’18 Sep 2010 – No 030′
courtesy of ‘B Jones Jr’

The following is a guest entry by the Social Chair, who is far more qualified than I am to discuss this particular subject matter.

So here’s the problem with being a girl who hasn’t been planning her wedding since she was a little girl:

When it’s time to plan your wedding, it’s a bit daunting.

When last we met, I had just purchased my wedding dress (es).No, I still don’t know which I am going to wear. Luckily, I have some time to figure that out. We decided to push the big event to 2012 and enjoy being engaged, instead of frantically rushing to get it planned this year. Our wedding will take place in October 2012. The logic went something like this:

November-February: Holidays, cold, maybe snow. March & April: Could be nice, could be cold and rainy. May & September: Generally busy months, with weather that sometimes doesn’t cooperate. June: Could be nice, could be terribly hot. July or August: Are you kidding? Who wants to be in DC then? October: It’s the most wonderful time of the year in DC. We have a winner!

And then the fine-tuning begins.

‘bride & groom at the fare machine’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

fedward did a bit of historical research about weather patterns to help narrow down the specific date. Did you know that, on weekends in the first 24 days of October, Friday has the most days of rain and the most rainfall? Saturday has three fewer days of rain and generally less rainfall than Friday, and Sunday has three fewer days of rain than Saturday, and even less rainfall. This is why I love the internet.

But being a DC bride means some extra planning when it comes to choosing your wedding date. My research started on the Meeting Planners site for Destination DC. It includes a searchable calendar for the Convention Center. This won’t cover meetings that take place in one hotel, but it can indicate dates that might make getting a hotel block more difficult. A big convention means fewer rooms available – and at a higher rate. In our case, October includes the meeting for Association of the United States Army – with an estimated 20,000 attendees. We marked that weekend right off our list.

‘More wedding photos’
courtesy of ‘max8319’

Nice weather in DC also means marathons, marches, and festivals. Those street closings can make travel difficult for you and your guests. In addition to checking the Convention Center calendar, it is worth checking dates for annual events such as:

• Marine Corps Marathon, Army 10 Miler, Race for the Cure, etc.
• National Cherry Blossom Festival
• Capital Pride
• Rolling Thunder
• National Capital Barbecue Battle
• DC Caribbean Carnival
• National Christmas Tree Lighting

Think of it this way: check the dates of any event that makes you immediately respond, “man, traffic is gonna suck that weekend” to see if it might impact your plans. It’s better to plan ahead than your guests missing the wedding because they can’t get across Constitution Avenue.

We’re hoping to avoid some of those street closings by choosing a Metro accessible location. Keep your fingers crossed that there is very little track work in October 2012.

Fedward Potz

Fedward Potz moved into the District in 1999 with a four year plan and never left. He enjoys good food, craft cocktails, photography, music, and long walks on the beach.