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WEDDING DATE DILEMMA-Please help!

kdesai1kdesai1
First Comment
in DC
We're getting down to finalizing a location that meets all of our needs but we're having difficultly determining date. If we have it on a Sunday and Monday July 4th weekend it's about $4,000 cheaper than having it on a Friday and Saturday July 16th and 17th. I have some cousins in London who could make it the 4th weekend but not the 16th but we're not crazy about having a Monday wedding and don't want to dissuade people from coming if they have to take Tuesday off to travel back home. Have any of you faced this dilemma? Is it better to have a Friday-Saturday feel or spend less and have some additional members attend on a Sunday-Monday? Also July 4th is often filled with rain in the DC area. I would hate for it to be hot, humid and rainy....
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Re: WEDDING DATE DILEMMA-Please help!

  • ecsmilesecsmiles
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Hm, this is tricky.  DC can be very gross out with the humidity that time of year, but it can also be pretty pleasant with the sticky weather holding out til August.The good thing, is that almost everyone will probably have off on Monday - its not one of those holidays where companies don't usually close (like columbus day or MLK day).What about having the wedding on Sunday instead of Monday?  That way, people won't have to take off of work and can travel home on Monday (for those spending the night). 
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  • luv4weddingsluv4weddings
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Something to consider: July 4th is a traffic nightmare if you are marrying in DC.  Also if you have out of town folks it is typically an expensive time of year to travel.   
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  • m_masinom_masino
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Is this for 2010?  All the places I looked at (I considered all these dates) were the same prices after I negotiated with them whether it was July 3 or July 17.  Both are saturday nights.  The same prices were for sunday, monday and friday because for lots of places in this area, July is an off month.
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  • m_masinom_masino
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    And..to answer your question, which I didn't do in the first post, I would go with the non July 4th weekend because of the traffic insanity down here whether you do the 3rd, 4th or 5th...especially if your location is in DC or northern, VA.  Flights would be harder to get on the 3rd too for people flying in.  If you're looking to help your guests, flying on the evening of the 4th is a real off-night for flights, so they can probably get some cheap flights if you're doing it on the 5th.
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  • polkadotbride1polkadotbride1 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I vote on the 16th-17th weekend .. ONLY because although I love my friends- 2 of them planned weddings on july 4th the last 2 years and it was more expensive for us to travel to them and I hated giving up my holiday off.. BUT if you think people are more likely to want to travel that weekend then go for the 4th.
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  • NewlywedInNewYorkNewlywedInNewYork
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I got married in DC on July 4th of this past year. Everyone was telling me it was a terrible idea, bad weather, bad traffic, you name it. Well, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and there was NO traffic. I planned all of this extra time to get places and didn't need it at all. There also ended up being a lot of great travel deals for that weekend. It was a great day! I don't regret it at all!
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  • SwizzleStiXSwizzleStiX member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We're doing July 10th - because Monday will be the holiday off. Most of our OOT relatives will be coming for the whole week, so I figured they could still do their July 4th thing, and then fly out the next day or so.FWIW, the weather this July was FANTASTIC! Summer in DC is just kind of sucky with it being hot and humid, but July is certainly better than August. Any other month, I think rain is much more of a concern. Generally speaking, July rain is quick and goes out as quickly as it came - so you're not likely to have crazy prolonged days of rain (like we had last weekend!).Also, I've lived in Northern VA (farther out when I was younger and now Arlington) for almost 20 years now, and I really don't think traffic is any worse that weekend, than it is any other weekend of summer. DC is just a popular place for people to visit during the summer months, and you're going to find that regardless of when you decide.Good luck! (I would also start looking and seriously considering places NOW! Some of the restaurants we've looked at for a rehearsal dinner are already booked - not to freak you out! Just an FYI!)
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  • m_masinom_masino
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    FYI on July 10th----that's the night they do the fireworks in Old Town, Alexandria.  If your event is over, definitely a place to send the guests!
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