POTOMAC, MD—Planning is now underway for a not-so-typical wedding expo this November, as the Montgomery County Department of Parks challenges area wedding vendors to form teams and plan a “Not-So-Big” wedding at one of the county’s four park event centers: Brookside Gardens, Rockwood Manor, Seneca Lodge or Woodlawn Manor.
“The Not-So-Big Wedding Boutique will celebrate the marriage of elegance and economy,” said Department of Parks Event Centers Marketing Specialist Laura Gosse. “The challenge we’re posing to wedding vendors is to form teams of not more than 5 and plan a not-so-big wedding for $15K or less.”
Each team will create a wedding package for a ceremony and reception of 65 guests. Wedding packages must include catering, floral arrangements, music, photography and a Montgomery Parks event center rental. Wedding vendors have until September 30 to form teams and register for the challenge online at www.ParkPASS.org (Course No. 90549). The team entry fee is $500.
Then, on Sunday, November 8 at Rockwood Manor in Potomac, the teams will showcase their not-so-big wedding packages for brides and grooms-to-be, their families and other attendees during the Not-So-Big-Wedding Boutique. This first of its kind Montgomery Parks event will be held from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm at Rockwood Manor, 11001 MacArthur Boulevard, and is free to the public.
“I’m also matchmaking,” added Gosse!
Wedding vendors looking for a team or teams looking for a missing member, can email their name, email address, phone number, category need (e.g., photography) and website (if available) to Laura Gosse at Laura.Gosse@MontgomeryParks.org or post the information on www.NotSoBigWedding.com and Laura will help match them up.
During the Not-So-Big Wedding Boutique, the Department of Parks will display the not-so-big wedding packages of 20 teams, award one team the grand prize, offer “Wedding Wisdom” talks from experts and showcase the event centers in the county’s parks system.
“The park event centers are special places no matter the special occasion,” said Gosse. “They are affordable options for not only weddings, but also birthdays, anniversaries, holiday parties, bar/bat mitzvahs—they are the natural choice.”
Brookside Gardens in Wheaton is an award-winning, unique public gardens and popular wedding location. Rockwood Manor in Potomac is a charming estate nestled in the woods. Seneca Lodge in Boyds is a handsome log cabin with cathedral ceilings and panoramic views. Woodlawn Manor in Sandy Spring is an elegant Georgian-style house sitting atop rolling pastures.
To schedule tours of these properties, wedding vendors interested in taking the challenge can contact Brookside Gardens at 301-962-1404 or Rockwood Manor, Seneca Lodge and Woodlawn Manor at 301-299-5026.
For more information on Montgomery Parks’ event centers, see the newly redesigned website www.ParkEventCenters.com and for more on the Not-So-Big Wedding Boutique and Challenge, visit www.NotSoBigWedding.com.
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Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866