By Ashley C. Simpson

In the months leading up to a bride’s wedding, it’s a safe bet that she probably spends a lot of hours picturing her walk down the aisle, her first dance with the groom, and other hallmark moments to take place during her upcoming wedding. For a few soon-to-be brides, those who have booked the Hotel at the University of Maryland as their wedding venue, these thoughts take more imagination than you might assume. Although the Hotel at UMD is sure to be a grandiose setting for a wedding, it won’t actually open its doors until this summer.

“It’s newer than brand new, opening this summer,” Mindy Bianca, spokesperson for the Hotel at the University of Maryland, said. “Of course it will appeal to students, alumni and their families, but it will offer a great location for everyone to hold events – not just for people with a UMD connection. This is a four-star luxury hotel, and they’ve never had anything of this magnitude in College Park.”

The Hotel at UMD is part of College Park’s vision of becoming a top 20 college town by the year 2020, according to Bianca, who added that town leaders have  claimed that the hotel is “the first domino to fall” toward that goal.

The Hotel will sit across the street from the official visitors’ center of the University, offering perhaps the best possible view of the highly-ranked institution.

The view isn’t even close to the spanking new property’s only selling point, either. The extravagant hotel, with 297 rooms for overnight guests, will boast of ten floors, and 43,000 square feet designated specifically as event space.

This is a highly anticipated project, and has been for the University of Maryland Community for the last two or three years. The mounting excitement has led to couples all over the United States booking the venue, months before its scheduled opening.

“We’ve been advertising everywhere so the buzz is out there about the new project,” Julie Woods-Clark, The Hotel’s Director of Catering Sales, said.  “Couples have called or emailed us and then they’ve come in for hard hat tours. We’ve gotten a lot of interest from people who have seen the views, and the design renderings we’ve been able to lay out for them.”

The hotel’s first wedding will take place on August 19th, and Woods-Clark said that is just the beginning of a busy year of weddings.

“We’ve booked weddings for August straight through next year,” she said. “People are very excited about the new project and the location and the views. I’ve booked weddings for couples from as far away as California, sight unseen.”

People have reason to be so excited. There are four ballrooms that make dream weddings possible at The Hotel. The top floor is a penthouse with just about every modern, high end feature you can imagine, and can comfortably fit about 240 people, seated. The largest event space within the Hotel at UMD, the grand ballroom, will comfortably seat about 1,200 people.

So far, people have shown the most interest in hosting their nuptials on the penthouse level, with spectacular views of College Park.

“The penthouse has floor to ceiling windows, all of which face the campus,” Woods-Clark said. “There is a terrace out there that can accommodate the entire cocktail hour, too.”

Despite the penthouse’s popularity, each ballroom has its own appeal. And, even though The Hotel’s wedding calendar is filling up quickly, there is plenty of room for more celebrations.

“It ends up being a very convenient place for a wedding, being so close to Interstate 95,” Woods-Clark said. “Because of its proximity to Baltimore, Washington, Northern Virginia and Annapolis, it’s a great place for a bride and groom who each come from different places on the East Coast, but want to pick a location accessible for all their families and friends.”

Woods-Clark, who comes from The Hotel’s sister hotel near Baltimore, said that there are a number of attractive packages, all of which include a free overnight stay for the bride and groom. She places her full confidence in her preferred vendors, most of which she has worked with for the last 18 years, and can provide just about any upgrade imaginable.

For more information on weddings at The Hotel at the University of Maryland, please visit thehotelumd.com/weddings-occasions/ or call 301-945-7499.