We’ve been planning weddings for five years and have helped over 250 couples tie the knot!  Luckily for you, that means we know the ‘ins and outs’ of nearly every wedding venue in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland (beltway & eastern shore).

For an inside look at some weddings at our favorite venues, take a peek at the links below:

Historic/Garden:
The Carnegie Institute – and here – (Washington, DC)
The Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (Vienna, 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)
Old Ebbitt Grill (Washington, DC)

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 Carnegie Institute (Washington, DC)
Newton White Mansion – and here – and here – and here – (Mitchellville, MD)
Mount Airy Mansion (Upper Marlboro, MD)
Oxon Hill Manor (Oxon Hill, 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 – and here – and here -  (Alexandria, VA)
River Farm (Alexandria, VA)
Hollin Hall (Alexandria, VA)
Old Town Hall (Fairfax, VA)
The Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens – and here – and here – and here – (Vienna, VA)
Oatlands Historic House & Gardens (Leesburg, VA)
The Thomas Birkby House – and here – (Leesburg, VA)
Raspberry Plain – and here – (Leesburg, VA)
Rose Hill Manor (Leesburg, VA)
Long Branch Historic House (Millwood, VA)
Whitehall Manor – and here – (Bluemont, VA)

Hotels/Clubs/Ballrooms:
The Fairmont Hotel – and the Colonnade here – (Washington, DC)
The Mandarin Oriental (Washington, DC)
The Omni Shoreham – and here – (Washington, DC)
The St. Regis Hotel (Washington, DC)
The Ronald Reagan Building – and here – (Washington, DC)
The Westin Grand – and here – (Washington, DC)
Hotel Monaco – and here – (Washington, DC)
The Washington Club (Washington, DC)
The National Press Club (Washington, DC)
Fort Myer Officer’s Club (Arlington, VA)
The Army Navy Country 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)
Fairfax Marriott (Fairfax, 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 – (Manassas, VA)

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

Non-traditional:
Glen Echo Park – (Glen Echo, MD)
The Barns at Wolf Trap (Vienna, VA)
The Torpedo Factory (Old Town Alexandria, VA)

Have you already picked your venue?  Where will you be tying the knot?  Which venues did we miss?

Memorial Day weekend arrived VERY early for me this year, as I woke up at 6 am to trek to the Old Town Alexandria Farmer’s Market to buy flowers for Jen and Nate’s casual BBQ wedding.

See, Jen knew she needed help with the bouquets and personal flowers but thought she could handle the centerpieces on her own, and boy was she right!

The peonies and lilacs I bought that morning were SO gorgeous and fragrant, it made me start to consider actually getting married in the summer!  (Until I remembered that I hate being hot…and it’s hot in the summer.)

All photos from fellow Demon Deacon, Christine Meulemans.  Go Deacs!

Jen and Nate met learning to sail on the Potomac, so it was only natural for them to have their wedding on the river at the beautiful Collingwood Library:

The ceremony was held where Christine is standing while taking this picture, down on the waterfront, with the cocktail hour on the patio at the side of the house (which you can see guests enjoying here), and the reception inside the Conference Center.  (I’ll be honest…I miss the days when you could have your reception outside on the patio at Collingwood.  You still can, but you can’t have amplified music, so if anyone knows a good jazz trio or Dixieland Jazz Band, this is your place!!)

Jen and Nate wanted to make lots of use of the water, so Nate arrived via a groomsman’s sailboat!

He then took a little zodiac-dinghy thing to the property, where he ran up to get changed into his custom-made suit!

Meanwhile, Jen and the girls were getting ready in the beautiful bride’s room inside the house:

I am SO in love with her Grecian-inspired dress, which she got OFF THE RACK at Bloomingdale’s!  And she didn’t even need to have it altered — it fit her PERFECTLY!  So jealous!

The fun, summery bouquets were provided by one of our favorite florists, Maryam’s Flowers.  I had just worked with Maryam on another wedding a few weeks earlier, which you’ll get to see shortly!

Soon, it was time for the ceremony to start — guests had made their way down the hill and just as the ceremony was about to start, the clouds parted and created the beautiful sunny setting for Jen and Nate’s vows.

Jen had her girls choose whatever dresses they wanted, as long as they were seersucker.  They did SUCH a great job, including her sister, who had hers custom-made.  I LOVE the lace peeking out from underneath!

