Need DC-area planning advice please.

Knot Annie · August 2011

Hey DC Knotties,

We’re doing an article for the local Knot Magazine, and we want to hear your tips on the best places in your area. Basically, this is a chance where we get to give props to local vendors. So tell us: What’s the best place for a bachelorette party in your city, the greatest florist, cake baker, hairdresser (and why!), or even the coolest place for photos or a post-wedding brunch. You’re not limited to these things, but it’s just an idea to get you started.

Post below, and thanks in advance!

Annie

CollegeSweethearts · August 2011

Coolest places for photos the Mall area near WW2 display, the national mall cherry blossoms great photos opportunities !! Also, I would suggest Georgetown it has the old town feel with little shops, even great views of the water, cute row houses, busy streets great city feel to it.

LoveMuffins · August 2011

I agree about the National Mall Cherry Blossoms photos, also if you go in the fall there's this GORGEOUS garden behind the Smithsonian castle that no one seems to know about. Also, the Sculpture Garden is always good for some pics! Go just outside of DC to the Zoo or Rock Creek Park and you can get some great pictures there too; and the National Aboretium always has SOMETHING in bloom.

Cake Baker: Just Cakes in Bethesda, MD is freaking deeeeeeeelicious. Prices are about avarage for Bethesda - imo, on the high end of moderate. They give out coupons for free cupcakes at the Taste of Bethesda and their cupcakes are WAY better than Georgetown Cupcake's. Plus, you don't have to stand in the crazy long line because they're not as trendy.

DJ: I'm using Adam from Jamology, Inc. and so far he's been great... I'll let you know after the wedding if that continues (although I'm sure it will).

Venue: The Bolger Center in Potomac, MD - about 20 min outside DC. No one's heard of it, so they don't know that they could be making sooooo much more money if they focused on weddings. It used to be a nunnery so there is an actual santuary with stained glass windows that you can have the ceremony in. They're incredibly affordable for the area, AND it includes your own parking lot for your event - which in DC is ridiculously exciting. I can't wait for next month!

wishulthinking · August 2011

Got an AMAZING price on my wedding cake from IndAroma in Alexandria, VA. Their cake is sooo delicious.

Love, love, love my venue, 1757 Golf Club in Dulles, VA. Almost everything is included... which made planning a breeze. Plus, the event coordinator Lindsay is amazing.

john&julie · August 2011

Just booked Bistro Cacao for bridesmaids luncheon the day before the wedding. We haven't had it yet, but the inside is super girly and fun, so I thought it would be a great place to say thank you to my girls. Also, a nail salon is right across the street.

I just had my bridal shower at Sunset Hills Vineyard and the service (and prices) were top notch. I had one of the best days of my life thanks to the planning of my MOHs and mom, and the staff on hand. We had a great time!

As for the actual wedding itself, we have booked the Mayflower Hotel for ceremony, reception, florist, and room block (and they have hooked us up with a great rate for the rooms). The staff there have been AMAZING. We had our tasting on Friday and holy crap was it awesome. We have been impressed with our DJ so far, Dan with Bialek's Music (but like LoveMuffins said, we haven't had our wedding yet so I guess this could change). We booked our ceremony/cocktail hour quartet through Bialek's too, so we got a deal for booking both through them. Nice people to work with.

I got my dress at Hitched. We went to a lot of places and had some great (and no-so-great) experiences, but the ladies at Hitched not only had "the dress" for me, but they made me feel so special and bride-y (I guess that's a good thing - I mean it as a good thing here). We haven't ordered (or even looked at) invitations yet, but we'll definitely go back to Hitched since they do paper too, and were so fabulous with the dress.

Last but certainly not least we have hired Kate Headley as our photographer. She is so fun and creative and I'm really excited to work with her. Her pics are amazing (one of the few people who use film, not digital) and she does the coolest videography ever - 8mm silent film reels set to music. She's a genius!

artisticjewishbride2013 · August 2011

I have a while til my wedding but I know Fancy Cakes by Leslie will be where I get my cake. She is an amazing cake artist and the flavors are delicious. Her website does not even begin to show all her work but her facebook page is wonderful http://www.fancycakesbyleslie.com/

( a word of warning.. the front of house can be a little on edge because the location has a lot of people that like to come in just to browse)

mickeypotter · August 2011

The Mall is over used for photos. Think outside the box Ladies. We had ours at Meridian Park.

Our reception was at the National Press Club. It was a combo of museum, not-thought-about DC location and swanky, fine dining.

