If you have less than fifty in your wedding party, and you want a memorable experience on a budget, consider what we did.... We had our wedding, reception and first two nights of our honeymoon in the presidential suite at a local resort in Phoenix (where my wife lived at the time). The entire hotel bill when we checked out was right at $2,600. Here's how we did it....
We were inspired by a ten year wedding anniversary party we had attended in an elaborate presidential suite in Texas shortly before we were engaged. The couple who hosted the Friday night party had booked the suite off-season at a reduced rate for the entire weekend, hosted the event for about thirty people, and then had stayed as a couple in the suite until Sunday afternoon. As it was off-season, they got an incredible discount on the suite. It was a fabulous event, and we made a mental note that we'd love to do likewise someday. After our engagement, the idea immediately came to the forefront and we decided to use the concept for our wedding.
As my fiance lived in Phoenix, we decided to get married there. We knew we were going to have a small wedding, with about forty invitees. I was still living in Texas, so she set about with her mother, calling the concierge desks at all the major hotels and resorts in Phoenix, driving around on weekends and available weeknights checking them out for possible venue sites.
Her and her mother had a blast visiting probably a dozen hotel sites, touring the top suites in the area. They saw places where former presidents, celebrities and rock stars had stayed, hearing stories about famous visits in the various rooms. The staff always treated her like a wealthy client with VIP treatment during the short visits as they were showing off their best for her. Note - she didn't get heavily involved with the hotel's on-site planning staff. Instead she basically just worked with the front desk and the concierge when she could, as we knew the planning staff would want to go deeper, showing her ballrooms and catering options for a normal wedding scenario. We didn't want that. We just wanted the presidential suite space.
What she was looking for: 1) a suite big enough to host a party for 50, with a kitchen area to hold and serve food from. 2) a high ceiling that would lend a non-hotel room feel to the space, as opposed to a normal low ceiling that usually comes with any hotel space, even suites. 3) an exterior courtyard where the actual wedding could occur, with seating space for all the guests and 4) a master bedroom area that was tastefully off the main area of the suite, so that there would be no embarrassment/uncomfortable feeling from the guests about the wedding night.
She found everything at the Doubletree resort in Paradise Valley, Arizona and on top of everything,v the suite had a private pool, hot tub and sauna! Here's the link to the room... it's the middle suite on that page.
We checked in on Saturday around noon. We spent the early afternoon setting up, bringing in finger food,v stocking the refrigerator, getting all the chairs set up, flowers, decorations. The site had a door to an adjacent regular hotel room next door, and we booked that room as well, turning it into a bride's prep area and make-up/hair prep area for my fiance and her maids of honor.
Guests arrived around six, jaws dropping by the suite with its own private pool (it also had a pool table/billiard room). Most of the guests had never been in such a nice hotel suite. We partied and enjoyed the suite as a group for a couple hours, and then we were married on the patio at sunset. After, the entire set of guests walked to the hotel's main restaurant, where we had a dinner and cake cutting. The guests then left the event from the restaurant, and we returned to the suite for our wedding night. We had the hotel housekeeping staff clean the suite and put away the wedding decorations and finger food while we were at the restaurant. We stayed there our wedding night, plus one additional night, checking out and leaving for a traditional honeymoon on the third day.
At peak season, the room went for approximately $1,200 a night. As we were married in the summer, Phoenix's low season, we got it right at half price, $600 a night. The dinner was another $1,000 and we had various other hotel bills of $400 (room service and the like). $2,600 total for an amazing wedding venue, reception, dinner, and two night honeymoon. Everyone RAVED about the event for its uniqueness and elegance. Further, the hotel treated us like royalty the entire time, as we were in their top suite.
Consider this option if you have a small wedding party and want a top experience on a budget. PM me out ask me further questions here. Thanks and good luck!
Submitted January 03, 2017 at 02:00AM by CeilingUnlimited http://ift.tt/2hLcrjb weddingplanning
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