This is long, if you need contact information for any of the vendors please let me know. I found these helpful when I was doing my own planning and really lucked out with some great vendors:
Venue:
Carnegie Institution for Science/A+ Both our ceremony and reception were held at the Carnegie. It made for some tricky logistics, but set-up and everything was seamless. Michelle, the event coordinator was super helpful from the very beginning and I knew that we were well taken care of. We had our ceremony in the rotunda, which was absolutely beautiful. Our cocktail hour was in the boardroom and rotunda, and dinner was in the ballroom with dancing in the rotunda. We did our rehearsal on Saturday and they also allowed us to store props over the weekends - which made the wedding day even easier for us, since we didn't have to deliver anything to the Carnegie. The groom and his guys got ready in the Library which was our room to use for the night. And per the advice of the Carnegie staff we rented the church parking lot across the street for guests and vendors. I couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else and highly recommend the Carnegie to other couples in DC.
Rehearsal Dinner:
Bucca Di Beppo/A We invited 50 friends and family members to the rehearsal dinner and it was super fun and casual. I like the idea of Italian family style, and everyone seemed to enjoy the food. I can't speak to much more of the planning since my FIL did all of the planning. But everyone had a great time.
Caterer for Wedding:
Catering by Uptown/A+ Uptown did a wonderful job, and I really feel that they go above and beyond what most catering companies do in the area. The food was delicious. From the beginning they were easy to work with. I like that in the planning process you have a chance to do a tasting before signing with them. From other proposals that we received, we felt that Uptown offered the best value for service. And they certainly delivered, the food was excellent on our wedding day. DH and I didn't really get to enjoy the cocktail hour, but they brought food to us during our private time after the ceremony and it was so good, I wish I had more hors d'oeuvres! Everyone seemed to love dinner, even my picky/vegetarian SIL. During dinner I had asked someone to make sure they didn't clear our plates while we were walking around the the different tables, they did clear the plate, but immediately brought a new dinner plate for DH and I to share. They provide a separate event planner to take care of the day-of logistics, and I knew we were taken care of. I also like that they include linens, and really have a lovely selection to choose from. They made the whole planning process very easy. I would absolutely recommend them to other brides in the area.
Florist:
Shelly Bagdasian/ A+ The flowers and decor that Shelly did for my wedding were absolutely perfect. From the start, Shelly was very easy to work with, flexible and responsive. When we first met I had left most of my "inspiration" pictures at home, but she was able to take some of my ideas and colors and put together a really great proposal. I appreciated that Shelly offered suggestions to meet our budget, and provided really beautiful flowers. I couldn't have asked for a better result, and highly recommend Shelly and her team.
Cake:
SugarBakers/A We didn't work directly with SugarBakers - but did have their cake for our wedding cake - provided through our caterer. I have to highly rate SugarBakers - the cake was one of the best parts of our wedding. It was simply delicious and beautiful. We had two flavors - raspberry almond and lemon. Many of our guests also told me what it was the best cake they ever had at a wedding.
Ceremony Music:
Melissa Tardiff Dvorak/A+Melissa did a beautiful job for playing the harp for my wedding. The music she played enhanced the ceremony and cocktail hour. Several guests commented to me that the music was the best they had heard. We asked Melissa to play Jewish music for our ceremony processional and recessional and contemporary music for the cocktail hour. She made the process of selecting music really easy. Her prices are also very competitive for this area. We couldn't be happier with the result.
Reception Music:
DJ David Orlando/ A+ David Orlando was one of my first and favorite vendors from my wedding. He and his wife Jessica were very professional, easy to work with and flexible. Orlando Entertainment offers an incredible value their services, and I am so glad David was our DJ. I knew we were in good hands from the beginning since he had played at our venue before and came recommended to me. He kept the dance floor packed and did a great job with the overall flow of the reception. I would use him again in a second and definitely recommend his services to others in the area.
Hair for Wedding:
Hair by Jewels/A+ My hair has never looked better than on my wedding day, and I am so glad that Julie was our stylist. I met with her a couple times before the wedding, I wanted human-hair clip in extensions. She made the process super easy and did a great selecting extensions and I also had her put in highlights to match.
On the wedding day Julie came to the hotel and did 7 of us in total, including my mom who also wanted extensions and Julie brought them for her that day (and they matched perfectly). All of the girls looked beautiful, and my hair stayed great all night. I would highly recommend Julie to any bride in the area. She knows style and is a hair genius.
Make up for Wedding:
Mimi Tran, Chanel - Friendship Bloomingdales/A Mimi was a great find. I went to the Bloomies make-up counter one Saturday in July and met Mimi at Chanel. I had thought about buying make-up and doing it myself, I did this for my brother's wedding and it worked out well. In the end I decided to let a professional do my make-up and that was the best decision. I don't wear a lot of make-up normally and the make-up she used felt really good and lasted all night. My make-up was flawless.
Day of Coordinator:
Graceful Weddings/A I am so grateful that Anna and Anne were my day-of-coordinators. Thanks to their help my husband and I didn't have to worry at all on our wedding day. They are a great team and really kept us organized in our last month of planning. We had done all the planning on our own, but it was incredibly helpful to have Anna and Anne for questions and help with the day-of-logistics. Our wedding was perfect and I am so glad that they were there to take care of everything.
Photographers:
Kate Pelura/A+ Kate Pelura did an amazing job for our wedding photography. She has an amazing eye for capturing the details. I loved that she was able to get all of the memories from our wedding day and also included some artistic shots. We love our pictures! In addition, Kate is extremely professional and friendly. She made taking pictures during our engagement session and formal wedding pictures a lot of fun. I would use her again in a second and highly recommend her to other couples in the area. She works out of Brian Ray Studios in Annapolis. Here is the website with our pictures:
http://brianraystudios.instaproofs.com/collection.php?event=263553Videographers:
Dean Dykema/A:
We really appreciated Dean Dykema's prices and package for videography. We wanted a very simply edited video to capture our day and serve as a way to remember all of the events and memories. He stayed true to his motto of being an unobtrusive videographer, while still being there to catch the important moments. We had a quick turn around of the video, but are waiting on a new copy with a few additional edits.
Dress:
Terri Lynn Bridal/AI purchased my bridal gown, veil, and bridesmaids dresses at Terri Lynn Bridal. I love that she only does one appointment at a time, because it really gives you free range to try on any dress in the store. During my initial shopping I went to a bunch of stores in the area, and I really felt that Terri had the best selection. I fell in love with a Marisa dress and it was just perfect for my wedding day. For bridesmaids dresses we chose some from the Vineyard line that Terri carries. I highly recommend Terri Lynn Bridal to brides in the DC area.
Invitations and Paper Products:
P.S. Paper Goods/Etsy/A+ We worked with Anna on all of our paper goods including invitations, rehearsal dinner invitations, table cards, programs and table numbers. The paper quality she uses is extremely high and her pricing is very competitive. We worked with her on designing the look of our invitation and she carried that design to all of our other paper products. She made the process super easy and fun. I loved the way they all turned out.
Calligraphy:
Shawn Rich/Pretty in Print/A- We used Shawn's services for calligraphy to really make our invitations and table cards that much nicer. I loved the way they all turned out. My only complaint was the special ink charge that she added, but in the end I'm glad that we had her do our calligraphy
Accessories:
AMSIE/Etsy/A- I purchase a clutch from Amy and then had her create hair and belt accessories. The result was perfect and pulled my look together. I did have one issue with one of the hair clips falling off the actual clip the day of my wedding, but my hair stylist was able to secure it to my hair with a bobby pin so in the end it was fine.