Hello East Side Bride!
Your blog was a lifesaver for me as I planned my own wedding, and now I'm hoping you can help out my sweet Mom while she plans hers!
Unfortunately, even with all the recent good news for Gay Rights, she still can't marry her longtime partner here in New Orleans. They've grown tired of waiting, and are heading to D.C. in March to do the deed legally. Only problem is, they know almost nothing about the city.
Maybe some of your readers would have some suggestions? They're looking for a place to hold the ceremony (extremely small, probably just 10 people or less), a nice restaurant to head to after, and a photographer to capture the day. The only thing she's thought about so far is to have the ceremony in a nice park, but we're not sure of the weather in March.
Thanks so much!
*****
Good news! Cevd (who lives in DC) tells me that March is cherry blossom season. Maybe your mom knew that already? Cevd says:
The weather should be brisk, not freezing, and there will be a chance of rain, it's DC after all, but BEAUTIFUL. You can get married in only two spots on the mall, from what I hear, which is technically a national park. One of those spots is the Tidal Basin, i.e. BEST CHERRY BLOSSOMS. Here's the link, and they should likely get on it.
She also recommended a few restaurants (with the caveat that they're all a little spendy):
Fiola - Shit ass website, best italian food.
City Zen
Obelisk - I've not been but people fucking love it.
I'm not sure if these two take groups that large, maybe for a special occasion? But they are ABSOLUTELY worth looking in to:
Suna
Komi
The photo is by Amber Mahoney, a DC-based alternative wedding and documentary photographer, who also started this super cool project. I'd hire her in a heartbeat.
If you want something a little quieter, the DC WWI Memorial is beautiful, and a little off the beaten path. This may not be true as more people go to see MLK Jr, but it's still lovely. Amber Wilkie is someone I'm using this June, and she's really really great. If you want to call it an elopement, does it for fairly cheap! And if they wanted to do something to bring New Orleans with them, Acadiana is pretty tasty! Good luck, and congrats to your mom!
ReplyDeleteI got married at the DC WWI memorial in June and it was amazing! I definitely recommend it.
DeleteA word of caution: the tidal basin can be insanely busy around peak cherry blossom time (not exactly the best ambience for an intimate wedding). Another park not on the mall might be a better choice. Meridian Hill perhaps?
ReplyDeleteOr, a museum or a private room (or roof) of a restaurant? The Corcoran Gallery of Art perhaps, or the Phillips Collection? Brasserie Beck at 11/K downtown has some private dining options. I also hear great things about Proof.
I travel to DC for work and when I am home I have dreams about Proof. Ahhhhhmazing.
DeleteI work at the Phillips and we don't do weddings. I'm not too sure about the Corcoran either, especially now that they're having issues with keeping the building. The Women's museum does, the Textile museum rents out their backyard space, and maybe Dumbarton Oaks as well?
Deleteas a native washingtonian i absolutely love the cherry blossoms, but they are insanely crowded during peak bloom. the arboretum has a great collection of cherry trees in a far quieter atmosphere. there are also several adorable (and tiny) Capitol Hill parks that would be a ton of fun for a little wedding. and very close to lots of delicious food (cap hill/8th street or H street NE)
ReplyDeletealso, i just attended a dc courthouse wedding last week and we grabbed at table at Graffiato's for 6 at 2 in the afternoon on a friday with no reservations. we ate and drank for hours and had a wonderful time.
I second the arboretum. There are so many beautiful spots there to get married. Google "national arboretum wedding" and click on images - stunning! The pillars are such a gorgeous backdrop, but every corner of the arboretum is beautiful.
DeleteFirst off, congratulations to your mom! As a Washingtonian who is getting married here in March myself, I know it's not the easiest thing to plan. The weather is definitely a concern -- last year we had sunny days in the low 70s in early March but 2 years ago there were still hard frosts. It's kind of a crap shoot.
ReplyDeleteIf she's dead set on getting married outside I would definitely avoid the Tidal Basin and the mall which will be filled with every 8th grade class on the Eastern seaboard and swarms of family tourists. I live next to Meridian Hill (Malcolm X) Park and think it would be a beautiful place for a wedding. The wedding permit is $200 (http://www.nps.gov/mehi/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm) but that's way better than most other venues.
Restaurant recs are a little harder because most spots won't do private dinners for groups less than 30 (I say this as someone trying to schedule a gd rehearsal dinner for 16). Places that have been really receptive-- and have dope menus -- include The Pig, Hank's Oyster Bar and Birch & Barley. I'd also recommend looking into Lincoln, Fiola (spendy but SO GOOD), Charlie Palmner Steak, and Tabard Inn.
Actually, if I were you I'd just say screw it and get married in the courtyard at the Tabard Inn and do dinner there. That would be perfection. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
-CS
Meridian Hill park is beautiful, but stay away from the Sunday drum circle!
DeleteShe didn't say anything about the dinner needing to be "private." just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteTrue -- probably just the mindset that I'm in doing our own research, namely that it would be great to be able to hear each other and not be crowded into a full bumping restaurant. It's nice to have at least a table that's slightly off to the side and not in the middle of it all.
DeleteI don't know anything about DC but congratulations to your mom. I wish the world was different so that she could get married in NO but I'm sure it will be a great adventure.
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for Tabard Inn! They're great about working with weddings, are centrally located, very romantic, and have great food. Brasserie Beck is also wonderful. Acadiana is less awesome, in my opinion. You can do better.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of ceremony, I agree with these other ladies that the Tidal Basin is going to be a mess that time of year unless you do the ceremony at an off time of day. If you want great spring blooms (which spring in DC is perfect for), check out Dunbarton Oaks in Georgetown. Its a private estate turned open-to-the-public garden. Unbeatable setting, and if the weather is nasty you'd likely have some beautiful inside options with them. You'll then be a short walk from a bunch of good restaurants in Georgetown, if you wanted to go that route.
Alternatively, if you're willing to cross the river for dinner Restaurant Eve in Old Town Alexandria is epic.
Meridian Hill + Tabard Inn and Dumbarton Oaks + Some Place in Georgetown are both excellent ideas in my book. For Georgetown private dining, forgive me if this sounds over the top, but the Ritz Carlton in Georgetown is in an old incinerator building with a huge smokestack. The smokestack has been converted into a 16 ft diameter private dining room and that is incredibly striking architecturally. Also in the realm of private dining for a group that size, but closer to downtown, I would also suggest Adour (at the St. Regis) which has a grand modern looking square table in a semi-private room for a group your size.
ReplyDeleteokay i live in dc so i think i could help. i would say like the W hotel or the palamor.I would look at star-wood hotels and kimpton hotels and see if you can rent one of their places even a part of the I think that hotels would do the trick because they have small rooms and when it comes to restaurants i ll give you a few that come to mind just call like now and give them the time they are very reasonable. If you want somewhere with a nice feel try the Pines of Florence its so hidden it has a nice feel. Busboys and Poets on U street is wonderful they even have a party room you can rent. i did and its nice. Try Sei in Penn Corner and if you need more links try looking at sights such as the Washingtonian, urban spoon, yelp is also great. i hope all goes well in march you will love it here and the venues are nice so go on the sites and look at the hotels in the area .
ReplyDeleteAll the above suggestions are great, but if your Mom is crossing state lines specifically to make it legal, keep in mind that DC is one of the places that doesn't automatically recognize online-ordained ministers.
ReplyDeleteYou can go through a waiver process, but it might be a pain in the ass. Of course, you can always find someone from your favored religious denomination, or the Washington Ethical Society, or get a celebrant-for-hire.
Or go to the courthouse-- Moultrie ain't pretty, but it's centrally located, and the marriage room can accommodate 10-15 guests.
If the online-ordained minister thing is an issue, also remember that DC's neighbor to the north (Maryland) just passed marriage equality this year. I believe they are much less restrictive on online-ordained ministers. Maryland might be a good place to look for lower cost reception/venue sites. We found that places like Chase Court offer good indoor/outdoor options for smaller ceremonies.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIs your Mom's legal wedding driven by the symbolism of legal marriage? A legal wedding in DC confers no legal benefits if you live in NOLA. Legally, it would be the same as your Mom and her partner getting married in NOLA. My partner and I wrestled with this reality and chose to get married in our state where gay marriage isn't recognized, because even if we had gotten married somewhere else it still would not have been recognized in our stats.
ReplyDeleteOops, in our state!
DeleteFor restaurants, I like Citronelle in Georgetown.
ReplyDeleteMarch is actually the perfect time to get married in DC. We don't get much of a winter and March should be warming up without getting disgustingly humid.
ReplyDeleteI second Birch and Barley, and Hank's Oyster Bar for restaurant recs. And also caution you away from the Cherry Blossom festival, it's a mess. Unless you are planning on getting married at 6am there's no way you're getting space to do anything.
For location I'll suggest The Mansion at O Street the website is pretty crap but that place is amazing. Super unique, full of secret passageways, and you can buy almost anything you see. This is a good thing trust me.
If you want to do an outdoor wedding, I agree that Meridian Hill park is lovely. Though I've never seen a wedding done there I assume you can? Right now there's a lot of construction going on there but it should be finished by March. Word of warning, 16th st is fairly busy road, so a wedding in the park is not going to be the quietest. But its really easy to get to and close to the U Street Corridor, Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan so you've got a lot of options for restaurants and bars afterwards.
The Arboretum is beautiful but it's on North East which means there's virtually no public transportation. And there's nothing around there in terms of restaurants or bars either.