Outdoor Poll: Opinions needed for May 15, 2010 wedding

vitamint

FI and I applied for permit to get married at/ near the Netherlands Carillion in Arlington, Virginia. We walked there on our first date and go there alot with our pug. The view of DC is amazing. We have a plan B. I know it rained alot last May but I can't recall years past. Does anyone think I should just go with Plan B? We have alot of out of town and elderly guests so plan B would be the easiest for them- ceremony at reception location (Ft. Myer Officer's Club). We could then do pictures where ceremony was going to be. I am starting to lean toward plan B to avoid extra cost and the weather anxiety. Thoughts?

HelenaHandbasket

How many guests are you having? If it's a small group, maybe you could go with plan A and have some umbrellas on hand in case. If it's a big group, maybe you should go with Plan B. You can always get your pictures taken at your original site, but you don't necessarily have to have the ceremony there if you are worried. For what it's worth, my wedding is in May also, and I was pretty sure that it rained a ton in April of this year, but not as much in May. Maybe I was hallucinating, but I don't recall it being bad then (at least towards the end of the month?) Good luck!

vitamint

Additional information: 150 people, 120 from OOT-not used to DC traffic, walking distances (.5 mi). This is my thought process: plan A (outdoors): its outdoor, beautiful, meaningful, but weather anxiety, limited parking, means we will have to provide buses, rent chairs, musician, day of coordinator, .... plan B: unlimited parking, reception cite, easier for everyone, transportation not my problem: guests can drive, only have to add musician....

spuliafico

vitamint-We're date twins! I'm having my reception outside at FI's grandma's house for similar reasons you have plan A. We've just always said we'd get married in this one specific spot and even though the sun is probably going to make everyone miserable (assuming there will be sun) we're doing it, regardless. We already have a tent lined up and a tent to cover ceremony seating really isn't that expensive. My sister had an outdoor wedding in NY last Sept. and it was an awful day, the groomsmen ended up trolling Walmart and getting a bunch of decent sized easy ups (she had staggerd patches of seating which was actually pretty cool) and I think it ended up being cheaper for them to get the easy ups rather than renting a tent. She had about the same amount of people you're looking at. My basic thought on this is, yes it's nice to make things easier on others, but don't jeprodize what you truly want for your day for that reason. If you really want to get married at plan A, do it...the last thing you want is the day to roll around and be absolutely beautiful (or horrendous, whichever) and think "I wonder what it would have been like to do it there...

vitamint

Good point date twin! I can wait awhile before I have to make a decision- April. My parents and some other well meaning people have been askingme about plan B.... other benefit of PLan A is I know I can have my pug there! FI will be devastated if she isn't there. We will sneak her into recpetion place if we have to go with Plan B.

guacamolly

Just FYI - we're having our reception at Ft. Myer also and going the shuttle route. Unless they are military, there is a chance that every car, or every third car could be thoroughly searched (as in, people have to get out, pop the hood, pop the trunk and they look through everything!)Also something to keep in mind if you go this route - that you'll want to schedule in a little travel time (unless you're doing both ceremony and reception at Ft. Myer). It's not impossible for them to get on without the sticker on their car, but it's certainly not convenient or easy. And depending on the "terrorist threat level", they could be stricter with their guidelines.

smarttj

I'm also getting married on the 15th.  We looked at a lot of locations in Alexandria/DC but decided to go with the Newton White Mansion because there's a built in plan B.  I guess my question would be, will it ruin your day if you don't have the wedding at the Netherlands Carillion?  Would it ruin your day if you had it there and it rained?  Crossing my fingers for all of us!   Let us know what you decide!