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Is this crazy?

daydreamer28daydreamer28
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in DC
Hi everyone!  I'm not yet engaged, but will likely be this winter and I wanted to just get a headstart on ideas for the kind of wedding I want/can realistically have.  It will be a hindu wedding and initially I was thinking of doing it in Charlotte where my sister lives, but my bf has expressed interest in DC since my parents and other family members are here.  I worry that it will be way more expensive to have it here.  We have a budget of $35,000 roughly and hopefully no more than 200-250 guests.  We were talking about a more "low-key" ceremony somewhere on the outskirts that is metro-accessible and spending more of the money on the reception in DC proper.

I'm assuming with that budget managing a DC reception would be impossible.  Not to mention having a ceremony and reception in two different places would be hard on our guests.  And I'm thinking our wedding date would be between october 2013 and january 2014. Thoughts?
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Re: Is this crazy?

  • Lisa50Lisa50 member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    I think you and your FI may want to begin checking out venues on the outskirts of both cities (wineries, partks, etc.) sooner rather than later.  With that budget, you can certainly afford a morning ceremony with a punch and cake (or light brunch) reception.  Good luck!
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  • norameetsnicknorameetsnick member
    First Comment
    [QUOTE] We were talking about a more "low-key" ceremony somewhere on the outskirts that is metro-accessible and spending more of the money on the reception in DC proper.
    Posted by daydreamer28[/QUOTE]

    <div>Do you absolutely want the reception in DC, or are the suburbs of DC okay? What about being metro-accessible? Is that a deal breaker? My fiance was adament about a reception within DC, and it took a lot of work to find something that wasn't out of our price range. Many DC venues have high rental fees (upwards of $10k) that do not include anything else - tables, chair, etc. - so you'd then also have to rent all your equipment.</div><div>
    </div><div>Is the $35k for the entire event (both venues) or just for the reception? If the latter, you could probably find hotel packages that would work. Otherwise, I'd also suggest looking a bit further out (Dulles, Bowie, vineyards) for a space that could work for both events. </div>
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  • daydreamer28daydreamer28
    First Comment
    edited May 2012
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_dc_winter-outdoor-wedding-crazy-idea?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:57Discussion:0276845a-0fe4-4965-b118-e7d557883035Post:4cc572d7-246e-4c1a-ac7f-6165a2c73b9f">Re: Is this crazy?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Otherwise, I'd also suggest looking a bit further out (Dulles, Bowie, vineyards) for a space that could work for both events. 
    Posted by norameetsnick[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>Yeah I agree, I'm not keen on having either the ceremony or reception in DC.  I feel that the venues that can hold a good amount of people would be very expensive.  I'll look into hotels to see what kind of packages they offer, assuming DC will still be painfully expensive.  But I do love the idea of a park or vineyard, except I saw not a lot of them can host more than 150 people indoors.  Sigh.  And yep it's about 35k total for all events =\
    </div>
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  • calliopeia2013calliopeia2013 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Can you consider off days (Fridays or Sundays?)  I'm having a Sunday afternoon wedding in January, in Arlington (so, effectively DC prices), and the venue is only about half of the normal cost, because it's the off-season, off-day, and off-time.  Our budget is $25,000 for about 150 people, and we'll be able to do it just fine, if that helps.
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  • sperbunkisperbunki member
    First Comment
    What's crazy are the responses! Morning ceremony with a light brunch? Where are you people looking? My wedding is at Swan Point Golf Course, which is about an hour outside of DC. The facility rental is 2k. Very affordable of your "meager" budget is 35k
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