Marriott Weddings: The Perks of Using Bonvoy Points to Plan Your Big Day

Getting rewards while planning your wedding…sounds awesome, right? With Marriott Bonvoy wedding points, you’ll earn points that you can ultimately use on future hotel stays (hello, honeymoon!), travel, and so much more. There are quite a few ins and outs to this offering, plus extra benefits for engaged couples, so we’re breaking down all of the need-to-know information about Marriott weddings.

To help you and your partner navigate this loyalty program and take advantage of all of its “pros,” we’ve narrowed it down to our top reasons why couples love planning Marriott weddings with the Bonvoy rewards program and the special Vow to Get Away Marriott offering (more on that later!).

What are Marriott Bonvoy wedding points?

Marriott Bonvoy is a loyalty program that is free to join and allows you to earn and redeem points as you travel around the world. Members can earn points by staying in one of their hotels, shopping with a Marriott Bonvoy credit card, taking advantage of their curated list of local experiences, and working with their partners (think Uber and American Express). And with a whopping 7,000-plus participating hotels and resorts, there are so many opportunities and choices to make for Marriott Bonvoy weddings.

While Marriott hotels are obviously included, the portfolio extends to popular brands within the company’s long list of properties. The Marriott International “family” comprises St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, and Westin—just to name a few. There are also different collections within this seemingly never-ending, including the Autograph Collection, Design Hotels, and Tribute Portfolio.

And when you’ve racked up your Marriott Bonvoy points, you can use them in a variety of ways. You can redeem your points on future hotel stays (more on that later!), gift cards, and other unforgettable experiences in your area and all across the globe. Marriott also works with more than 200 global airlines and car suppliers, and you can later redeem your points to purchase a flight or car rental.

There are different Bonvoy membership levels, and your designation ultimately determines how many points you can earn through Marriott weddings. If you choose to host an event (like your wedding!) at a Marriott property, you can earn 2 points per dollar (or 1 mile per dollar) spent on a qualifying event. These are the six different levels and the maximum points each level can earn when you plan a Marriott wedding or other event:

• Member: 60,000 points 
• Silver Elite: Guests who stay 10 nights or more per year; 66,000 points 
• Gold Elite:  Guests who stay 25 nights or more per year; 75,000 points 
• Platinum Elite: Guests who stay 50 nights or more per year; 90,000 
• Titanium Elite: Guests who stay 75 nights or more per year; 105,000
• Ambassador Elite: Guests who stay 75 nights or more and spend $20,000 per year; 105,000 points

As an alternative to points, Bonvoy members can also convert their points to miles through your frequent-flyer program (up to 20,000 maximum for all membership levels). With 38 participating airlines, and the ability to transfer up to 240,000 points per day, this is a real opportunity to take your points to new heights–literally. To make this deal even sweeter, Marriott tacks on 5,000 miles for every 60,000 you transfer over.

For couples planning Marriott weddings, points can be used to take much of the guesswork out of the logistics involved. In total, you could earn up to 200,000 points on your Marriott wedding. The Vow to Get Away Marriott wedding offering gives couples the opportunity to earn triple points for every dollar spent. All you need to do? Mention the Vow to Get Away Marriott weddings promotion when you book your wedding or room block and the points will immediately start adding up.

How to sign up for the Marriott Bonvoy program

If you’re ready to seal the deal and start racking up points, visit Marriott’s Bonvoy page and click “Join Now.” From there, you’ll add your name, zip code, email, and add a password. You can also download the Marriott Bonvoy app, which will allow you to manage your account, book trips, and review your points total and status on the go. Check out your “Account Activity” page and see how much you’re earning with every hotel stay leading up to your Marriott Bonvoy wedding day and beyond.

How to earn Bonvoy points for Marriott weddings

Now that you know a little more about the Marriott Bonvoy program, we need to discuss the advantages when it comes to planning a Marriott wedding. Marriott’s Ultimate Benefits Package gives you an opportunity to earn major points by planning your wedding at one of their properties. Included in this portfolio of more than 7,000 hotels and resorts are properties across the country and world. But how exactly do you earn these points? In addition to planning with their Ultimate Benefits Package, you can also get more Marriott Bonvoy wedding points through Marriott’s participating partners and other programs the company offers.

Marriott Bonvoy Events even has a calculator to estimate the number of points you could earn. It all depends on your Bonvoy status, the number of rooms you’re expecting to need, and a few more estimations: the room rate, how much you plan to spend on the room rate, food and beverage, plus audiovisual needs, decor, and more.

