Save the Dates and Booking

kara16 · March 25, 2010

I'm confused!

We are having our wedding in January 2011 and we are in the process of booking right now. We've let everyone who is invited know already that we're going away the first week of January. We figured we'd just send out invitations as soon as we'd booked a specific resort, refer them to the TA and let them book from there.

However, from a number of different TA's it seems like people will not have very long to decide once we put down our deposits (less than 10 days?!) - which means we won't have time to get the invitations with the information out in time for people to book. Is that normal? I figured people would have some time before they had to committ to a deposit. What do we do then - email everyone and call the non-computer people and tell them to book as soon as we do? It seems...pushy.

Any input is appreciated!

TLC4Rock · March 25, 2010

No that doesn't sound right to me. Maybe one of the TAs here may have guidance for you on this issue. But just sounds fishy to me.

Sheree10 · March 25, 2010

I spoke to a few TA's and they suggested different options. One that was mentioned was for us to hold a block of rooms and put down a deposit. We decided to do this and held 10 rooms. We took a chance and for some time I was afraid that the rooms wouldn't get filled. We had to pay the money up front but at least the guests will have a set price that won't change because of our contract. Once we agreed on the quote and signed the contract we sent out our TA info and prices and gave people about 2 months to pay their deposit. I think we had about 4-5 rooms booked by our cutoff date. Now we have fulfilled the 10 room quota so whoever else decides to book now may not get the deal but they waited tooo long! We are four months away and some people who said they will be coming still haven't booked... well at least not with our agent.

Speak to your TA and see what different options you have.

Angel-in-Law · March 25, 2010

I agree. 10 days for your guests to commit seems off. Also, I doubt that many will be able to make a commitment so soon and so far in advance of your date.

Like Sheree10 I went with the room block option. The hotel I am using permitted me to reserve a block of 20 rooms at a discount price by putting down a deposit towards the total wedding cost. My wedding is March 2011. Guests have until Feb. 2011 to take advantage of the room block. I can release rooms if needed or pick up rooms if available. I thought this was the best option since I don't yet know how many guests we will have.

Hope that helps! I'm not using a Travel Agent, but definitely query yours about alternatives!