Photo by Greg Gibson

Since Christmas is a popular time to pop the question, we figured it would make sense to compile a list of popular area venues for newly engaged brides-to-be.  Each list is organized by type then by location.  Hopefully this will help narrow down some of the wedding venue options out there.  Here are the Venue Spotlights that we’ve compiled thus far:

Historic/Garden:
The Carnegie Institute (Washington, DC)
The Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (Vienna, VA)
The Manor House at Linden Springs (Reston, VA)
The Wilson-Farr House (Fairfax, VA)
The Lee-Fendall House (Old Town Alexandria, VA)
Woodend Sanctuary (Chevy Chase, MD)
The Newton White Mansion (Mitchellville, MD)

Hotels/Clubs/Ballrooms:
The Willard Intercontinental (Washington, DC)
The National Press Club (Washington, DC)
The Hay-Adams Hotel (Washington, DC)
Tyson’s Corner Marriott (Tyson’s Corner, VA)
The Sheraton Reston (Reston, VA)

Restaurants:
Sequoia Restaurant (Georgetown, DC)
2941 Restaurant (Falls Church, VA)
Famoso Restaurant & M Cafe (Bethesda, MD)

Museums:
The International Spy Museum / Zola (Washington, DC)
The Newseum (Washington, DC)

Eastern Shore/Bay:
The Chesapeake Bay Beach Club (Stevensville, MD)
Queenstown Harbor River House (Queenstown, MD)

Non-traditional:
Glen Echo Park (Glen Echo, MD)
Signature Theater (Shirlington, VA)

Here’s a list of the venues we’ve featured as part of our Real Weddings:

Historic/Garden:
The Decatur House (Washington, DC)
The Red Cross Headquarters (Washington, DC)
Newton White Mansion – and here – and here – and here – (Mitchellville, MD)
Mount Airy Mansion (Upper Marlboro, MD)
Woodend Sanctuary – and here – (Chevy Chase, MD)
The Mansion at Strathmore – and here – (Bethesda, MD)
Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, MD)
Stronghold Mansion (Sugarloaf Mountain, MD)
Collingwood Library (Alexandria, VA)
River Farm (Alexandria, VA)
Old Town Hall (Fairfax, VA)
The Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens – and here – (Vienna, VA)
Oatlands Historic House & Gardens (Leesburg, VA)
The Thomas Birkby House (Leesburg, VA)
Raspberry Plain (Leesburg, VA)
Whitehall Manor – and here – (Bluemont, VA)

Hotels/Clubs/Ballrooms:
The Fairmont Hotel (Washington, DC)
The Galleria at Lafayette Square (Washington, DC)
The St. Regis Hotel (Washington, DC)
The Ronald Reagan Building – and here – (Washington, DC)
The Westin Grand (Washington, DC)
Hotel Monaco (Washington, DC)
Fort Myer Officer’s Club (Arlington, VA)
The Westin Arlington Gateway (Arlington, VA)
Top of the Town (Arlington, VA)
The Sheraton National (Arlington, VA)
The Hyatt Regency Bethesda (Bethesda, MD)
The Hyatt Fair Lakes (Fair Lakes, VA)
Old Hickory Golf Club (Woodbridge, VA)
Hidden Creek Country Club – and here – (Reston, VA)
River Creek Club (Leesburg, VA)
The Hilton Washington Dulles (Dulles, VA)
Foxchase Manor – and here – and here – (Manassas, VA)
La Fontaine Bleu (Glen Burnie, MD)

Restaurants:
Old Ebbitt Grill (Washington, DC)

Museums:
The Torpedo Factory (Old Town Alexandria, VA)

Eastern Shore/Bay:
Queenstown Harbor River House (Queenstown, MD)
The Chesapeake Bay Beach Club (Stevensville, MD)
Kent Manor Inn (Stevensville, MD)

Outside of DC:
Tavern on the Green (New York, NY)

If you didn’t see your venue on our list or want some more options, Vicky at Event Accomplished compiled a similar list a couple weeks ago.  Some overlap but there are a bunch of different places.  Check it out for more ideas.

Let us know if you have questions about any of these venues!  Our goal is that you’re happy with the wedding decisions you make.  If we can assist you in any way, shoot us an email and let us know how we can help.

