First, hotels.
There are three hotels you might want to consider, based on proximity to festivities and our house, pricing, etc. The first is Candlewood Suites. This place is not The Ritz, but it serves its purpose. The room we saw was very clean, big enough, and had a small kitchenette in it. I think they all have the kitchenettes, actually. There isn't a restaurant, but there is a place where you can buy snacks and take them back to the room and prepare them. This place had a workout room but no pool or hot tub. It's basic, but if our wedding weekend is enough fun and you don't need perks, this will be perfect. It's not even 10 minutes from the reception site, and about 15 to the ceremony site. Here's the best part - it's cheap. Like really cheap. If you book online (different rates online than if you call) you can get a room for about $49.99 - at least that's what my uncle got it for. Make sure you inquire about AARP, AAA, etc. discounts - they offer discounted rates for just about anything. Oh, and the "two bedroom suite" I think has 2 beds (one would think since it's a 2 bedroom), and also has a pull out sofa - so realistically you could put 6 people in one room for about 80 bucks - that is if you're okay with sharing one bathroom with 5 other people.
The second place was going to be the Wingate Inn right next to the Candlewood, but I decided against it for two reasons. One, we found a better place that's cheaper. Two, there is a typo on their rack card. I'm totally serious about this. It says "Birminham" instead of "Birmingham". These folks not only had a typo, they didn't use spellcheck, and clearly no one (qualified) proofed it before they spent thousands and thousands of dollars on printing. If they can make that grand of a mistake, and then not order new ones to use that are spelled correctly, I would worry about what they would overlook in my hotel room. Really. Call me a spelling snob, but that's just so basic. So, no Wingate recommendation.
Instead, Hyatt Place Inverness. This hotel is about 7 minutes from the reception, about 12 or so from the ceremony. It doesn't have a bar or restaurant, but it does have a "guest cafe" where you can serve yourself 24-7. We got a rate of $89. This is the rate it currently is online, but should that rate go up, you can call and tell them you're with the "Woodring/Stokes Wedding" and get that rate anyway. (That felt really funny to type. Like last night when I called in a to go order at Fleming's and of course said "Stokes" for the name because no one there knows who Mariesa Woodring is. So anyway, when I went in, the little hostess girl who knows us threw open the door and said "Good evening, Mrs. Stokes, how are you?" She knows I'm not Mrs. Stokes. She said I was just practicing with it. So anyway...) You have to actually call 888 HYATT HP to get this rate, you can't do the wedding rate online. The rooms all have double or king beds, like most hotel rooms, but I think each room also has a pull-out sleeper sofa. There is also a divider between the living room part and the bedroom part, so there is a little privacy. You could probably sleep four in a regular room, again, assuming you don't mind sharing a bathroom with three other people.
The third option is the Hilton Perimeter Park. This is where we'll be staying Sunday night. The Hilton is about 5 minutes from the reception. And here's the best part - there's a shuttle to The Summit, where Fleming's is, so you wouldn't have to drive back after the party. It's a lovely place. There's a workout room, pool, hot tub, restaurant and bar. In case I've not mentioned this yet, the other two hotels are in Shelby County, which is dry on Sundays. The Hilton is not. The bar serves until 11 on Sundays, in case that's something you might be interested in. They also offer an airport shuttle. This is hourly, but the concierge told me you still need to call and request service. The rate for that weekend (right now) is about $119. DO NOT pay for the "Executive Level" room. The "Executive Level" lounge is closed on weekends. The only difference other than that from a regular room, and I'm not making this up, is three feet. Seriously. You're paying about $10 more a night per foot for this room.
Should you decide to stay somewhere other than one of these three, please let us know ahead of time and we can go check it out for you. And in case you didn't read the earlier post, I strongly discourage you from staying at the only Bed and Breakfast in the city of Birmingham, unless you like teacups, scary old things and Victorian crap. This place is filled to the brim with dolls with glass eyes, old dusty and musty bassinettes and carousel horses. If you're into that stuff, then stay there, but don't come crying to us when a stuffed rabbit wearing a straw hat sitting in a rocking chair steals your breath in the middle of the night.
Don't forget there's always the option to bunk with someone else and split the cost. Many of you coming in from out of town know each other, and those of you who don't, we can tell you who we think you would get along with well enough to share a room for the weekend. Let us know if you're interested and we'll try to make a love connection - I mean roommate match. Same goes for rental cars. No reason everyone should rent when you can share...
Enough on the hotels. Call us if you have questions.
So, to the registry.
This was not fun for us really. It wasn't the experience you see in chick flicks. We didn't waltz through major department stores scanning individual salad forks and crystal figurines and curtains or whatever other people register for. I don't think either one of us enjoyed it actually. We did however look at it from the perspective that, since we aren't having babies, this is probably the last time we'll register for anything. So we tried to have as much fun with it as we could. Or at least register for things we actually want and will use. You'll find the registry here: http://www.myregistry.com/gift-list/Mariesa-Woodring-Gary-Stokes
Enjoy!
