Bethesda Wedding

Bethesda is an urbanized, but unincorporated, area in Montgomery County, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a church located there, the Bethesda Presbyterian Church, built in 1820 and rebiult in 1850, which in turn took its name from the Aramaic words "Beth Hesda," meaning "house of mercy".

As an unincorporated area, Bethesda has no official boundaries. The United States Census Bureau defines a Census-Designated Place named Bethesda whose center is located at 3859' North, 777' West. The United States Geological Survey has defined Bethesda as an area whose center is at 385850N, 7762W, slightly different from the Census Bureau's definition. Other definitions are used by the Bethesda Urban Planning District, the United States Postal Service, and other organizations. As of 2000, the Census-defined community had a total population of 55,277.

Bethesda is located at 38595N, 77647W (38.984660, -77.113135)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 34.2 km (13.2 mi). 34.0 km (13.1 mi) of it is land and 0.1 km (0.1 mi) of it (0.38%) is water.