Getting ready with bridesmaids: hotel or Airbnb?

In the past, we (bridesmaids) have just gone to the bridal suite to get made up. Not everyone is going to be getting done up at the same time. But it could be fun to do an Airbnb, that way you definitely know you’ll have enough space.
I have 5 people getting ready in my bridal suite.

I had 4 BM and 2 Moms getting hair and makeup done with me. We had to start around 8am to be ready for getting ready photos at 2pm. I paid for a larger suite-style room (so had a living room separate from bedroom) at a nearby hotel. I couldn’t get into my venue’s bridal suite until 2pm without paying for extra hours (at about $600 per hour 🤯). Either is fine, just make sure you have it for the time you need it. For example, I booked the suite under some ‘romance’ package just because it guaranteed a later checkout. 😂

My venue doesn't have a bridal suite to get ready in, which I was really concerned about. So I started looking at nice hotels nearby but then decided to check air bnb since there will be at least 6 of us getting ready together, and I generally prefer to stay in air bnb's over hotels anyways. I ended up finding a perfect air bnb townhouse really close to my venue for the same price per night as a hotel room. And we get the whole house so there's 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and 2 bathrooms. Plenty of room for me and my 5 bridesmaids to get ready in. And I got it for the whole weekend too so we can spend the night there that Friday night and not have to worry about traveling too much the day of the wedding. I'd definitely say to check both because you never know what you'll find!

We are renting a bridal party Air BNB for our wedding weekend. There will be roughly 12-16 of us getting ready or dropping by that morning so we needed all the space we could get!

My husband used his best man's room for getting ready in with 4 groomsmen, 1 bride's man, my dad and himself and it was crowded. The hotel (our venue) had a bridal suite that we rented for my 4 bridesmaids, 1 groomswoman, my mom, my grandmother and 2 flower girls to get ready in. The bridal suite consisted of two large rooms that were connected by white glass doors. The one room also had a small bathroom connected. One room had a large table with chairs. The other had a couch, coffee table, credenza, and mirrors. There was also a small foyer area with a bar and stools. We used the stools for hair and makeup. I wouldn't recommend using a room size hotel room for that many people. I would see if you can either book a suite with a lot of space or rent an Airbnb.

Honestly, I think this is all personal preference and what fits your budget. My FH is playing golf the morning of our wedding with his groomsmen and some other friends. They are then returning to our home to shower. get ready and head to the venue by 2pm. Myself, my bridesmaids, my FMIL and my grandma will be in a 4 bedroom suite at the resort where I work in the contract's department getting ready. I got a great deal on the suite b/c I'm an employee of the company. If I had to pay full price, I would've gone with an air bnb, but my discount was too good to pass up.

I think if it's in your budget to splurge and get an air bnb, I'd say do that. The suite I got is large enough to be a small house and it was cheaper than getting an air bnb.

We got ready in the hotel the last wedding I was in. There wasn’t as much space but most of us had our own rooms there. It was nice to be able to just go back to my room for a few minutes if needed.

Could you get 2 attached hotel rooms or a suite?

View Quoted Comment Hi Melanie! May I ask if you communicated with the host before renting? I’m also planning to book an Airbnb, but I’m not sure whether I should inform the host in advance that I’m renting it as a bridal suite.