‘NO! DON’T TRUMP MY WEDDING’

SARAH Squire’s wedding wasn’t meant to be a political statement. But, she says, it probably seems like one now.

Back when Squire booked the Trump International Hotel in Washington for her January wedding, Donald Trump was one of a dozen candidates clamouring for the Republican nomination. The real estate tycoon was widely presumed to be a long shot for the nation’s highest office.

But by the time Squire and her husband got married in the property’s presidential ballroom on January 14, Trump was six days away from being sworn in as the next president of the US.

“That definitely wasn’t something we ever considered,” said Squire, 27. “We had no idea this would happen.”

The reasons she chose the historic property on Pennsylvania Avenue were simple: it was a historic building in downtown Washington that could easily accommodate her 300 guests.

While a handful of couples have already tied the knot at Trump’s hotel since it opened in September, wedding planners say many others are eschewing the property in favour of less-controversial venues around town. Trump spent $212 million renovating the historic property, which he is renting from the General Services Administration. The hotel has been the site of frequent protests, including an incident last month when a man apparently set himself on fire outside the building.

“A lot of brides are saying: ‘This is very political for my guests, so I think I’ll go elsewhere,’ “said a local wedding planner who spoke on the condition of anonymity. – The Washington Post