planning my wedding in the DC area

Mzriley

So me and my fiancee have been together for 2 years and we have made the choice to jump the broom.  Since there isn't that many places that perform weddings...where do you all suggest?  We have been looking in the DC area because its nice, and it's gay and lesbian friendly! So i've seen!

We want to have a beautiful wedding full of class in a memorable place! Please help us out!

Thanx Team Riley

2dBride

There are lots of places to have a wedding around here.  However, to recommend one, I'd need to know more:

1.  What is your budget?
2.  How big is your guest list?
3.  What kind of reception are you looking for?  Brunch?  Seated dinner with dancing?  Cake and punch?
4.  Do you want everything indoors, or do you want some part of it outdoors?
5.  Are you looking for a place to have both ceremony and reception, or do you want two different venues?

Mzriley

Hi 2dBride...Thanks for responding! Glad to hear from you...I have  budget of around 15 thousand...the wedding is not for a while sometime in 2012...I am estimating around 150 guests.

I would like dinner and dancing and we love the idea of taking some of what Ellen DeGeneres and her wife did with the big white tent in the garden type for the reception.  For the exchange of rings and vows...more of an open garden.  

I went to your page but how did you get married?

2dBride

We actually got married in Massachusetts, because it was before DC had same-sex marriage.  Our ceremony was in a synagogue in Winchester, MA, and then we took everyone to lunch in a nearby Legal Sea Foods.  Three days later, we had an at-home reception in a private club in DC owned by a friend.

One of the issues you will be facing is that the wedding really has to be in DC, since neither Maryland nor Virginia currently has same-sex marriage.  And unfortunately, DC tends to be more expensive (particularly for outdoor space) than the suburbs.

One alternative to think about is getting married at one of the memorials, or elsewhere on federal land.  It is only $50 for a permit to use any of those spaces.

The reception could of course be outside of DC, depending on whether you are ok having it somewhere that does not itself allow same-sex marriage. You could consider having the reception also on federal land, although I'm not sure how easy it would be to arrange everything from a tent to kitchen facilities there.   If you are willing to go outside of DC, you might consider Rockwood Manor in Potomac.  It is quite close to DC, has relatively reasonable rates for this area (from $1200 to $4000 for 8 hours, depending on the season and the day of the week), has gorgeous outdoor space, and allows use of any caterer (not just a high-priced in-house one).

You might also want to check on the DC local board.  I was on it extensively before my wedding, and never encountered any hostility for being part of a same-sex wedding.

Another resource is this spreadsheet of low-cost DC-area wedding venues.

tami2012

there have been a few lgbt wedding expos in DC that can probably help you gather a lot of information one one spot.  the next one is June 5th...the website is http://www.sayidoexpo.com.

good luck!

mariemoten129

That is what we're doing.... 

we are getting married in the court (the legal part) Then we're doing a whole other wedding in Maryland (where we live) 

We are getting married at an all outdoor venue in Frederick, MD called Shade Trees & Evergreens. Having around 120 people.. 

DC is VERY expensive & that was our problem as well... our budget was around yours and we couldn't afford it. If you want to cut your amount of people down to 70... you could have it at Sequoia in Georgetown, which is on the water. Its absolutely beautiful. They have two rooms.... the main RIDICULOUSLY GORGEOUS room is too expensive. You must spend $20k to rent that space. As for the other room that uses the outside space as well.... the amount you have to spend in food & alcohol is around 7.5k. They also only have space for around 70 to 80 people. 

You've really got to figure out what's more important to you. . . . We wanted to do it in that specific area, by water, partially outside... But we wanted more than 80 people at the wedding. We couldn't cut it down. So we just decided to do it a different way, you know? 

Anyway! Let us know what you decide...