Venues- hotel vs. other

You need a budget.

Try costofwedding.com to get an idea of how much a 250-300 person wedding is in Dc and go from there

Often times, all-inclusive saves money, and it is definitely easier than hiring individual vendors for everything.

I really wouldn't recommend not setting a budget for a wedding that big in that expensive of an area, unless you have close to six figures in savings and don't care if the large majority of it goes away for the wedding.

Also, Oct 2018 isn't that far away in the wedding world.

We had a similar situation (lots of OOT guests coming from areas all over the country) and chose to have our wedding at a hotel. It was so darn convenient having most of our guests at that one hotel for an extended weekend. It made dining time with people in the days before the wedding easier, and it was certainly nice not having to worry about booking transportation between the a hotel where we blocked rooms and the venue for a bunch of guests that may or may not have rented a car after flying in. It was also just nice not having to travel anywhere the day of the wedding (get ready, get on the elevator, boom you're there...then get on the elevator at the end of the night and get in bed).

I didn't feel like I was restricted as far as choosing vendors. Our venue was semi inclusive and while it included centerpieces and a cake among all of the caterering and bar stuff, our package simply included an allowance at a choice of bakeries and florists that had deals with our venue. We still got to choose a baker and a florist and had the freedom to upgrade directly with those vendors on top of what the venue was including (for example, we upgraded our centerpieces to a bigger size and added other florals and we upgraded to specialty cake flavors).

We also still had the choice of our photographer, DJ, and anything else we wanted since none of that was included through the venue.

That said, it's always important to compare pricing between venues, find out what is and is not included, and evaluate the competency of the people at the venue. I would not say a hotel is better if a different type of venue had better food, a more attentive coordinator, or better pricing. You can go the historic venue route and make it convenient for OOT guests if you set up a room block at a nearby hotel and arrange for a shuttle service between the hotel and your venue.

I would also recommend deciding on a budget before considering venues. Knowing what you're comfortable spending will help you decide whether a venue is a good option for you guys.

Yeah! I like the idea of a hotel logistically but all the quotes I've been getting are almost 300 a person. We can probably trim the list to around 200-250 people for sure.

As for budget- we'd like to keep it around 50K but that seems impossible in the DC area so may just have to suck it up!

@bluehenbride

Thanks for your thoughts!! That was helpful. I definitely agree and love the convenience. All the weddings I've been to where it's in the hotel is amazing cause it's so easy to round people up (we have 11 bridesmaids/groomsmen). What hotel did you end up choosing?

If everyone is traveling for the wedding anyway, why not choose a location that is less expensive? Maybe look outside the DC area.

Julie - I grew up in DE and got married at the Christiana Hilton. We did check out one other hotel in the Wilmington area, as well as two non-hotel venues, one in Wilmington and one in MD. We honestly based our decision on the fact that it was both the best deal and the best service (their wedding planner was amazing plus the food was great). The other hotel was outrageously priced, did not include as much, and their planner seemed apathetic.

One of the problems is that few of the historic buildings are big enough for a 250-300 person wedding. At that size, you may be stuck with a hotel or a dedicated wedding venue.

Another alternative would be one of the Odyssey Cruises. They have a complete package (including dinner and open bar) for $250 a person (less if it's not a Saturday night), and can handle up to 500 people.

I have worked at various military bases, perhaps looking into some of the military bases in the area could be an option. Andrews Air Force Base, Joint Base Bolling, Navy Yard, Fort Myer and Fort Mead. They have chapels and reception areas at great prices.

We looked at both and decided to go for the non-hotel, because we liked the exclusivity of it and didn't want a whole bunch of strangers around the whole time. It will be a little more inconvenient, but whatever.

Also for us, it's going to be WAY cheaper. We've found an outside vendor who offers open beer and wine for 5 hours for $15/guest. I couldn't find a hotel for anything less than $35/guest for 2 hours.

I looked for awhile in DC and decided to do a wedding closer to my hometown. It was definitely cheaper. That being said, I looked at a lot of places that I loved. The Wonderbread Factory, and Loft at 600 F seemed reasonable. If you're willing to travel, Whitehall in Leesburg or any of the vineyards in that direction are beautiful. That seems like a pretty big guest list, so I would make sure you want all of those guests, from my experience venue hunting, the bigger your guest list, the more the space cost. We started at 250 and went through each name to be sure, ended at 183.

I really hated the idea of doing a hotel wedding, probably because it seemed so traditional, but after planning a wedding that is kind of in the middle of nowhere, I see the benefits of a hotel. If you find can find a hotel you like, there's no transport needed, no DUI risks, caterer in house and there's plenty for people to do around the city.

@Julie I am planning a wedding for 150 guests in Washington D.C. proper in October 2018; maybe I can provide some helpful feedback. When we were looking for venues, I avoided hotels because I too wanted something more historic to fit the feel of D.C. However, I quickly learned that not very many venues in D.C. proper can hold more than 120 people, let along my 150 adult guest list, not including 10-15 small children. Additionally, I was having a hard time finding venues that were less than 10k (not all-inclusive, just the venue cost). I lucked out in the first venue we saw was in the city proper (so thus I choose my rehearsal dinner, day-after brunch, and hotel blocks within a mile of the venue as 90% of my 150 guest were too OOT and I wanted them to have the choice of incorporating the wedding trip with a sightseeing trip). It was a historical mansion (used to be an embassy), was less than 10K, AND included table and chair rentals. It wasn't all-inclusive but I wasn't looking for one that was; I had a particular vision and wanted the flexibility to choose the team of vendors to make it happen. Even though we were 19 months out at the time, and had only seen two venues and had four more scheduled, I cancelled the other four and booked this venue right away. Now, a year out, I am so very glad I did as Columbus Day weekend was the most popular wedding weekend in 2016 and 2017.

Regarding cost, I had used www.costofwedding.com to give me an idea of how much it would be for a guest list of 150 guests in the D.C. area - it was 55K for 150 guests. Like you, I don't really have a budget but I wasn't going to spend more than the national average cost of a wedding for 140 guests, which is 34K, so I capped myself at 35K for 150 guests in D.C. proper. So far, I am under my budget but I had to trim a few things to make that happen (i.e. non-floral centerpieces, cupcakes instead of cake to avoid cutting fee, designing the wedding party outfits including my wedding gowns and getting them made in my hometown of Vietnam (MUCH cheaper), etc.).

If your guest list will continue to be that large - 250-300 guests - and you still want the wedding to be in D.C. proper, you have to too consider hotel venues because they are large enough to hold that many guests for a sit-down dinner. Also consider larger museums (i.e. National Museum of Women in the Arts, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, The Corcoran Gallery of Art) as well. Those are your best bets. However, they get pricy like 15K+ just for venue rental. Luck!

https://www.theknot.com/content/top-10-dc-museums-for-weddings

You could rent out the DAR's Constitution Hall Lobby for like $5k. Or their library for like $8k. But I'd check because they may already be booked.

We are doing a hotel for lots of reasons. A) I LOVE hotels. Seriously. If I could live in a hotel I would. B) 90% of our guest list is from out of down and we wanted all inclusive, everything in one place. We ended up having it a bit outside the city (Denver) and got an incredible deal) C) Most historical buildings are not accessible for people in wheelchair, so that would be FH, and some of our bridal party. We have had some terrible experiences in DC with this so you may want to do a walk through if this is is something that matters to your group (or you even think it might!) Don't let them tell you "We comply with the ADA." See for yourself, including restrooms!

I recommend the Udar Hazy air and space museum!

You're having a huge wedding. We need a budget in order to speak realistically.