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Just Said Yes December 2038

Destination Miami Wedding Hotel Decision!! Help!

Dajah, on April 27, 2020 at 11:53 PM Posted in Planning 0 11

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Hi Everyone,

I'm from NYC and having a "destination" wedding in Miami in Dec 2022 or 2023 (We're debating the year because of budgeting and really want to have the wedding our dreams). December in significant to my spouse and I, so we chose Miami for the better weather. 120 invited guests, estimating 75 actual attendees.

Here's the issue...Our Venue is an hour from South Beach (Where we hope our guests will stay and we plan to get a room block) because Rehearsal Dinner, Welcome Party and Possible After-Party at a night club will be within the South Beach area. The hotels near our venue are like 3 star hotels...Courtyard By Marriotts, etc. (However, really affordable) Most guests wont want to stay there and will likely opt for South Beach because of the vacation feel, amenities, transpo, etc.

We're going back and forth because we can't decide what to do regarding a hotel. We will provide transportation from the South Beach to the venue and back for our guests (Uber is estimating $62 one way), but we do feel an hour is too long of travel each way. However, the experience they will get at our wedding, we're hoping they don't mind!

Being that our venue is a private property, we will have access to overnight accommodations for 20-30 people (including couches) and will likely party all night. Whoever gets tired can crash in a room upstairs and can stay overnight or we will wake up prior to the shuttle leaving. The shuttle to south beach would leave the property at either 11pm or 12am. (My FH opted to stay in South Beach to get a suite in a hotel)

We have the option to party all night at the venue (Free), but deciding maybe to give our guests another experience and do an after party in a Miami nightclub (Extra $&dollar

We won't do a farewell breakfast for our guests, only family... maybe Wedding party.

Questions:

Is an hour too far out to have our guests travel to and from venue?

Do you think 11pm or 12pm is too late of a last shuttle as guests will be at our event from 3pm?

Should we still get a room block at the closer hotels?

Is it wrong to not cover a farewell breakfast for our guests?

Any advice!!! Ways to save money!?

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11 Comments

Latest activity by Ti, on April 28, 2020 at 2:39 PM

Devoted July 2020
Autumn · on April 27, 2020 at 11:56 PM
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Have you been to the area/know it well?
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Just Said Yes December 2038
Dajah · on April 27, 2020 at 11:59 PM
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I've been to Miami (South Beach and Downtown) numerous times, but no, not the area where the venue is located.
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Devoted December 2020
Rachel · on April 28, 2020 at 10:28 AM
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I would say an hour is quite a long way to travel but if y’all provide transportation then that would be a plus. Also, a farewell breakfast is nothing to worry about—those seem to be more of a trend recently & guests don’t expect to be paid for (there are some threads on here about that if you want to read more). You may even want to skip that part altogether after being out all night! I know I would be down for the count hahaha
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Devoted July 2020
Autumn · on April 28, 2020 at 10:58 AM
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I 100% would either change the venue to South Beach or change everything else to be within a few blocks of your venue. Last time I was in miami we were just a few miles out of south beach and with traffic it took us legit over an hour to get in sometimes, and the price of ubers are insane! I would definitely recommend renting cars, we spent more on ubers our first 24 hrs than we did renting a car for the next few days lol
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Savvy February 2020
Ti · on April 28, 2020 at 11:47 AM
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Hello! I was in the same boat as you. NYC bride getting married in S. FL, where I’m originally from. Our venue was also about an hour away from South Beach and the area where our venue was also didn’t have great accommodations or much to do.

We gave our guests multiple options. First, we booked 5 different room blocks in various price ranges at different hotels. 2 were on South Beach, 1 in Wynwood, and 2 closer to the venue. We looked into providing a shuttle bus, but ultimately we decided to do an Uber pass for our guests, giving them up to $50 each to offset the cost of their ride (especially for those who didn’t want to stay near the venue). This worked out really well! Most of our guests chose to stay on the beach and just Uber to the location. They totally understood, had no complaints, and were grateful for the options.
The day after the wedding we all migrated to South Beach/Wynwood and we hosted some activities there. Our guests had a blast.
Good luck! Is your venue in the Homestead/Redland/Keys area?
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Master July 2019
Hannah · on April 28, 2020 at 12:16 PM
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An hour is really far for a destination wedding. To be honest, if I were flying down for your wedding and wanted to make a vacation out of it, I would get a hotel near the venue for the night before/of the wedding and then move to a hotel on South Beach afterward to continue my vacation.
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Just Said Yes December 2038
Dajah · on April 28, 2020 at 12:44 PM
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Yeah, it’s in Homestead.

Uber pass sounds like a great idea! I didn’t even think of that. I just worry my guests might have some trouble getting an Uber back if the venue is far out in a rural area and if it’s pretty late. I haven’t been able to visit the location yet due to COVID. Only been using Google Maps.
I like the idea of having multiple room blocks. I’ll definitely do that. I was trying to find a decent hotel maybe midway like Kendall? I know all, if not most of my guests will stay in South Beach though, but doesn’t hurt to give them options.
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Just Said Yes December 2038
Dajah · on April 28, 2020 at 12:45 PM
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Thanks for your insight! I’ll definitely do multiple room blocks to give our guests options. I feel like most of our guests will stay in south beach anyway, but doesn’t hurt to give them options!
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Just Said Yes December 2038
Dajah · on April 28, 2020 at 12:51 PM
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Yess the traffic in Miami can get crazy! I’m assuming if they stay in south beach, they can walk to restaurants or get a really cheap Uber. If we cover transportation to and from venue, I see guests only having to cover their trip to the hotel after landing and possibly back to the airport.

I didn’t want to go the rental car route because the hotel valet adds up especially for multiple cars and I wouldn’t want guests to drive. I want all guests to have like a laid back hands off experience. I hope to allow them to get a quick weekend vacation without having to plan much, do too much (driving, coordinating, etc) or spend a fortune.
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Devoted July 2020
Autumn · on April 28, 2020 at 1:50 PM
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Maybe rent a party bus or something that will distract guests on the long drive? I just mean that Uber to your hour+ away venue will add up and renting the transportation even with a hired driver would be cheaper than ubering all your guests. I do feel like an hour away is way too far but it kind of seems too late at this point? Remember your guests will already be stuck in cars going from airport to south beach which isn't necessarily a quick drive either depending on where they come in from. To then ask your guests to sit in a car or even bus for another hour after already having a flight and drive to their hotels, it's just a lot for one weekend! I went to a wedding where I had to travel to get there, and then we all realized the hotel we were all staying in was another travel to the venue, not one person on that bus was impressed! mainly on the way back when everyones already had drinks, going to after party, and it took 40 minutes to get there, it reallllyyyy killed the vibe! Some people fell asleep on the ride and just decided to go to their hotels, I would say only half the people that were expected to go to the after party actually showed
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Savvy February 2020
Ti · on April 28, 2020 at 2:39 PM
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Ours was in Homestead too! Our guests had no problems getting back with our Uber pass. They left around 12/1am. What I like about Uber pass too is that they refund you any unused funds at the end of the night.

You could do the shuttle bus, but there are a limited number of pick ups and drop offs. And if guests miss the bus that’s it. At least with Uber there’s flexibility.
Whatever you decide, guests will thank you!
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