Rob and Maya’s Rehearsal Dinner
Normally we don’t get to be involved in the rehearsal dinners — usually there’s not much for us to do after we run the ceremony rehearsal. Well, with Maya and Rob, it was a little different. First, their rehearsal wasn’t right before the dinner — it was actually the day before. Second, it wasn’t called a “Rehearsal Dinner” — they called it “Dinner the Night Before.”
Check out the cute crab invitation:
And third — all were invited! I think, if you’re able to, and you have a lot of out of town guests, it’s nice to offer a fun, relaxing evening the night before.
Rob and Maya decided to have a big “Crab Feast” the night before their wedding at Phillips Seafood. Even though I’m allergic to shellfish, I can not even count the number of ways in which I loved this place. First of all, it’s location — it’s right on the Southwest Waterfront in DC.
I took that picture standing at one of the tables — it looks out over Hains Point and there are boats in the water from little row boats all the way up to a huge yacht I saw the day before that had a helicopter on the top deck!
Second, and I can not say this enough, the staff there, from the managers to the busboys, could not have been more friendly. Once everyone started eating, they found a space for the videographer and I to grab something to eat, and even tried to bring us a HUGE tray of crabs. (Sadly, I had to turn them down, unless their generosity extends to rushing me to the hospital…) They were quick to replace items that ran out, kept the place nice and clean, and even tied bibs on some of the ladies so they wouldn’t mess up their dresses!
Third, the food. OH, the food. Seriously…yum. Each table got giant trays of both crabs and shrimp seasoned with Old Bay but there was also a big buffet with vegetable pasta, fried chicken, potato salad, and lots of other goodies, like this big strawberry cake dessert:
Here’s a shot of the patio that was reserved for Rob and Maya’s party:
As you can see in that picture, the flaps are down, which is great if it starts raining. Luckily it was a gorgeous night so we were able to keep them open the whole time.
On a tangent, this was my first experiment with flower arranging!
Maya really wanted centerpieces on all of the tables and had gotten as far as tying raffia around Mason jars — so cute! Unfortunately (as with a lot of DIY projects), she just ran out of time to actually get the flowers.
No problem — wedding planner to the rescue!
I went to Trader Joe’s and picked up some flowers — they usually have great, and inexpensive, bouquets. Maya gave me her blessing and a budget. Well, I got out of there for about $85 with enough flowers for 15 centerpieces! I went in to the store with no idea what I wanted to do, but I saw some cute gerber daisies and supplemented them with a few mixed arrangements. I’ll tell you what — if you’re the kind of bride who isn’t picky about her flowers, this is SUCH an inexpensive option! I went home and spent about an hour, trimming ends and mixing and matching flowers. I don’t think I did too bad for my first time at the rodeo! Maya got SO many compliments on the flowers which, of course, she relayed to me — I was so flattered 
Don’t you love how they put the paper down on the tables? Each table also gets a big bucket to put the shells and stuff in, plus mallets, some Old Bay and a few other fun crab accessories:
Rob and Maya’s friend had emailed everyone to ask them if they wanted to speak at the dinner. Quite a few people responded yes, so a mic was set up so everyone could hear the sweet toasts and stories.
What a great way to end a beautiful, relaxing evening!
If you’re looking for a fun, laid-back place to host your rehearsal dinner, I highly recommend Phillips Seafood. The place is HUGE and while they have tons of different private areas to have parties, but the best is definitely right on the waterfront side! You can contact them for your private event by calling Debbie Morroni at 202.488.8515 x 52 or dmorroni@phillipsfoods.com.
Thanks for a great night, Rob and Maya! Soon we’ll have pictures from their gorgeous, sunflower-filled wedding!
Tags: dc, Phillips seafood, rebecca, rehearsal dinner, southwest waterfront