Reception Location - Ft. Myer - B
Our main contact there was Nebeyou Aberra. Since we had a smaller crowd (90p total) we were not in the ballroom and thus the room left a little to be desired, though it worked. We thought we wanted to go the all-inclusive route and quickly learned that their all-inclusive vendors were kind of sucky. We ended up going off the package for quite a few things and in the end, probably could have done a little better as far as venue ambiance if we had picked a different place. Overall, they were fairly responsive, no major flubs with anything and the price was pretty good - about $125/pp for beef and chicken options, dessert, cocktail hour, PLENTY of booze, table linens. The cocktail hour food was GREAT, the dinner was just so-so - my filet was cooked well-done, which was a bummer, but overall a pretty good vendor.
Photographer - Cassidy DuHon - A+++
He was AWESOME!!! I wouldnt' say that DH nor I is particularly photogenic, but he made us feel so at-ease and was genuinely cool and easy-going. The photos he took are amazing and we love just about every single one of them! We wish in hindsight we had also used him for our e-pics, though he was in NYC at the time. His prices were very reasonable as well.
Church - we used our home church and had more than a couple difficulties, but it wasn't a huge deal. It was Georgetown Presbyterian and I do know they allow non-members to be married there, though they do charge a fee.
Cake - Cakes by Linda - A
We LOVED our cake and it was truly delicious!!! She wasn't the most personable person, though everything turned out well and looked just as we imagined it.
Florist - Devers Design - A+
Our flowers were GORGEOUS!!! I loved them so much and they were all perfect. The only tiny glitch was that he did forget one of the stepmoms' corsage (which I felt horrible about) but it was a large order.
Coordinators - Graceful Weddings - A++++
THEY WERE AMAZING. Seriously, for the price we paid, we got a bargain and a half. They were great and we had so many little details in our ceremony/cocktail hour/reception that I have NO clue how things would have gotten done without them.
Magician - Josh Norris - A
My mom hired Josh as a surprise to guests at our cocktail hour. He went around, doing slight of hand and card tricks and was a HUGE hit! He was super personable and really got people in the mood for a fun evening.
Limos/Shuttle - Chariots for Hire - A
They were also great. Very easy to deal with to set things up and everything went just as planned. I will say though, that the price I was quoted on the phone was a bit cheaper than what I saw online, so I would suggest calling them. We ended up with a 27 passenger limobus, and two 35 passenger shuttles, so it was a fairly serious caravan. :-)
Room block - Key Bridge Marriott - A++
They were super great! Everyone there was beyond helpful and friendly and all the guests said they had a similar experience with the hotel staff. They definitely made me feel special and like it was a special day and not just "any other wedding" like some of the other vendors.
DJ - JK Productions-D actual DJ-A
John Koslin of JK Productions is THE WORST. He called DH 13 times in three days threatening to find another wedding to do the day of our event, though he was part of the package, and our only option, thus requiring he keep that day open. It was a miserable, awful week dealing with him and we ended up refusing to deal with him, besides through the GM of Ft. Myer. We insisted he send another one of his DJs to our event as we did NOT want him there. He sent Jim (I believe that was his name...) and he was awesome! Kept the dance floor packed all night and it was a crazy dance party alllll night!
**Let me know if you have any questions about any of these, I'm happy to elaborate!!!
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