The flower girl and ring bearer did a great job…

And then it was time for Jen and her dad to walk down the aisle.  The problem?  Remember that gorgeous dress?  Well, the grass was a little wet, and naturally Jen didn’t want the dress to be ruined.  So she did what any sensible bride wearing Havaianas would do…

She hitched up that dress and walked right down the aisle!  And she looked GORGEOUS doing it, with hair and makeup from one of our favorite day spas, Sugar House.

LOVE this shot of Nate nervously waiting for his bride, while her sister excitedly looks down the aisle

After a beautiful ceremony, Nate and Jen were pronounced husband and wife, and they set off down the aisle…until breaking into the most adorable run I’ve ever seen.

After the ceremony, Christine was able to take some time to get some AMAZING shots of the bride and groom:

This last one is probably my favorite…it just shows Jen’s playfulness perfectly…

Afterward, Jen and Nate got to sample some of the appetizers:

The guests made their way inside to the Conference Center, which our awesome team of Wish assistants helped me decorate.  Christine did a fantastic job of getting pictures of the details — we love it when our photographers do this!

Jen ordered these adorable stickers to go on Hershey’s kisses, which we put a bowl of on each table.

When Nate proposed, he wrote a message on a sail and flew it off the boat for Jen to see.  Jen brought that sail to the wedding for all to appreciate (thanks to Jen’s VERY tall brother for helping me hang this up!)

Jen wasn’t sure if their guests were a big dancing crowd, but she wanted to make sure they were entertained (as well as take advantage of the gorgeous grounds at Collingwood). She brought along a croquet set and a couple of bocce sets, which Jamie, one of our super assistants, made adorable signs for!

As you can see, the guests (especially the kids) definitely took advantage of it!

Before she cut the cake, Jen changed into a traditional Vietnamese outfit, which Nate’s family had brought her.  Unfortunately, no one told her how to put the hat on, so it ended up upside down!  Nate straightened her out, though…

Then it was time for the newlyweds to cut the DELICIOUS cake, provided by Balducci’s in Alexandria.

Don’t you LOVE the sailing rope coiled around the cake as a nod to their shared love?  Too cute

After the cake was cut, one of Nate’s groomsmen (and owner of the boat that delivered him to the ceremony!) offered a toast and dedicated the perfect song to Jen and Nate, the Zac Brown Band’s “Toes in the Water.”

Jen and Nate, thanks for letting me be part of your special day.  Congratulations!

Last week we had the pleasure of coordinating Maggie & Tim’s big day!  Maggie and Tim are a special pair because they’re both pilots in the Navy.  Now that they’re hitched they’ll finally be stationed together!

Since our bride lives on an aircraft carrier most of the time, I worked with her mom Janet to pull the last details together.  Luckily we had an all-star cast of vendors so my job wasn’t too hard.  Meadowlark was the venue of choice.  Here’s Main Event setting up the beautiful ivory and gold linens we selected:

Alison, their sales manager, is there on the right.  I love that Main Event’s ‘corporate’ people get hands-on with the setup.  Working with Alison was a breeze and I will definitely be recommending her to more clients!

Here’s the gorgeous ceremony, held outside.  Eugene and his Signature String Quartet provided great live music for the ceremony and cocktail hour:

Photographer Anne Lord doing her thing during cocktail hour.  I’ll share more professional photographs later if she sends me some!  Can you believe Maggie flies helicopters and lives on an aircraft carrier?  She looks so dainty and girly in person but this girl must be a force to be reckoned with when you get her in a pilot’s seat.  Awesome!

The combination of the natural wood chivari chairs, the white and gold linen, and the hot pink flowers all came together really nicely.  Cute!

I really like the way Main Event sets up their buffets.  It’s a non-traditional twist on the standard ‘row of chafing dishes’ you see at most hotels and banquet facilities.  We reused the ceremony flowers from Karin’s Florist as a HUGE centerpiece on the buffet:

Wedding cake by the Alexandria Pastry Shoppe:

Eddie Grant from Davis Deejays kept the dance floor full all night long.  If you decide to book with Davis, please recommend Eddie!

Cutting the wedding cake:

Congratulations again, Maggie & Tim!  I hope you’re having a fabulous time on your honeymoon and that you stationed somewhere wonderful together.  Thank you for serving our country!

This past weekend was the wedding of Catherine and Eric.  I only met these two recently and was thrilled to be their wedding day coordinator.  Catherine was so organized and she hired an all-star team of vendors for the big day.  Of course I had to take some photos…I’ll explain as we go!

