Am I a bride, or a travel agent?

Yesterday I was all giddy about the reality of having a reception space. Then the reality kicked in, that I was having a wedding and that in about 10 1/2 months (holy crap time is flying...) I will have over 100 people in town from all over the country for our wedding. The first thought that came to mind was "what am I going to do with everyone?" Seriously, as horrible as this sounds, throughout my wedding planning, I haven't really put much thought into my guests. Where are they going to stay? How are they going to get around? I was suddenly overcome with questions, not to mention, I've traveled; nothing is more of a pain in the butt than being in an area that I am unfamiliar with and not knowing how to get to the simplest of things. That being said, I got to work.

The first thing I did was visit hotelplanner.com. This website was recommended to me by another bride on one of the discussion boards I frequent. You simply put in some information about the number of guests and the city you are in, and area hotels submit bids for group blocks. Very handy indeed. I also was able to score a group discount code on rental cars for my guests.

Once I confirmed our reception venue, I immediately called their corporate line and arranged a room block of 30 rooms at the venue, with a considerable discount. Tom then encouraged me to call two other hotels that are within easy walking distance of the reception venue. All in all, I have 60 rooms blocked off for my guests.

Finally, I made a wedding map on weddingmapper.com. My map includes various wedding venues, such as the rehearsal dinner site, ceremony venue, reception venue, and Sunday brunch venue; as well as some points of interest for people who may not be familiar with the area, such as hotels, restaurants, points of interest, the local Catholic church, hospitals, shopping, the closest Wal-Mart, and movie theaters. By the end of the day, I felt much more prepared to welcome my guests. I want them to be comfortable and enjoy their time in Maine. As the big day gets closer, I am going to make welcome bags as well, one for each hotel room that I blocked off. But alas, that is for another day, and another post.