DJ was Dream Day DJs. Everyone loved them.

Flowers were amazing by DaVinci. We had our wedding the first day of the cherry blossom season. Guess what flowers we got?!?! Yup cherry blossoms. You can only get those for maybe 2 weeks a year. They also did our lighting. That was one of the small touches that I insisted upon and it made all the difference

TeamTarcus2011 · August 2011

Florist - DaVinci is AMAZING!!! So helpful and accomodating, and the flowers turned out beautiful. I am not a flower person at all, and they win my award for favorite vendor!

Venue - As someone above said, we used the Bolger Center in Potomac, MD. As a venue it was pretty good, lots of options for indoor and outdoor events, but the best thing about them is the food! Our guests are still raving about the food 4 months later! Lots of menu options and very accomodating for special dietary needs. Also, we had an outdoor ceremony the first weekend in April, and got amazing pictures on their grounds with cherry blossoms in full bloom - no need to go into DC for cherry blossoms!

E-pic Location - We chose to do our engagement photo shoot at the Washingtonian shopping center in Gaithersburg, MD. GREAT CHOICE! We got amazing pictures taken all along the path around the lake, also on the bridge and with the fountains.

Photographer - Our photographer was Steve Canning. I was really picky about choosing a photographer because I had a bad experience with the photographer at my Bat Mitzvah, but Steve made all my worries evaporate. He got awesome pictures while being very unobtrusive during our celebration. He's also really easygoing and will accomodate pretty much whatever you want, even if it's not in your contract! He's just a really nice guy and so easy and fun to work with (and I normally hate getting my picture taken).

lilj76 · August 2011

I LOVE all of my wedding vendors after searching high and low for all of them.

I selected the Mandarin Oriental as my venue because I was looking for luxury that was still modern (not formal/traditional like most luxury venues) and they were the only property that fit the bill. Plus my catering director was very accommodating, knowledgeable, and responds to my questions with lightning speed. Love the Mandarin and absolutely LOVE Dominic Sanchez.

I am using Michael Clark Photographics for my photography. I fell in love with his work and even more in love with his personality and spirit. I was looking for someone who not only captured the right moments but also added in cool special effects during the editing process. As you can tell from my comment above I am very big on response time and he too responds quickly. Everytime I view more of his work I become more certain of my decision.

My wedding coordinator is Vicky Johnson of Holy Matrimony. My dad found her by looking on Whose Wedding is it Anyway's website and she came highly recommended. Even though our contract doesn't start until 7 weeks prior she has answered a few questions I've had during my solo planning period.

Dress came from Chevy Chase Bridal and I LOVE the people there too. They were one of the few venues that allowed me to take a picture in the dress. When I was torn between 2 dresses (the other was from Kleinfeld's) having this picture is what helped me make my decision to go with the CCB dress.

Cinematographer is Brad Bennett of Shaking Hands Productions. Another vendor that has excellent response time, is flexible, and very reasonably priced. Even though I have to pay for minimal travel since he's in Southern VA he still ended up less expensive (for superior work) than the best cinematographers in DC.

Finally my photobooth vendor is DC-PG Photography. I wanted an open air booth with quality photos and a nice backdrop. Again I had to search high and low for one and they are excellent quality for an affordable price. Plus I LOVED their response time too.

My florist/event designer is DaVinci and I agree wholeheartedly with all the previous comments about them. Sharone rocks! That's all for my local vendors.

Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions as I would love to appropriately thank vendors that have been so good to me throughout this process.

brenda2000 · August 2011

The Galleria at Lafayette Center in DC is a beautiful wedding venue!

1120 20th Street, NW, Suite 500,Washington, DC

Also, Soheil Photography is great! http://www.soheilphotography.com

rosemary reed · September 2011

Interesting places fr weddings are; Tabard Inn, off Connecticut Ave, on 'N' Street, NW--old and wonderful art on the walls, and the Arts Club, which has an garden too, 19th & Pennsylvania Ave, NW., and finally the Fransican Monestry in NE, next to Catholic University..old, intriguing, special..parking no problem.

alterations:::::We do fine alterations..Toast and Strawberries, tel 202- 723-9007..for over 20 years...we're happy to do estimates over the telephone. Our location is 31st & Wisconsin in Georgetown. We need less than 3 weeks to finsih a job. We are worker bees!!

Need DC-area planning advice please.

Re: Need DC-area planning advice please.

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