The day started at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Alexandria, VA:

The traditional wedding ceremony was simple, beautiful, and sweet:

Catherine’s family belongs to the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, VA.  The club’s ballroom made a perfect backdrop for the wedding reception.  Here’s the front

One of the really great things about the ANCC is their rooftop deck.  There’s a semi-permanent tent that’s the perfect spot for cocktail hour:

From their location on a hill, the vantage point is great.  You can see the Washington Monument off to the left:

Here’s our assistant, Caitlin, setting out the escort cards:

The wedding had a vintage theme to it.  Guests were welcomed at the club with these beautiful cards, made with vintage-style paper:

Unfortunately, 20 minutes before cocktail hour was supposed to start, the dark clouds rolled in and it started pouring.  We had to move inside to this room, which was ready and waiting thanks to the ANCC.  Although it would have been nice to use the rooftop deck, this room was perfectly sized for the group and a great alternative:

While the cocktail hour got underway, the bridesmaids arrived from the photo session in Old Town Alexandria.  I loved their knee-length dresses.  This is the first time I’ve ever seen white bridesmaids dresses but I thought they were gorgeous!

Around the same time, the bride and groom rolled in too.  Catherine’s parents surprised her with a vintage Bentley from Regal Limousine.  Their driver, Rich, was really attentive and helpful:

Following the vintage theme, Catherine & Eric chose to put a twist on their guest book.  Instead of a traditional signing book, they asked guests to write a note to them on a vintage postcard:

Here’s a sampling of some of the cards:

The ballroom, ready to go.  Up on stage you can see the Moonlighters doing their sound check.  A BIG kudos to Rebecca Del Balzo at the ANCC, whose staff was fabulous the whole night:

Another detail I really loved were the table centerpieces.  Catherine, Eric, and their families and friends made these amazing paper flowers.  They collected pretty silver teapots in all shapes and sizes to use as vases.  It was a perfect touch for the tables and an even better conversation piece for the guests:

The reception gets under way:

Catherine & Eric decided to get cupcakes from Whole Foods in lieu of a traditional wedding cake.  Guests went crazy for those cupcakes!  Below, wedding photographer Tristan Spinski captures the newlyweds cutting a mini cake:

To round things out at the end of the night, Catherine chose to do a traditional bouquet toss.  I especially liked what happened at this moment.  Check it out:

Congratulations, Eric & Catherine!  I hope you guys have a wonderful mini-moon and an even better honeymoon later this year.  It was a pleasure working with you both and maybe I’ll see you at one of your friends’ weddings soon!

Last week I was invited to visit Morven Park, a beautiful historic manor in Leesburg, Virginia that’s just recently been opened for weddings and private events.  This beautiful home has housed two governors: Thomas Swann of Maryland and Virginia’s reform governor, Westmoreland Davis.

Under the direction of it’s managing group, the Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation, the mansion itself is currently in the middle of a HUGE renovation.  They’ve restored four of the 22 rooms, installed a geothermal HVAC system, stablized the foundation and restored the exterior so far, with plans to do much more.  This is in efforts to maintain the building as a museum and tours resumed May 1, 2009.  Unfortunately the interior spaces are not available for rent.  However, the 1,000+ acres of expansive grounds are perfect for tenting and secluded enough that you feel worlds away from civilization.

Pulling into the grounds, the first thing you notice is the stunning Morven Park mansion:

Anthony Cavallo from Vintage 50 is the person who’s handling the booking of all private events held at Morven Park.  He gave us a tour of the grounds and took us to the front drive of the mansion:

The porch is one spot where you can host an event.  The Mansion Portico holds about 50 standing guests and would be perfect for a cocktail hour.

Looking out from the Portico, you’re treated to a breathtaking view of the Leesburg countryside.  Morven Park often uses the Mansion Lawn for equestrian events and large festivals:

On either side of the mansion, the grounds feature several stunning spots that can easily be tented.  After venturing through the manicured gardens…..

….we stumbled upon the Croquet Court!  I can only assume that people used to play croquet here, hence the name.  It’s the prettiest spot in the whole place, I think.  Big, beautiful trees line either side to make a large rectangular space.  This site holds up to 800 guests although a wedding with 300-400 guests would fit perfectly:

Here’s another view of the Croquet Court, showing the character of the trees:

Morven Park is filled with little beautiful gardens strewn here and there.  I thought this one was particularly pretty since the daffodils were in bloom:

Near the Croquet Field, a pleasant surprise awaits below a short flight of tucked away stone steps:

The Reflection Pool is hidden away but a true gem.  There is less than a foot of water in the pond and the fountain in the center gives some background noise to the peaceful spot.  I envision the lawn to either side acting as the aisle for a wedding ceremony.

