Asking guests to stay at an all-inclusive resort

[McCheng]

Hello All,

 

I'm just beginning to plan my wedding. Most likely it will be in Mexico, though the DR is a possibility.

 

We are working with a really tight budget and of course one way to save is to use an all-inclusive resort and have guests stay there and have the wedding package included. But is it ok to ask my guests to stay at the resort of my choosing, especially an all-inclusive? Some might want more freedom in choosing where to stay and how much money to spend on lodging/food.

 

Any etiquette advice here would be appreciated. Thanks!

Martha

[Dez921714]

We only sent information on our resort to guests. I told them that they are welcome to stay elsewhere but they'd have to pay for day passes (other than on the day of our wedding) and if they wanted to stay somewhere else, they'd have to do the work finding it and figuring otu transportation.

[rodent]

I picked a very affordable AI so I didn't feel bad asking everyone to stay there. I wrote, "we hope you will joine as at the catalonia." Then I stated there is an $80 fee to enter the hotel. I dind't say who would pay it. It probably would have depended on how many people stayed elsewhere. I worked hard to get a good travel package & my guests were very happy with the cost of the trip.

 

The way I felt is if people didn't want to stay with us, I'd rather them not go. I just wanted a small group & only people who really did want to make the trip. We've made it super easy for people to skip it. We'll only have 24 guests & I'm very happy with that. We are all staying at the AI together & I think we'll have a blast.

[Christine]

I think the majority of the girls on here choose to use AI's for their weddings and I think most guests will find it to actually be a very affordable option (but be reasonable in your choice, choose one that is affordable)

[DanielleNDerek]

I only gave my guests the information for my ai resort. You just need to pick a resort that's in your guests price range.

[Jen_S]

We picked a affordable resort which is made up of 3 resorts so guests have the option of where to stay. In our STD we only sent info on the resort we are getting married at. When we talk to people about the wedding we tell them all we have planned and they actually want to stay at the same resort since everyone will be there.

[McCheng]

Thanks for the input! We'll move ahead with the AI then. Appreciate the help.

Martha

[rodent]

AIs are great for groups. You don't have to coordinate getting the group together to go eat or go out somewhere. The appeal of a DW wasn't just the ceremony on a beautiful beach. I love the idea of all being at the same hotel having fun together. I can't wait!

[seaprincess]

I think that if you offer the resort info to your guests (whether it an AI or not) you are doing alot of the work for them. Many will appreciate not having to pay anything when they get there for food, drinks, etc. You are doing many of them a favour as long as you pick a resort in a reasonable price range. There are going to be guests that feel they can get a 'better deal' on their own, but often the group rates are pretty good, and for most of your guests, they also want to be a part of your experience/vacation for the whole week, not just the wedding day. Let the deal searchers know that there is a cost to spend the day at the resort and they can decide if they want to stay elsewhere. I told my guests that we are inviting you because we would love for you to be there and stay with us, but we are not expecting anyone to be there.

[Copita]

Martha, as a DR bride, I highly recommend the island

 

When we sent out our save the dates, we included a letter in there that told them we realized they had many choices to strongly encouraged them to stay at ours because traveling between the resorts/hotels can take up a long time.

 

Also, for each guest that stays at a different resort, most resorts make you pay for a day/night pass to have them come on the property... some of them go up to $100 per person. So def check out how much they are at your resort (that was a major deciding factor of where we decided to host our wedding). Mostly everyone has stayed at our resort thus far, but there are about 4 people who are going to a different one.