Event planning guides
A hotel room block fails when the rooms are released before invitations go out
A hotel room block is useless if the hotel releases the rooms before the invitations go out. Compare the cutoff on the agreement with the day the couple or the company will actually send invitations. This is not a hotel policy and not a rate.
Key decisions
- A hotel room block is useless if the hotel releases the rooms before the invitations go out.
- Compare the cutoff on the agreement with the day the couple or the company will actually send invitations.
- The comparison is two dates the couple or the company replaces. It is not a hotel policy and not a rate.
A hotel room block is useless if the hotel releases the rooms before the invitations go out. This page compares two dates the couple or the company replaces: the cutoff on the agreement, and the day they will actually send invitations. It is not a hotel policy and not a rate. Do not type a hotel name into the worksheet. This page does not name one.
Write the cutoff the agreement already states, and the day the invitations will actually go out. Keep that pair with the guest list. Keep the answers on one comparison worksheet.
Compare the cutoff with the day invitations go out
The cutoff is the day the agreement says the unbooked rooms are released. The send day is the day the couple or the company will actually send the invitations. A company sending invitations for an offsite uses the same pair as a couple. A day someone hopes to send does not count. A guest who has not received the invitation cannot reserve a room. If the hotel releases the rooms first, the block can already be gone when the guest reads the note.
Ask which agreement is actually holding the rooms, and copy the cutoff from that page. Leave the row blank when no agreement states a cutoff. A blank row is clearer than a day this page supplied.
Keep the building on the matching guide
The two dates belong on this page. The building is a different comparison.
The Washington, DC wedding guide is the comparison when one address is in the District.
The Northern Virginia wedding guide is the comparison for an estate day or a hotel reception on that side of the trip.
The Montgomery County wedding guide is the comparison when the address is in that county.
Each guide is a different door. None of them states a cutoff. None of them is a hotel policy, and none of them is a rate. A company replacing the same two dates still uses this page for the gap, and the matching guide for the address.
Read the agreement against the send day
| Question | What to write |
|---|---|
| Who replaces the dates? | The couple, or the company |
| Cutoff | The day the agreement says unbooked rooms are released |
| Send day | The day invitations will actually go out |
| Gap | How many days the rooms can already have been released before a guest reads the invitation |
| What this comparison is | Two dates from the agreement and the send plan. It is not a hotel policy and not a rate |
Read the gap before anyone writes that rooms are held. A block with no cutoff on the agreement is not ready to compare.
Placeholders: a cutoff and a send day
These dates are labeled as placeholders. They are not a hotel policy and not a rate.
Hypothetical: the hotel's cutoff in the example is 30 days before the event. The invitations go out 14 days before the event. 30 − 14 = 16 days when the rooms can already have been released before a guest reads the invitation.
Replace 30 and 14 with the cutoff on the agreement and the day they will actually send invitations. Subtract again with those two dates. The 30 and the 14 are the example. They are not the agreement, and they are not the day the couple or the company will send.
Show the gap before guests are told the rooms are held
Copy the cutoff from the agreement. Write the day the couple or the company will actually send invitations. Subtract. When the rooms can already have been released before a guest reads the invitation, say that before anyone prints a line that the rooms are held.
Browse published spaces when a room is already in mind. Published spaces are whatever is listed. The operator confirms the date. Browse DMV venue guides for the regional set, and browse venues for the wider library. After an operator confirms the place, plan the gathering.
Put it into practice
Track the decisions you’ve made and the questions still to ask.
Saving is off. Your checks last for this page visit.
A little more clarity
Common questions
Is this comparison a hotel policy or a rate?
It is neither. It compares two dates the couple or the company replaces: the cutoff on the agreement, and the day invitations will actually go out. Published spaces are whatever is listed. The operator confirms the date.
What should replace the example?
Replace the example cutoff with the cutoff on the agreement, and replace the example send day with the day the couple or the company will actually send invitations. A guest cannot reserve a room the hotel has already released.