Just past the two trees in the above photo, there is another lawn that can be tented.  The Reflection Pool Lawn can seat up to about 120 guests and is perfect for smaller weddings:

I really enjoyed my afternoon at Morven Park (and my yummy brunch at Vintage 50). If you’re looking for an elegant outdoor spot for your wedding, please consider this historic gem.  The fees are relatively reasonable ($1500-3500 before the tent) and well worth the natural beauty of the venue.  Since they just opened for private events, most dates in 2010 are still available as well as some select dates for this fall.  Be sure to contact Anthony if you’d like to see it for yourself!

To see video of the inside of the mansion, see FoxDC’s newscast about this beautiful property.

Finally!  Northern Virginia has a cupcake shop all it’s own.  Of course we have a CakeLove location in Tyson’s but the walk-up counter just isn’t the same as this cute little cupcake store.  Plus, the cupcakes are to die for!  Self-admitted to be cupcake snobs, Cupcakes, Actually just came to Fairfax Corner in Fair Lakes.

Mmmm…who could resist these yummies?

Next time you’re in Fair Lakes, check them out!  They’re near REI, across from Caribou Coffee.  Tell them we say hello!

When I first met with Amy and Alex, the first thing I noticed was Amy’s quiet personality and Alex’s robust sense of humor.  Amy explained that she wanted a ‘French Countryside with an English Garden’ feel for the wedding.  Alex and I joked about having a helicopter transport them from the reception James Bond-style.  While we didn’t quite end up with a helicopter, I think we certainly achieved the European aura that Amy was looking for.

The pair chose Trinity Episcopal Church mostly based on it’s European feel.  While this building was built in the 1950s, it’s style is based on 12th and 13th century churches in France.  Trinity’s campus boasts a number of other buildings including an antique greenhouse and the nation’s smallest lending library.  Here’s the main church building:

Inside the church, the touching ceremony takes place.  Unfortunately Trinity doesn’t allow photographers or videographers to get closer than the front doors but our vendors made the best of it.  I’ll be interested to see how Colin from Blue Sky Films and Mark from Rodney Bailey Photography captured the ceremony!  Here’s what I got from my angle:

As a quick note, did you know that Blue Sky Films offers Super 8 film instead of traditional video?  They can mix it in with traditional video, too, so your whole wedding isn’t shot just on film.  Amy chose to have some segments of the wedding captured on Super 8.  Check out a sample here.

Meanwhile at the reception, my assistants Julie and Felicia were busy setting up the tent at Historic Long Branch.  This venue was new to me although they’ve been doing weddings for years.  Located in Millwood, Virginia, it has a robust history and some of the most serene views of the rolling Blue Ridge Moutains I’ve seen at any wedding venue.  The house is open to docent-led tours during cocktail hour and the reception must be under a tent.  Although it was a bit hot this past weekend, the Sheila Macqueen-designed gardens were blooming beautifully and the view simply cannot be beat.

Amy chose purple and ivory as her wedding colors.  We used a lavender cotton on the cocktail and service tables and a plum pintuck on the guest tables.  Select Event Rentals provided the tent and Party Rental, Ltd. brought the chairs, linens, and china:

The escort cards even had a French flair to them.  Each card was held by a pewter fluer-de-lis holder.  Unfortunately they kept blowing over since the event was outdoors.  We ended up having to lay them down on the table but I think they still looked cute:

:::WishTip::: Color-code your place cards if you are offering your guests a meal choice.  At this wedding, purple, white, and green signaled Pork, Chicken, or Fish to the wait staff.

Unfortunately the cake table sat empty most of the night.  It was too hot to display the wedding cake inside the tent.  The buttercream icing starts melting and doesn’t keep the cake layers sturdy.  At 92 degrees, there was no chance this cake would’ve made it three hours outdoors!  While dinner got underway, the cake remained in a semi-air conditioned corner of the basement.  We moved it out right before the cake cutting ceremony but even by then the layers were starting to wobble a bit.  I decided to alter the schedule a little bit before the cake smushed into itself.  Yet one more reason why having a wedding day coordinator is a good investment.

Carolyn at Taylor Made Cakes did a beautiful job on this cake.  I’m impressed that it lasted as long as it did which means she’s had experience at building structurally sound cakes.  It’s hard to see but there is a lace detail all around the bottom of each layer.  It was gorgeous!

