[QUOTE]I wanted to reserve rooms at a particular hotel, but if I reserve rooms, do I definitely need to do an insert or can it just be word of mouth? Not sure if this is tackier than an insert. We don't have a website.
Posted by sabatron[/QUOTE]

Well if you aren't going to put any info about the block of rooms in the invitations, then there's really no point in doing a block of rooms.  I guess you could do it and then just e-mail only your out of town guests and provide them with the information.  Otherwise, if I were traveling and didn't get any hotel info in the invitation, I would just use the internet to find the reception location and nearest hotels in my price range and then I would pick one.  I wouldn't ask you, I would just do it.

squirrly

I used the same paper, fonts, design, etc. as our invitations for the hotel inserts.  And, we did the OOT bags for our guests, which got awesome reviews.  They're not necessary, but I'd do them again in a heartbeat.

Photos of both in my planning bio.

soontobehimes

You could always do it in really nice font and print them on cardstock so that it's not just regular paper? If you have a lot of OOT guests, it might help save your sanity when the wedding gets closer so you don't have a million people calling you asking about the hotel.

And truthfully, no one will remember the insert with your hotel info when they think back to your wedding! I cared so much about little details that seemed so important, and they just give you headaches! HTH!

sabatron

What did you put in the OOT bags? Is it normally like mints, peanuts, and hairspray?

nhelene

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_hotel-madness?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:691c5d52-45b6-46a4-8ef2-29ec7483293bPost:954f26be-237b-4250-83cd-6d455903872b">Hotel madness</a>:
[QUOTE]1.) Maybe I'm clueless, but I think putting cut-out inserts regarding hotel reservations is gonna look lame. Our invitations are super formal, and I'm afraid of sticking some cut-out piece of paper in the invitation just to tell people where to stay. I don't know what else to do though. Posted by sabatron[/QUOTE]

Most invitation vendors have matching 'all purpose' cards for this very reason.  If you can't afford those, you could probably find card stock in a close enough shade to your invitations.

sabatron

That's true... I keep forgetting that these details only matter to me and that people won't remember them. Maybe I'll do a card stock insert.

danieliza1127

Oot bags for the hotel would have things like water bottles, a little snack or treat that is made or well known in your area, maybe a brochure of things to do in the area.

I agree with the others, if you feel like you can't just skip it then either have your invitation designer create one or just use some pretty coordinating cardstock.  Keep in perspective that most people look at the invitation, get the info they need, and then throw it away.

scpalmtree06

We have created hotel blocks at 3 hotels in our area for our OOT guests.  In lieu of including the specific information in the invitations directly, we have a card that says "Please refer to our website...," which lists all of the hotel information people will need.

Knittibell

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_hotel-madness?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:691c5d52-45b6-46a4-8ef2-29ec7483293bPost:9bad2fb6-d6cb-45a6-947f-99d7239f423f">Re: Hotel madness</a>:
[QUOTE]I wanted to reserve rooms at a particular hotel, but if I reserve rooms, do I definitely need to do an insert or can it just be word of mouth? Not sure if this is tackier than an insert. We don't have a website.
Posted by sabatron[/QUOTE]


Ah, this is the problem, then. So, what I'd do is get some NICE print your own cards which go with the general look of your invites, and print them out, in a little envelope and include them. Otherwise, not much point in booking hotel room blocks at a special rate.

You don't have to do goody bags!

quotequeen

I just sent OOT guests an email with the hotel block information, because I wanted them to have it long before our invitations went out so they could plan.  If I were going to include an insert with that info, I would have had it printed by the invitation company to match the suite.

mysticl

I didn't get a goody bag when I went to an out of town wedding and didn't miss it.  Personally, I think it could be considered rude to give some guests a goody bag and not others which is what you're doing if only your OOT get the bags.

srkropf

Neither is nessecary-- people can call you/WP/family for getting ideas for hotel info, while goodie bags are nice, so is not going into debt for you wedding. If you can afford it, it's really nice, if not-- don't sweat it.