We live in and are getting married in a small city on May 2. We set our RSVP deadline for April 14, a week before the caterer needs her numbers. Hotel rooms are generally plentiful downtown, even at the last minute. I just found out today though that the university is having its graduation that day. Given that we are being married on the campus, you'd think the event coordinator for the school would have mentioned that when I booked. Oh well, our ceremony isn't until 5:30 and the last graduation starts at 1pm a few blocks away.
After panicking and learning that several of the downtown hotels are already booked solid, I found one that has rooms left at a reasonable rate and am planning to block. They will only hold the block though, until 30 days before that weekend. I'm planning to add an insert to go out with our invitations to let people know about the graduation and that they should consider booking early, along with the room block information. I will also remind people to check our website for updates and additional ideas on hotels. I've already had our invitations, reception card, and rsvp card printed, so this is in addition to other information. (I confess I just told people to check our website for travel info on the reception card, now we obviously need to be more specific).
What is the right way to phrase this information? I was thinking the following, but please edit if needed:
If you are considering attending please note that x date is also x University's graduation which will lead to travel delays around downtown and an increased demand for hotel rooms. We have been advised that some area hotels are already at capacity. We have a block of 20 hotel rooms at x hotel that will be held until x date. Additional information regarding the hotel block, travel, and accommodations can be found on our wedding website.
Also, my plan was to put invitations in the mail March 2. Should I push that any earlier? I really wish I would have realized this when we ordered save the dates, which went out in December, because I would have said something then.
I have already started reaching out to family about the potential difficulty (they are all OOT) and have asked FI to do the same. Is it rude to also call/text/email friends about this?
(Edited for paragraphs)