Before you go:

• Consider your priorities. Will accommodations costs or proximity be most important to your guests?
• Consider your guest list. If you have guests from all walks of life, consider having two separate hotel blocks, giving your younger, less established friends a more economical route and your parent's best friends an option to spend a little more on their weekend away.
• When making reservations or requesting rates, call your chosen hotels and ask for the sales department.

Questions to ask:

• Ask for accommodations rates for your wedding weekend. Include Friday and Saturday nights in the quote, as your wedding party and some other guests may choose to make your wedding a weekend long celebration.
• Does the rate include common hotel amenities like: continental breakfast, wi-fi internet connection, gym, pool, whirlpool and sauna, parking, airport shuttles or a cocktail hour for guests.
• Ask about the guest reservations themselves. Many hotels do not require any financial commitment from you. They reserve the rooms (usually a minimum of 10 rooms and maximum of 20 to 30 rooms) under your wedding party name and make those rooms available to your guests upon request. Usually one month before your wedding, the hotel will release any unreserved rooms to the general public at no cost to you. If they ask for a credit card to guarantee rooms, ask if they offer other room block options.
• If you are creating welcome packages or baskets for your guests, ask about delivery policies. Some hotels charge a fee to give these welcome packages to guests.

• Keep all payment balance, deadline and contract information in one, easy to find place. And remember, no hotel rooms are reserved for you unless you have a signed contract in your hands.
• Ask for everything in writing. If during the sales process, your sales manager promises any extras or cost-cutting deals, make sure you can easily refer to that in an email, letter or contract.
• Include all travel and accommodations information in emails and/or invitations sent to your wedding party and guests. Make sure you include any deadlines for reservations to receive the reduced rates.
• At least one month prior to the room block's release, call and ask for a list of guests reserved under your block. If at that time the room block is full, you can ask for additional rooms based on availability at no cost to you.

• Depending on the size of your room block, ask about availability of a complimentary hospitality suite. This would serve as a great place for some or all of your wedding party to get ready. BUT, make sure that if it is available, that it is in your original contract.
• If you and your fiancé choose to stay at the same hotel on your honeymoon night, the hotel will typically offer suites to you also at a reduced rate. Ask about availability.