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No Parking for the Reception in DC - What should we do?

SarahC2086SarahC2086
in DC
Our ceremony is being held near the Brookland Metro station, and there is plenty of parking at the church.  Our reception is being held near the Judiciary Square Metro station, and there is no parking!  Most of our guests are from out of town.  Here are the scenarios I've played out:

1.  Out of town guests have to drive to the reception and find parking, pay expensive meters, possibly get a parking ticket (there's Saturday enforcement until 10pm now!)

2.  Encourage guests to leave their cars at the ceremony site and give every tips for using metro in the program.  Downside here is that they have to metro back to Brookland at the end of the reception.

3.  Rent vehicles and have someone drive guests from the ceremony to the reception.  But who would drive, where would those vehicles be parked, and what if guests want to leave the reception early?

4.  Hire a valet service.  No idea what this costs and we are on a tight budget.  Also, where would the valet service park the cars?  There still is no place to park them...
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Re: No Parking for the Reception in DC - What should we do?

  • mybooboosmybooboos member
    Sixth Anniversary 500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    You could hire a valet service, and they would scout the area before telling you they could take the job, based on the feasibility of finding parking.

    Or you could hire a shuttle bus, to cart everyone to the reception from the church to the reception and back to the church.  Depending on the amount of people, and the length of time needed, it could cost you anywhere from $1,500-2,500.  (This is what I'm doing)

    Lastly, you could ask the reception venue how past affairs have handled the parking situation.  They may have a suggestion for you.

    Good luck
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  • modcbridemodcbride
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I agree that renting a bus would probably be best.  Look into renting a bus for the hotel to the reception to the church. That would probably cut down on the number of people who drive to the church all together. You might also decide to pick up the tab on expensive parking lots.  Talk to the paid parking lots in the neighborhood by the reception and see if you can commit to paying, say for, 100 cars that park there.  You will have to pay the costs for your guests, but you might get a deal. 
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  • Lisa50Lisa50 member
    2500 Comments 5 Love Its Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Shuttle bus from the Church parking lot to the reception venue and back seems to be the best option.  Good luck!
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  • fchan1fchan1
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    i also agree with renting a shuttle bus to cart people back and forth between the wedding site and the reception. the shuttle can leave every half an hour at a designated time during the reception, so people who want to leave a little earlier can hop on the early buses. if that becomes too expensive, then maybe you can just have two departure times from the reception and people can either hop on the early bus or the late bus.

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