Hyatt Hotel Saves Wedding From Rainout

Anna Anota had planned for her dream wedding to take place outdoors in the desert of Arizona. As the bride-to-be was probably drifting off to sleep the night before the big day, her sister and maid of honor Marta Logan noted a sudden change in the weather and saw that rain was forecast for the next day.

It’s fun to sing along with Alanis Morissette about “rain on your wedding day” but Ms. Logan knew that it would be a disaster to keep the wedding outside. Most wedding planners say to always have a back-up plan, but there didn’t appear to be a back-up plan for this wedding.

She was staying at the downtown Hyatt Regency Phoenix that night and as Fox10 News reports, she went to the hotel’s front desk with an inquiry –

“I think I’m going to need a ballroom, you think you can whip one up for me for tomorrow? And she looked at me kind of stunned, but at the same time, completely relaxed and said, ‘I’ll see what I can do about it.'”

In the morning, bride-to-be Anna was getting her hair done and her wedding planner said that maybe she should think about rescheduling the wedding. She was facing the harsh reality that not only was her dream of an outdoor wedding not going to come true, it also might not even happen on the day she had planned. Anna was initially (understandably) crushed, since she didn’t know that her sister had already arranged for a ballroom indoors.

Happily, the Hyatt Phoenix had a ballroom free and was glad to help. It took some scurrying and lots of last-minute work but all of the vendors were able to make the swift change, from the florist and the cake to catering and alcohol. The Hyatt Phoenix coordinated all of the outside vendors with their internal staff, and managed to give the bride an amazing wedding indoors.

The bride was thrilled that her wedding had been saved at the 11th hour, and her maid of honor was delighted as well.

Typically when you contract a hotel ballroom for an event, you are limited on using outside vendors. When you have a wedding you might be provided with a list of approved vendors that the hotel is ok with. Bringing in food and alcohol from outside caterers is an especially touchy point since the hotel’s staff still has to set up the room and clean up after the party. Many hotels don’t allow any outside catering at all (or any outside vendors) and others charge an additional fee to cover the extra work.

Everyone who has planned a wedding knows how expensive they can get, but the Hyatt Regency Phoenix graciously waived the ballroom fee because of the special situation. No word on whether any other fees were charged, but it seems like everyone just pulled together to give the bride a wonderful wedding and ignored any usual fees.

I am positive the bride did not have her outdoor ceremony planned with the Hyatt Regency, because hotels always offer a contingency plan just in case of inclement weather. Thank goodness her sister was quick-thinking, and kudos to the Hyatt Regency for helping out. It’s a good thing that they had a ballroom available at the last minute too. I’m sure the story will be a great one for their family to tell for years to come, and congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs!