Everybody wants a wedding that is unique to them. That pretty much goes without saying! And in a way, you will get just that. Because no matter how you celebrate your wedding, it will have personal elements that make it yours and yours alone. But what if you want a marriage celebration that really stands out from the rest on every level? One that your guests will talk about for years? One that breaks out of the traditional “get ready in a hotel room, marry in a house of worship, party in a hotel ballroom” mold? A wedding that celebrates the best parts of getting married in the Nation’s Capital? If so, look into Washington DC rooftop weddings. For reasons we get into below, those kinds of marital events are really spectacular!
So what is it about celebrating your wedding on a roof in the DC area that is so special? With all the great venues in the region (and there are a lot!), why do we recommend choosing one with a rooftop space? Here are a few reasons why you should give some thought a marriage celebration on a Washington DC rooftop:
Ok, let’s get the obvious out of the way first. The best reason, by far, to have a rooftop wedding is the spectacular views you will get of the city during your event. Has Washington DC played an integral part in your love story? If so, then you probably want it to play a role in your wedding as well. And there is no better way to do that, in our opinion, than to have the city actually be present (almost) at your wedding! Just imagine glancing over your shoulder during your wedding ceremony and seeing the Washington Monument rising above you. Or catching sight of the U.S. Capitol building lit up at night as you and your new spouse enjoy your first dance together. A wedding cannot get any more DC-themed than that!
Naturally, seeing Washington’s most iconic landmarks during your wedding is only possible if you hold it in one of two locations. The first is the National Mall. Not surprisingly, the places in that part of DC that host wedding celebrations offer unforgettable views of the Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol building and Jefferson Memorial. Unfortunately, there are two limitations that you will face with these venues. For starters, there are not too many of them. You can book the DC War Memorial, the George Mason Memorial, the lawn near the Jefferson Memorial and that is it. The other problem is that those locations can only accommodate smaller weddings. So if your plans include a larger celebration, then a wedding on the National Mall will not work.
A wedding on a rooftop, though, gives you views that are just as jaw-dropping without any of the limitations. There are plenty of different options to choose from. And many of them have space for bigger celebrations.
One of the downsides to getting married in a huge city like Washington DC is that it can be hard to have a wedding outside. It is much easier if you decide to wed in Northern Virginia or suburban Maryland, of course. But if you want something close to or in the District, your options are going to but much more limited. Sure, there are some outdoor venues in the heart of the city. But not that many.
That brings us to the second reason why rooftops weddings in Washington DC are so awesome. They give you the possibility of getting married with the open blue sky above you and the sun shining down on your ceremony.
And the best part? Most rooftop wedding venues also make indoor spaces available to you. So if you want your marriage celebrations to have a bit of flexibility, rooftop weddings give that to you. If you do not want to have your entire marriage celebrations outside, for example, you can move inside for parts of it. Or if you are worried about inclement weather disrupting your nuptials, you can rest easy knowing that there is an easy backup option available to you.
The last reason why we suggest that you consider a rooftop wedding is a little harder to explain. We have photographed a lot of weddings at a lot of different kinds of venues in the Washington DC area. Thanks to that experience, we have a pretty good sense of the vibe that each location gives the nuptials it hosts. And we can tell you that there is really something special about the way weddings on rooftops feel. They are somehow grander, more majestic, more regal and more important. When you attend an event on a rooftop, you get the sense that you are at a really special celebration.
In our opinion, a lot of that has to do with the fact that most rooftop wedding locations in DC sit relatively high above the rest of the city (more on that below). Looking down at the lights below, you feel like you are on top of the world. You feel like you are attending a swanky event in some sort of castle or mansion on a hill. And that feeling, that vibe, that atmosphere makes a rooftop wedding feel classier and more elegant than other marriage celebrations.
Have we convinced you that having your marriage celebrations on a DC rooftop is a good idea? If so, great! But perhaps now you need some recommendations about which venues offer you great views of the Washington cityscape. Allow us to help with that!
The Height of Buildings Act of 1910 is both a curse and blessing when it comes to rooftop wedding venues. (Just in case you are not familiar with it, that is a law that says that no DC building can be taller than 130 feet.) On the one hand, it means that there are not a lot of venues high enough to make a rooftop space worthwhile. On the other, however, it means that the locations that do offer views of the city give you something really special.
With that in mind, the list of the best rooftop wedding venues in the Washington DC area is not long. But every single one offers you an unparalleled experience.
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