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How far will people drive w/o getting a hotel room?

MNbride1991MNbride1991
10 Comments
in Wedding Reception Forum
As the title says, how far do you think most people will drive to attend ceremony and reception without getting a room?

I'm trying to guesstimate how many rooms to block off. We have some out-of-state'rs that will forsure need a room but we have a handful of people that will be traveling an hour or so to come to the wedding... not sure if the average person/family would drive back or not.
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Re: How far will people drive w/o getting a hotel room?

  • AddieCakeAddieCake member
    10000 Comments 500 Love Its Fourth Anniversary 25 Answers
    I think this will all depend on the guests. My husband and I recently moved from Texas to Virginia, and he tried to talk me into driving the 1600 miles straight through. He also has no problems driving 10 hours from here to PA for work and then working that same night. Yeesh. 

    For me, I would say I would drive 3 or MAYBE 4 hours, tops. With the drive, then the event, and then that same drive home, I would be pretty wiped out, so any more than that, and I would want to stay overnight.  

    I also think it depends on what time your ceremony is. 


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  • MrsGandthebeagMrsGandthebeag member
    2500 Comments 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    Just under an hour.
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  • erinlin25erinlin25 member
    500 Love Its 1000 Comments Third Anniversary First Answer
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_how-far-will-people-drive-wo-getting-a-hotel-room?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:448db76b-8e31-4874-8edc-b1982b89a32fPost:f25c8953-0455-45a4-b88d-59f4109f7e11">Re: How far will people drive w/o getting a hotel room?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Depends. We like to drink, so we usually stay the night so neither of us have to drive. If the drive was under an hour we'd probably draw straws for DD and then drive home that night.
    Posted by Liatris2010[/QUOTE]

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  • libby2483libby2483 member
    1000 Comments 250 Love Its Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    It depends.  For a wedding I was a BM in this summer, we got a hotel room even though the wedding was only about 20 minutes from our house.  We wanted to be able to drink and take the shuttle back to the hotel.  Honestly, we also didn't want all of our college friends coming into town for the wedding to just ask to crash at our place, so that was another reason to get a hotel.  However, if I knew I was going to stay sober to drive home, I would probably drive up to an hour without getting a hotel.  Over an hour, I would probably get a hotel.
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  • libby2483libby2483 member
    1000 Comments 250 Love Its Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited December 2012
    It depends.  For a wedding I was a BM in this summer, we got a hotel room even though the wedding was only about 20 minutes from our house.  We wanted to be able to drink and take the shuttle back to the hotel.  Honestly, we also didn't want all of our college friends coming into town for the wedding to just ask to crash at our place, so that was another reason to get a hotel.  However, if I knew I was going to stay sober to drive home, I would probably drive up to an hour without getting a hotel.  Over an hour, I would probably get a hotel.
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  • Avion22Avion22 member
    2500 Comments 5 Love Its
    edited December 2012
    When I was just out of college I would routinely drive 2-3 hours back home after a wedding to avoid having to spend money on a hotel room.   Now, I think I would probably not drive back more than an hour, and I would only do that if I had something the day after that I had to do at home early.   Otherwise, H and I would rather spring for a hotel because it's easier.
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  • itzMSitzMS member
    2500 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers First Anniversary
    edited December 2012
    Unless you are having your wedding during a really popular time in a really popular tourist desination, I don't think you have to "block off" tons of rooms.

    I got a "block" at a hotel which basically was just a discounted price. They didn't really "hold" rooms as far as I know.

    We just told the hotel the number of guests we were expecting and they handled things accordingly.

    I actually have no clue how many of my guests stayed at the hotel!
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  • zitiqueenzitiqueen member
    Knottie Warrior 2500 Comments 500 Love Its First Answer

    This isn't a one-size-fits-all question. Some people wouldn't think twice about a 2+ hour drive home after a wedding and others think any drive for any reason that's longer than 30 minutes away requires a suitcase and a hotel room.

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  • Jen4948Jen4948 member
    Knottie Warrior 10000 Comments 500 Love Its 25 Answers
    Me, an hour to 90 minutes, although I have day-tripped on longer drives.  It really depends on each person's needs and schedule. 

    For one thing, how late will the event end? For another, where are the nearest accommodations for guests, and are they good quality?  If it's really late, I might not be willing to drive longer than 30 to 45 minutes because I'll be very tired.  On the other hand, if there aren't good quality accommodations nearby, I may have to drive longer than 90 minutes.

    For still another, will I have to drive through a bad area? If I do, I won't want to do that at night, so I might book a hotel room nearby to avoid that and drive back during the day.
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  • suzyaggie08suzyaggie08 member
    First Comment
    Word of caution: I was in a wedding a few years ago where the groom's family and friends were from a town 4 hours away from the wedding location. Most of his family and friends decided not to stay the night, and the the reception really sucked. Many people did not drink due to the long drive and several left before the bouquet toss or the cake cutting. By the end, only a dozen were left to see the couple off and eating and dancing never really happened.

    I don't know really how to remedy this, other than mentioning the hotel accomodations to all out of towners. Maybe you could make a few phone calls and get an idea of who would want to stay and who would want to drive back? Also, if you are able to get a good rate on the hotel, maybe more people would stay for the entire reception.

    I'm MOH in a wedding in April that's on a Sunday afternoon. The venue is out in the country (about an hour from Houston, 4 from Dallas, 2.5 from Austin) so I think it will be a similar situation since people probably have work on Monday. The bride is actually counting on this to cut down on food, booze, and music costs.

    Stuff to think about at least.
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  • OwningAHome1981OwningAHome1981 member
    Ninth Anniversary 1000 Comments 100 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited December 2012
    Try and get a figure from your guests themselves by just flat out asking them- "we're trying to get a fifure on hotel rooms, do you think you will be staying?". Our reception is only 15mins from our house and our parents houses but it ends @ 1:30am and all of our parents are staying b/c they want to drink. I would say if you are not responsible for filling a % of the rooms, I'd block more than you think you need b/c it's not always out of staters. Some people even locals just prefer to stay if they are drinking or whatever.
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