For me, the absolute most important decision in the wedding is the venue. It is where I will get my inspiration for everything from the theme to the dress. In previous posts, I mentioned that we want our guests to experience a bit of DC. We also very much want a "city" wedding. Our tastes are more modern than traditional and we really want a space that our guests will be impressed with and have never seen before. With that in mind, we set out on our venue visits.
In this series, I'll be detailing the venues we've visited, our impressions, and, if I have them, pictures. Of course, these are all our opinions with what we want for our wedding in mind. All of these venues are beautiful and if you can make them work for you, you will not lose out!
First up, Top of the Town. Top of the Town boasts the most amazing view of DC that I have ever seen. Hands down, without question. You literally see all the monuments in one sweeping view. The only thing you cannot see is the White House. I had heard of this venue some time ago, so I jumped at that chance to attend an open house there in late February.
The view did not disappoint. They also have a small terrace for cocktail hour.
For us, that's where the good ends. The space is on the 12th floor and there is only one small elevator to get you there. That just won't work well with 145 guests. We didn't like the actual room with its dark carpet and low ceiling. Also, the windows and ceiling have a strange zig zag architecture to them. To create a ceremony space , they pull out a conference room divider and the overall flow for the event is a little weird.
You may have guessed that we decided against this venue. You're so right. You might also think I was disappointed by this, I mean, the view is to die for. But, you're wrong.
I. was.relieved. I had a couple of major concerns with this venue. They have several rules and fees for everything from other vendors bringing in furniture ($250/hour) to vendor interviews ($500 a pop). They have a pretty short list of approved vendors for catering and entertainment and if you want to bring in a different vendor you have to pay the venue $500 per vendor to interview them.
Of all the rules, one stood out for us. Because the venue is on the penthouse level above residences, group dances are prohibited. No cha cha slide, no cupid shuffle, dollar wine, etc. Now that may sound like a small deal but that would be a huge problem for our crowd. We really like to let loose on the dance floor and I would hate to feel like there are restrictions on our ability to paaaaaaartaaaaaay!
So, in the end, I was relieved we didn't fall in love with the place because I didn't want to have to deal with the rules. It wasn't a total waste, however. The tasting by Catering by Uptown was really yummy so we would consider them for other venues that allow outside caterers.
Here's a pic of that awesome view. Sigh...on to the next!
In this series, I'll be detailing the venues we've visited, our impressions, and, if I have them, pictures. Of course, these are all our opinions with what we want for our wedding in mind. All of these venues are beautiful and if you can make them work for you, you will not lose out!
First up, Top of the Town. Top of the Town boasts the most amazing view of DC that I have ever seen. Hands down, without question. You literally see all the monuments in one sweeping view. The only thing you cannot see is the White House. I had heard of this venue some time ago, so I jumped at that chance to attend an open house there in late February.
The view did not disappoint. They also have a small terrace for cocktail hour.
For us, that's where the good ends. The space is on the 12th floor and there is only one small elevator to get you there. That just won't work well with 145 guests. We didn't like the actual room with its dark carpet and low ceiling. Also, the windows and ceiling have a strange zig zag architecture to them. To create a ceremony space , they pull out a conference room divider and the overall flow for the event is a little weird.
You may have guessed that we decided against this venue. You're so right. You might also think I was disappointed by this, I mean, the view is to die for. But, you're wrong.
I. was.relieved. I had a couple of major concerns with this venue. They have several rules and fees for everything from other vendors bringing in furniture ($250/hour) to vendor interviews ($500 a pop). They have a pretty short list of approved vendors for catering and entertainment and if you want to bring in a different vendor you have to pay the venue $500 per vendor to interview them.
Of all the rules, one stood out for us. Because the venue is on the penthouse level above residences, group dances are prohibited. No cha cha slide, no cupid shuffle, dollar wine, etc. Now that may sound like a small deal but that would be a huge problem for our crowd. We really like to let loose on the dance floor and I would hate to feel like there are restrictions on our ability to paaaaaaartaaaaaay!
So, in the end, I was relieved we didn't fall in love with the place because I didn't want to have to deal with the rules. It wasn't a total waste, however. The tasting by Catering by Uptown was really yummy so we would consider them for other venues that allow outside caterers.
Here's a pic of that awesome view. Sigh...on to the next!
