Hotel Blocks

I found going in person to the hotel(s) was easiest. Make sure you get a courtesy block. For ours, any rooms not booked by Aug 4th go back into the hotel's inventory and we don't get charged anything. We got a pretty decent discount doing blocks (approx $40/night less than usual pricing)

Some hotels require deposit and certain amount of rooms to be booked. Some hotels don't need either. I personally used hiskipper.com to do the work for me. Maybe check them out.

I did a courtesy block. The hotel I booked allowed me to book 15 rooms. I called and talked to the sales department. There was no deposit or any fees involved on my end.

I second hiskipper.com and courtesy blocks. I've used that and WW to research blocks for hotels in New Orleans. I received different rates through hiskipper than I did WW, so it couldn't hurt to do a little shopping around. One thing I'll note about hiskipper is you pretty much have to be ready to pull the trigger on one (or decline) when they get back with you; you have something like 2-3 days to accept or decline the offer.

Good luck!

Do not book anything other than a courtesy block. This way you are not obligated to pay for rooms you have blocked that are not booked. The hotel releases the rooms about a month before your wedding. Guests who don't book from your block can book anywhere else and by any other method they choose.

You don't even have to do a room block if you don't want to. You can choose to list a few choices of hotels at different price points on your website or accommodations card.

Call or email the hotels directly and ask them about a courtesy block. They will tell you if they have a minimum amount of rooms you need in order to set up a block. Some hotels have links that guests can use to get their block rate, or most of the time they will have to call or email the hotel and mention the "So-and-So wedding". Usually any rooms that aren't reserved are released to the public 30 days before the wedding. You will not be fined for any unused rooms. A guaranteed block makes you pay for unused rooms, so clarify with the hotel that it is a courtesy block.