::Post imported from our old website::

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?

I’ll admit it…I’m sad that it’s over. Esther and Michael were the very first clients I ever booked (actually, I was booked by her beautiful Matron of Honor and cousin Joanna and her adorable husband Patrick as a gift to the couple) and, as such, they hold a special place in my heart. Of course, that special place is helped by the fact that, as the groom’s brother said in his toast, Esther may well be the nicest person I have ever met. (And Michael’s not too bad himself!) Esther and I spent a lot of time together the week before the wedding going over the last minute details (and eating pizza…) and I got to know her better, and I now consider us good friends…but sadly the couple lives in Seattle! Oh, well…now I have a good reason to visit one of my favorite cities!

The day started with a Catholic ceremony at St. Thomas a’Becket in Reston. I need to offer special thanks to Jessica, another Soiree coordinator who stepped in LITERALLY at the last minute to help out after one of our assistants was unable to make it. Thanks, Jessica!!

Esther and Michael had a large bridal party — 24 people! All were wonderful (including two HILARIOUS best men, who I conspired with, along with the band, to create an “unusual” Tom Jones inspired toast), and I spent as much time as possible holding one of the adorable 6 month old ring bearers!

The theme for the couple’s wedding was “Seattle in DC” and boy did they pull it off! Esther and Michael are a very outdoorsy couple, which was reflected in their decor. They collected amazing river rocks from a beach in front of their Seattle home, and somehow transferred over 200 of them back to DC (thanks, in part, to groomsman Jeff!)

The rocks were then placed on each napkin and were used among the decor throughout their reception venue, the beautiful River Creek Club in Leesburg, Virginia. River Creek is at the intersection of the Potomac River and Goose Creek, providing amazing views such as this one from the balcony of the club.

That’s a great little pond and just beyond is the Potomac River.

Esther and Michael did an amazing job finding some great natural elements and some adorable creations at Michaels. (Michaels…the mecca of many a bride and wedding planner…) The centerpieces were provided by River Creek, but Esther added her own touch by filling the hurricanes with recycled glass from one of her favorite shops in Seattle.

Instead of table numbers, each table was named after one of their favorite places in Seattle, and postcards were placed in each holder to indicate the name of the table. The one above is Mount Rainier. Oh! And the beautiful latte colored linen above the centerpiece in the above picture? It’s a pillow sham! Esther found them on DEEP discount in Seattle and carried them back to her house on her bike!

There were pictures of Esther and Michael and their families all over the venue. My favorite photo tables, though, were outside on the deck - Esther gave us a huge box of Manzanita branches (like those found here), some vases, even more rocks and pebbles and recycled glass, some moss, various large potpourri and said “Go at it!” Well, one of our wonderful Soiree assistants, Julie, did just that and came up with the displays you see in these pictures (also taken by Julie…thanks for your help!!!) It’s amazing what you can come up with when you’re given fun objects, a creative assistant and a relaxed bride who basically says “make it look cool.”

In addition to the awesome staff at River Creek, we also got to work with some great vendors. The cake (which I heard was delicious, although I never seemed to find a piece) was provided by Chantel’s Cakes & Pastries in Sterling. In addition to the cake, AMAZING pastries were provided by the mothers of the bride and groom.

The bridal party flowers and two beautiful arrangements that did double duty at both the church and the reception (and are on either side of the table in the picture below, with the orange flowers) were provided by, get this, Giant! (Yes…the grocery store, can you believe it?! I didn’t even know they could do stuff like this!)

Entertainment was provided by the amazing Mustangs. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a wedding that had SO many people on the dance floor for SO long. No one ever had to look for the bride or groom, because you knew they would be on the dance floor ALL NIGHT!

As they were leaving, guests were treated to either a beer or a root beer that was home brewed by Michael in their Seattle home. I never did find a beer, but the root beer was delicious!