The on-site team can also help you with thoughtful welcome bags for guests staying at your hotel wedding venue, and help you organize events before or after your Marriott Bonvoy wedding. From a beautiful bridal shower to your farewell brunch, there are on-site experts who can bring your wedding weekend dreams to life. Here are some of the perks to earning and spending your Marriott Bonvoy wedding points:

Organizing Room Blocks

Keeping all of your guests together is one way to make the most of your wedding weekend. So, by organizing a room block through one of the Marriott wedding packages, you can easily provide your guests with the opportunity to stay on the property and limit your need for transportation to and from other locations. And the more rooms you need, the more points you’ll get! Bonus perk: Marriott will do this part for you, so long as you provide the information about how many people you expect to stay and how much you expect to spend. And while most of their hotels and resorts can accommodate a variety of Marriott weddings, you can also solely plan for room blocks at any of these locations.

Whether you’re Southern California locals planning an upscale celebration in your hometown, East Coast natives who love the idea of Marriott weddings at a waterfront property, or imagining a Hawaiian beachside ceremony, there are so many ways to picture Marriott weddings. These properties are located in big cities, tucked away in natural landscapes, and on the shores of waterfront wonderlands. To learn more about Bonvoy properties, and see real weddings hosted at them, head over to our Marriott Bonvoy weddings page. 

Traveling for Any and All Events

Marriott is here to make traveling to your wedding and other events even more simple too. For example, you can earn up to 2,000 points when you rent a car through Hertz for the road trip to your bachelorette party, or tack on more points when you fly out for a bridal shower in another state.

Credit Card Spending

Let’s be real: Budgeting and wedding planning don’t really go hand-in-hand. But Bonvoy rewards points can make things a bit easier–and more focused on managing your and your partner’s finances. Through partnerships with American Express and Chase, Marriott allows you and your partner to open up a credit card and put all of your Marriott wedding purchases on there. The perk here? You’ll more easily organize your expenses and earn Bonvoy points along the way. When you open an account through American Express, for example, you can earn up to 125,000 bonus points through Bonvoy after making purchases of $5,000 or more within your first three months as a member. At Chase, you can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 within that same three-month time period.

How to use Bonvoy points for Marriott weddings

Picture this: You’ve spent a year or more planning your Marriott wedding, experienced the best day of your life at one of their 7,000-plus properties, and now you want to use those Bonvoy points. With your balance, you can see which benefits can support your honeymoon, travel, or activity plans moving forward.

Planning Your Honeymoon (and More!)

As you bask in your post-wedding glow, you can use all of the points you’ve earned to book your ultimate honeymoon. By looking at your Marriott Bonvoy points total, you can determine how much of your stay is already covered, and compare which destinations you’d love to explore. From there, you can search by destination—just make sure to check off “Use Points”—and you’ll see if your desired property is ready to host you and your partner. 

If you’re planning a honeymoon or other trip in the future, you can also plan to use the Bonvoy points you earned from your Marriott wedding. There are so many ways your Bonvoy membership can make you stay that much more special too, like taking advantage of a late checkout (perfect for those with a late-afternoon or evening flight home) or transferring your points for miles to reach your honeymoon destination. Depending on your membership level, you can also benefit from room upgrades, even later checkout times, and more.

Signing On for Exciting Experiences

Set sail on a cruise, rent a car, go on a shopping spree, or dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant. The experiential benefits offered by Marriott are practically endless, so you can check out the Marriott Bonvoy Moments page to see everything you can look forward to as a member. Sit front row at a top designer’s fashion show, watch world class tennis at the Australian Open…trust us, there’s something on this list for everyone.

What to keep in mind about using points for Marriott weddings

These points can expire after 24 months of “inactivity,” or if there’s a two-year period where you don’t earn or spend anything. According to NerdWallet, you can also get more out of the points you spend with a longer stay. For example, if you redeem points for a five-night stay for your Marriott Bonvoy wedding, you should get the fifth night free.

Why we love Marriott wedding packages and perks

Marriott weddings come with an on-site team that assists couples with all of the necessary logistics involved in your big day. The properties that offer Marriott wedding packages provide on-site experts, including top-notch planners, culinary professionals who curate custom menus, and more. 

Designing your very own Marriott wedding is made even easier with room blocks, and team members who can plan specific activities or personal touches to totally customize your wedding weekend. With Marriott weddings, it’s all about personalization and getting as detailed as possible. Fun fact: They have an elephant on retainer at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. 

Even more, All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy gives couples access to luxurious destinations for weddings and honeymoons, backed by a trusted team to bring your vision to life. So, if you’re looking for a toes-in-the-sand ceremony in Jamaica or a getaway honeymoon in Saint Lucia, these Marriott wedding packages offer can’t-miss solutions for a destination adventure too.

Through its decades of hospitality experience and tried-and-true rewards program, Marriott wedding packages and other perks make the company a hub for all event planning solutions. And with all of the potential stressors and decisions to make, it’s reassuring to know that such a trusted brand has your back. To view all of the Marriott weddings featured on Carats and Cake, visit our Marriott Bonvoy weddings page. 

Now, all you need to do is vow to get away!