Pocono Resort Wedding – Great, Affordable Idea for a Frugal NJ Bride

Photo of Erhardt's Waterfront Resort, Lake Wallenpaupack, PA
Courtesy of Amanda Meyer Photography

I attended a wedding last year for a NJ bride and groom who opted to get married in the Poconos. Their wedding venue of choice was all-inclusive, offering a ceremony and reception on the premises, open bar, catered food and music provided by the venue, and best of all, guests got to stay over in their on-site lodging. Or, at least I'm pretty sure that's what their wedding package was. The music was a DJ, so I assume that they didn't have to bring it in. But I could be wrong about that – best to check.

Anyway, this particular Pocono resort was located in Hawley, PA, although the name escapes me and nothing in my Google research is ringing a bell, either. Something with the word "Lodge" but I can't seem to remember the rest.

It took us about an hour and a half drive to get there from NJ, which I felt was reasonable and actually kind of a sweet little getaway. The place reminded me of "Kellerman's" from Dirty Dancing... kind of a humble and cozy feel, in a peaceful mountain setting, but also with the full amenities: comfortable rooms, swimming pool, shuffleboard, tennis, beautiful views and great food.

All in all, it was a great wedding weekend, and I suspect, considerably less pricey than some of the gargantuan NJ weddings you've probably attended.

To get a look at the choices for a Pocono Wedding that's close enough for your NJ, NY and PA guests to enjoy a mini weekend getaway, visit this link.

Who pays for the bridal party hotel rooms?

Pic courtesy TripAdvisor.com

I did a little online research to find out exactly who is responsible to pick up the tab for the bridal party's overnight hotel stay.

It turns out there is no set standard for this practice, which is good. It means you have the choice of giving your bridal party a gift in the form of free hotel rooms; or, if you simply can't afford that, you can gently inform them of the price of the rooms so that they can book a room for themselves if they want it.

Of course, another way to inflate this dilemma is to have a large bridal party. It may be much more feasible if you only had a maid of honor and best man, to treat them to some free hotel rooms. But what if your bridal party consists of 20 people? Well, that's just crazy. You'd need some kind of Daddy Warbucks to fund this endeavor, and as indicated by the title NJ Wedding on a Budget, this is not that kind of blog.

So, now that we know you're not obligated to pay for bridal party hotel rooms... how do you politely break this news?

The answer: you include the information with the wedding invitations, and send one to them. If for some reason they might assume they're "exempt" from this because they're bridal party rockstars, you can emphasize the message with an email or a little note.

Your note could say something like, 

We have reserved a block of rooms at X hotel for Dates Y and Z. Book your room by Date X to be sure you receive the wedding discount. Call 1800 XXX XXXX for more information.

Easy peasy.