Back inside the tent, a closeup of one of the taller centerpieces.  Maryam at Maryam Flowers was a rockstar for this wedding.  We’ve worked with her several times and she never misses a beat.  I especially liked the old-style European stands she brought instead of the typical glass trumpet vases:

These cute lanterns served as the short centerpieces.  Maryam made three small tulip arrangements for each table.  It’s hard to see but each tulip bunch is wrapped in purple wire.  It was such a small touch but shows Maryam’s attention to detail.  This image shows the true colors of the table linen and the chivari chair cushions.  Amy printed these pretty table cards, named after chateaus in France:

Tom at Pineapple Alley Catering provided the fabulous food and attentive wait staff.  I snuck a leftover hors d’oeuvre from the kitchen and was really blown away.  I had no idea an onion tart could be so sweet and savory!  Tom even worked with Amy and Alex to get European beer and wine for the wedding.  If you’re looking for a caterer, working with Pineapple Alley was truly a pleasure all the way around.

Here’s one last shot of the wedding taking place.  I apologize for the cruddy BlackBerry camera quality.  I like this image because it shows the beautiful purple tent swagging that Eric at Frost Lighting did.  I don’t have any photos from the rest of the night but the whole tent glowed purple through the evening and really came alive once the sun went down.  You can just barely start to see the effect of the pinspots on those tall centerpieces towards the back.  It was gorgeous!

Although the weather was a bit on the toasty side (I came home with a sunburn), the ceremony was heartfelt, the scenery was gorgeous, and the newlyweds were smitten with each other.  Just how a wedding should be!

Special thanks to Jodi, Julie, and Felicia who helped me out at this gorgeous wedding.  More kudos go to Aaron from Chris Laich Music Services who kept the dance floor packed all night long and rolled with the schedule changes I threw at him!  It’s always wonderful to have an attentive and professional emcee on the microphone.  One last shout out to Dan at Reston Limousine who arranged for two limos, three shuttles, and one sedan with no hiccups or delays whatsoever.

Amy & Alex, it was truly a pleasure working with you over the better part of this past year.  I really enjoyed being a part of your wedding day and wish you both the best of luck in your lives.  I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.  Congratutulations!

Sunday was a beautiful day for a wedding. Danielle and Steve were so lucky to not only have great weather but to enjoy the view from the gardens at the Meadowlark Atrium.

Martha Fitzsimon Photographers took fabulous pictures so here is our sneak peek…

Hope you are enjoying Antigua, Danielle and Steve!!

Cheers,

Over the past couple years we’ve featured many wedding venues in Washington, DC and surrounding Northern Virginia and Maryland.  These are all venues that we’ve worked weddings at.  Typically whenever there is a place we’re unfamiliar with we’ll scope it out well in advance of the bride’s big day.  We take notes of the details and photos of the spaces and share them with our readers on the blog.

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.

Amy & Alex are planning their spring 2009 wedding at Historic Long Branch.  Since I had never been there, we all took a visit to the estate to meet the on-site events coordinator and figure out the logistics of the day.

Long Branch holds it’s place in Virginia history.  The land was surveyed by a young George Washington and the property’s neighbors included notable figures such as Lord Culpeper, Lord Fairfax, and Robert “King” Carter.  Here is a map of where the estate is located.  It’s approximately 30 minutes west of Middleburg and 20 minutes east of Winchester:

The building we see today was built in the very early 1800s.  It changed hands over the years and finally was purchased in 1986 and restored by Harry Z. Isaacs, a Baltimore textile executive.  Before his death in 1990 he created a private foundation to maintain and manage the property.

From the driveway you actually arrive at the back of the house.  Around the right is where the brick patio is for large tents.  The ‘front’ door of the house is actually around the backside.  Here’s the side facing the parking area and main driveway:

See where that Ryder truck is?  Just behind it is the brick patio perfect for tenting.  Event Rentals was just setting up this huge tent when we were visiting.  They can seat about 250 guests out here under a tent or more if you want to put the tent on grass:

Check out the gorgeous Virginia vistas!  Rolling meadows make for amazing portrait backgrounds:

On the other side we actually see the front!  Isn’t it gorgeous?

I love the front door.  A wedding ceremony here on the steps would be just beautiful:

The interior of the house is decorated with period pieces and is really beautiful.  It reminds me of Mt. Vernon or Gunston Hall, if you’ve ever toured those estates.  My favorite feature is this spiral staircase:

If you’re considering a wedding in Virginia’s ‘Hunt Country,’ Historic Long Branch is a perfect fit.  Check out their website for more information or go see it for yourself!