Rural wedding with no close hotels

Re: Rural wedding with no close hotels

• LondonLisa member

  

  February 2019

  knottie4ed8de55c6aaf378 said:

  My fiancé and I want to get married at his parents’ home in Sharon, CT in September 2019. It’s rural and there are very limited hotel options there, and all of them are already booked up until at least November 2019.
  
  Most guests will be coming from 2-3 hours away and a good number will be flying in. There are other hotel options around 30-45 minutes away that we could do a hotel block at but guests would have long drives (no Lyft/Uber there) and we don’t want people to leave early because they aren’t drinking in anticipation of a long drive. We could also offer a shuttle to those hotels If there are any around. Also, they could camp or crash in a large room in the house.
  
  Our fear is that people won’t book hotels until a few months before and then everything in the area will be completely booked (since it’s a popular time to go). How much should we worry about hotels for guests? Do people usually make it work (Airbnb or stay further away if they want to come? I’m just not sure if we are overthinking it and if maybe it’s an issue a lot of couples have to think about in rural areas. Any advice or experience would be so helpful!
  

  It is a very valid concern, you are not overthinking it at all. It comes down to your options and how many guests you planning on inviting and the hotel block ratio. (Ie: 60 people with 4 hotels in town for a potential total of 120 rooms should be OK, 200 would not be).  Most people won't book hotels until a few months/ weeks before.  I would not offer camping or the house to sleep in unless you have plenty of bathrooms that can handle this. I would definitely try to reserve a block, as long as you are not on the hook for unused rooms, and make the expiration date known. 
  
  With a 40 minute drive, people will likely leave early and not drink that much. Shuttles would be a good idea. I had a friend who had a rural wedding- I booked early and managed a spot in the nice hotel, but the other ones were dodgy. Some people airbnb'ed. And some people declined because they couldn't find out their schedules in time for everything to be booked up. 
  
  Just remember with home weddings EVERYTHING needs to be brought in, including rented toilets, tables, chairs, rain plan tents, heaters/ ac, cleaners, waiters, caterers, catering kitchen equipment, extra power (normal houses usually don't have the voltage to run a massive party with DJs and lights etc) etc. It is a logistical nightmare. Just be forewarned. 

  Report7 Reply
• climbingsingle member

  

  February 2019

  Honestly, you should rethink your venue if accommodations are going to be this difficult. Shuttles are a great idea, but as you mentioned, hotels are already booked. Do you really expect people to camp out while attending a wedding?? Or crash at your FI's parents' house? How many people could they even put up, while hosting a wedding??
  
  Driving 3 hours and then not having a hotel would be awful, IMO, and I'd probably just skip the wedding. 

  Report9 Reply
• banana468 member

  

  February 2019

  OK - so your wedding location is far out in a lovely location.   Are there local inns that you can contact for recommendations?  I'd even see if you can find a local forum on Facebook to see what people have recommended.   
  
  Friends of ours were married pretty much exactly where you propose and it was GORGEOUS but being in state we drove in and out the same day.
  
  Honestly depending on your ages I don't know how big a deal that ends up being.   This was 13 years ago and the wedding was at around 1, we drove the hour plus up and back and didn't hotel it later.   We sometimes do that depending on the area knowing that it's often easier to just lay off the booze and drive earlier.   So if you DO opt for something like this I'd have the reception not ending at 11.
  
  But things to consider in addition to the hotels that aren't close are what others have stated.   Unless your FI's parents have a big family and host hundreds frequently then you'll need to bring in A LOT including toilets.   My guess is that his parents aren't on city sewers up there which is going to mean overworking a well pump and septic system.   So that's everything from the bathrooms to the forks that will be needed.   It can work - but it's often going to be just as expensive as using a local location. 
  
  Before you scrap the plan entirely see if there are places that are near you that will work.   And also talk to your traveling VIPs.   They can also shed some light on whether or not they think they'd plan to drive in and out or not. 

  Report3 Reply
• STARMOON44 member

  

  February 2019

  I don’t think you can have it both ways. I would come and book a hotel and make it work. Which would mean either me or my date or a carpool driver not drinking. Which I’d be fine with but you can’t expect me to be doing shots until 11 if this is your plan and under no circumstances do I camp or crash on someone’s couch. 

  Report3 Reply
• ei34 member

  

  February 2019

  You’re right to be asking yourself these questions, but don’t you kind of have the answer?  Your wedding is in Sept but all of the hotels are booked.  I’d search for a venue closer to the hotels with room, 30-45min away.  If I drove 2-3 hrs I wouldn’t feel like being on a shuttle for an extra hour-hr and a half.

  Report3 Reply
• knottiebbc3587275feaa72 member

  

  November 2023

  If booking a hotel is the preference, it's reasonable to expect everyone to make arrangements accordingly. Being considerate of designated drivers or choosing not to drink excessively is a fair compromise.
  
  

  Report0 Reply
• MobKaz member

  

  November 2023

  knottiebbc3587275feaa72 said:

  If booking a hotel is the preference, it's reasonable to expect everyone to make arrangements accordingly. Being considerate of designated drivers or choosing not to drink excessively is a fair compromise.
  
  

  
  Welcome to The Knot.  Please regard dates when commenting on posts.  This is a zombie/dead thread, with the last comment being made over 4 years ago.
  @knotmod, please close this post.
  

  Report0 Reply