Rebecca and I started the day off at 11am.  Here’s the River House at Queenstown Golf Club, all ready for an event:

Since we had a lot of setting up to do I chose to wear some more comfortable clothes then change into my ‘wedding outfit’ later in the day.  Here I am confirming some of the last-minute changes with Lindsay while she gets beautified:

I think all that time in the director’s chair was worth it!  Here’s our star of the show.  Isn’t she gorgeous?

I couldn’t resist this one of Lindsay peeking out the window at her future husband:

Lindsay and Sam chose to see each other before the ceremony, which I am a big proponent of.  It gives couples the opportunity to share a private moment of bliss before the mayhem begins.  Here’s a glimpse at how special it can be:

They even had some time for photos with the bridal party.  This one has to be my favorite.  If you’ve followed us since the beginning, you may recognize one of the bridesmaids.  The gal standing closest to the Sam (our groom) is Mariah!  Mariah was one of our very first brides, then turned into one of our best planners, then started her family off with twins and moved to Minnesota.  It was great to see her even just for a couple minutes here and there:

On to the ceremony!  John at Spot Floral Design set up this beautiful canopy with orange fabric and bamboo poles.  The one problem was that the fabric acted like a sail and kept blowing the whole thing over!  Even after we pieced it together it still provided a perfect spot for their altar.  ::note to self…no canopies when you’re on the waterfront::

Reverend Amanda Tate performed a fantastic ceremony that incorporated Sam’s Indian culture.  Lindsay’s sister and Sam’s brother served as matron of honor and best man:

We passed out small bags of flower petals so guests could toss them at the newlyweds.  Don’t you just love their expression of sheer joy?

I’ll leave you with a few breathtaking images of Lindsay and Sam.  After the ceremony they were able to take these photos because they had done the family portraits earlier.  Greg and his assistant Rebecca were so wonderful to work with and I love what they captured:

Check back tomorrow for the photos of the par-tay!

A special shout-out goes to my associate Rebecca, who has served as a rockstar assistant at a few of our most recent weddings.  If you’re planning a wedding in Annapolis or the Eastern Shore (okay, or DC or Leesburg for that matter!), Rebecca really knows her stuff.

Kinley & Drew chose to see each other before the ceremony and get some of their bridal party photos out of the way.  Here’s the groomsmen hanging out by the shuttle bus from Chariots for Hire:

A bridesmaid shows of her bouquet, provided by DaVinci’s Florist:

Here’s the bride’s bouquet!  All white tulips, this gorgeous arrangement stayed surprisingly perky all day:

Getting a chance at some outdoor photos in front of the church with Amy Raab:

Historic Christ Church in downtown Stevensville, Maryland provided the perfect venue for their intimate ceremony.  This gorgeous building was built in 1880 and holds a large significance to the town and their local parish.  Here are the church doors sporting some hydrangea wreaths:

Inside, the church’s altar:

The pews sported these adorable galvanized pails brimming with white hydrangea and accented with a nautical-inspired navy ribbon:

The altar flowers were simple calla lilies set atop a cylindrical vase.  Gorgeous!

A quick look at the program cover, complete with nautical motif:

My BlackBerry took this one of the ceremony in action:

Over at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, Rebecca was setting up the reception.  Unfortunately due to the weather we weren’t able to use the rooftop deck.  The view from the deck looks out over this gorgeous marina on one side:

And this amazing view of the Chesapeake Bay on the other side:

Since the pouring rain was imminent, we opted to have the bar open in the covered cocktail area.  The rooftop area was open but most guests enjoyed the climate-controlled space.  The Garden Room has this great fireplace that we decorated with hydrangea flower boxes and galvanized lanterns:

Here’s a better view of the Garden Room.  Check out that nautical detail with the rope around the cocktail table:

The beautiful wedding cake was provided by Annapolis’ own Main Ingredient.  Check out the nautical rope accent coiled on the table:

Check out the detail on the top!  Can you believe the pastry chef did this freestyle on-site?

During cocktail hour, the Polaroid Guestbook was a hit!  If you plan to do this, don’t forget that Polaroid cameras will soon be extinct:

Seriously — people loved this thing:

I love these adorable escort cards!  Each name comes with a flag which guests match to the appropriate table.  The galvanized tray holds a sheet of foam which we covered with white rocks:

Here’s how Kinley displayed the table flags for guests to match up:

The reception room, all ready to go:

Centerpieces with simple hydrangea were provided by DaVinci’s Florist:

An awful photo of a beautiful moment.  Kinley and Drew enjoy their first dance:

Congraulations again, you two!  It was a pleasure working with you through the planning process and also spending time with you on your wedding day.  Our first experience at the Beach Club was a phenomenal one.  I hope you had a great honeymoon in the Outer Banks!

