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Just engaged...need help planning everything...Where to begin?

brypaul96brypaul96
in Gay Weddings
My partner of 14 years and I have decided to tie the knot.  We live in Maryland and are applying for a license in DC.  Not sure how to go about this whole wedding thing.  I would like to have the ceremony in Maryland, but not sure how that will look with the license taking place in DC.  Ceremony in DC with reception in Maryland, Ceremony and reception in DC, or ......?!?!  Just don't know....HELP!
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Re: Just engaged...need help planning everything...Where to begin?

  • 2dBride2dBride member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Welcome!

    You definitely need to have the ceremony in DC for it to be legal.  The reception can be wherever you want.

    If you aren't planning on being married in a church, and want an inexpensive DC ceremony, you might consider booking one of the federal monuments, which costs only $50.  You can check out this link for details.

    You'll then need to figure out where to have the reception.  If you anticipate that your guests will mostly make it to the ceremony, then you might want to have the reception in or near DC so that there is not a lot of travel time between ceremony and reception.  Alternatively, you could have a small private ceremony in DC, then celebrate with family and friends at a larger reception nearer Baltimore.

    The first thing you'll need to figure out is a) how many guests you want to have, and b) what your budget is.  That will determine what kind of venue you can look for, and what type of reception you can have.  For example, if money is tight, you might want to forego the seated dinner, dancing, and open bar at a traditional reception venue, and think about things like a brunch reception, a park reception, a restaurant reception (see this post by someone who had hers at Teaism), and/or limited or no alcohol.

    Good luck with your planning, and best wishes to both of you!
    Anniversary
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  • lfirelfire
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    First of all, congratulations!!!!

    My partner and I are also having a civil ceremony in one place and then a wedding/reception in another. We are dealing with it by having the civil ceremony a few months before the wedding. This may seem  a bit awkward if you want to just go from one to the next, but we are just treating them as two separate events. It also helps that our civil ceremony will only include our immediate family and the wedding ceremony will be friends plus family.

    Good luck!

    mybigfatGAYwedding.blogspot.com
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