The ceremony site, all ready for some chairs:

Ray L. of Party Perfect hooked us up with this fantastic 60′x90′ tent!  The walls went all the way around since it was rather gusty on the bay.  They even left a Tent Attendant all night in case there were any problems:

Inside the tent.  Mike B. with Blondell’s Accents on Events set up these beautiful Chinese paper lanterns inside the tent.  He also handled the uplighting in the tent and on some trees, which you can see in full effect in the night photos later:

Like a lot of DC caterers, Capitol Catering gets their rentals from DC Rental.  They are reliable, have great equipment, and carry just about anything you need!  Here we have some glassware racks on the left, our table linens in the center, some plates in the black crates, who knows what’s in those gray bins (serving utensils?), and high chairs down in the front:

Can you believe that all these racks are JUST glassware?  Each stack has about 8 racks of 25-36 glasses each!

Bobby’s Pottys provided this wonderful luxury restroom trailer.  I’m not kidding — these were nicer than the facilities inside the house!  If you have an outdoor venue and limited restroom options, Bobby’s Pottys did a great job and provided an attendant to stay with the trailer all night:

Alison from Capitol Catering and me, getting started on some of the guest tables inside the tent:

John from Spot Floral Design came up with this beautiful canopy for the ceremony.  It was made of bamboo, curly willow, and had strands of orchids hanging from three sides:

The centerpieces had three low vases of flowers and three cylindrical vases with gold floating candles.  They were gorgeous!

Chatting with the musician from Entertainment Exchange about our cues for the ceremony:

Unfortunately no matter how much you confirm details, plan, and confirm again, things will inevitably ALWAYS go wrong on the wedding day.  This is where having a wedding planner truly makes a difference!  Twice before the ceremony, the wind caught our beautiful canopy and blew it over.  The fall broke every connection between the poles each time.  Unfortunately our florist was long gone to their next delivery and were were left to our devices to fix it.  A roll of clear duct tape ended up being our savior both times:

After the second fall, Rebecca was assigned to standing with the canopy to avoid further disaster:

Sam & Lindsay tying the knot!  They chose to incorporate Sam’s Indian culture into the service by lighting a traditional fire and walking around it.  Rev. Amanda Tate did a phenomenal job with their custom-made ceremony:

After the ceremony Lindsay & Sam escaped to take some portraits.  They chose to see each other before the ceremony so they took the big family shots earlier:

Remember how great Arienne & Rahman’s photos were?  It was a pleasure to work with Greg Gibson again.  Here he is getting “The Shot” with his assistant Rebecca:

Here’s what I saw through my lens.  I can’t wait to see what they captured!

Meanwhile inside the tent, the finishing touches are almost done.  Here, the chef from Capitol Catering dresses each of the salads individually after they’ve been set on the tables:

The catering team is folding napkins to fit Lindsay’s menu cards.  Here you can see just how windy it was!  Check out that tent wall behind them:

Thanks to our wonderful assistant Tracey, the escort card table looked beautiful!  She laid out strips of ribbon, pinned them to the table linen, then slipped each card’s back underneath to hold them in place.  The idea was to set this table outside and let guests find their card during the outdoor cocktail hour.  Unfortunately with the wind, even those ribbons wouldn’t have done their job very well.  I think they looked nice anyhow:

Can you believe our bride Lindsay made all these gorgeous cards?

Here’s a closeup of one of the salads.  Those are figs there around the edges.  Mmm!

The tent looks gorgeous!  Let’s have a party!

David from MyDeejay.com did a great job mixing the traditional American reception music with some great dance music for the Indian guests.  He was a little camera-shy but this is what his setup looks like:

Once the sun went down, the tent really looked amazing!

I was thrilled when I learned that Kendall’s Cakes would be bringing the cake.  Kendall is very talented and does a phenomenal job.  Lindsay and Sam chose to serve sheet cake as a cost-cutting method.  Can you believe that three layers of this cake are styrofoam?  Can you guess which one is real?

Outside, the lighting on the trees was very dramatic:

Congratulations, Lindsay & Sam!  Your big day was so gorgeous and I heard so many wonderful compliments on the food, the decor, and your personal ceremony.  I’m so glad we were able to be a part of your big day.