Ref's reviews

We originally looked at having our rehearsal in a restaurant in Old Town. We found out very quickly that to have a group of 60+ it would be very pricey. We decided to let our caterer provide food for the rehearsal as well in a rented location. The Carlyle House is a historic house in Old Town Alexandria. It was wonderful weather, and had a very nice garden for the rehearsal dinner. We were very pleased with the tent that was provided for dinner, and highly recommend this location. They also allowed us to tour the house so that guests could get a feel for the museum inside. The location was walking distance to bars for guests that wanted to go out after the dinner.

We took a cruise to the Mediterranean. We really enjoyed the cruise because we did not have to plan for the honeymoon. Everything was done for us, and we could just relax and enjoy the sites. With all the planning that you do for the wedding, the last thing you want to do is tons of research and bookings for the trip. We really enjoyed seeing so many places such as Italy, Greece, Egypt and Turkey. The food is such a plus, as it is all inclusive, and you don’t have to worry about food budgets on the trip. They also will take care of the flights and transfers which is a big deal when going international.

We used the residence in Old town due to location and price. The hotel was very close to the reception, which is key. Marriott has a great point’s plan which many of our guests liked. They also provided a free shuttle which many people were able to use. The rooms were small apartments with kitchens, and people liked that. The amenities in the hotel were less, but since our guests were so busy with the wedding, there probably isn’t time to eat, work out or relax in the hotel. They would have rather enjoyed places outside of the hotel in Old Town. I stress again that location is everything, and the most important factor, and then price.

We only went to see two different cake vendors. Leslie’s cakes tasted great and were very nice. She was willing to do a grooms cake and the actual cake itself. She had plenty of flavors to choose from, and was willing to deliver. She used a staff of 8 to decorate, and has a great deal of artistic ability. She also helped us design the cake, and make sure that the color schemes were done correctly. There was hardly any cake left at the end of the night, and that is a very good sign. The cake was on time, and we had no worries of them messing up the order.

We originally interviewed top tier caterers, and found that price was a big issue. They also seem to be focused on corporate events, and not as concerned with weddings. We decided to go with Shirley’s, because they focus more on weddings, and really gave us the attention we wanted. We did two tastings with them, and got to know the chef. Our planner really stepped up, and wanted to do more then just provide the food. She helped up with details, and set-up, as well as favors and cake setting. I would highly recommend using a caterer that values your business, and not being on the low end of the current contracts and projects.

This was one of our favorite parts of the wedding. We wanted a unique and historical spot for our wedding. The pictures were great in this setting, and our guests really enjoyed the historic location. The people at the temple were very kind, and did not get overprotective about their spot. They allowed us to do tours of the top deck, and provided us with a kitchen for the caterer. We did have to bring everything in, but that allowed us to create our own setting. The price for the location was very reasonable. They said the max was 200, but our group of 125 was about as big as I would recommend.

We used an independent D.J for our wedding. He was open to meet with us twice before the event. He provided a large list of songs for us to choose from, and was open to using any song requests we had. The big thing was that we provided a cheat sheet of about 25 songs that we liked, and asked him to keep things similar to what we provided. We also wanted him to take requests at his own discretion, and that worked great. The important thing is that he tried to read the crowd, and make sure that everyone was into the music and dancing.

We used a friend of the family. This was a great, no fuss option. He basically used his equipment to shoot close to 1600 photos, and gave us the originals on a thumb-drive. This obviously left us with quite a bit of work as far as cropping and setting the picture. We needed to save money in certain areas, and this was a good place to do it. As long as the photographer works hard and has good equipment, this is a great place to cut back.

This was a beautiful old church in the heart of Old Town. The location was very important to us, and we wanted to make sure it was easy for our guests to get from hotel, to ceremony, to reception. It could have been easier. Everything was perfect from the music, to the look and feel of the place. The site was also large enough to hold up to 200+ people. We were very fortunate to be able to get married at this location, and recommend it to any other Catholics in the area. It also had a very nice garden out to the side for pictures after the ceremony.

Men’s Warehouse had a nice selection of tuxes. One of the great things was the online tux creator, which allowed you to try different color schemes. This saves a lot of time, as you can play with the colors you want and see how they look. The price is expensive, but they do give a free tux to the groom. They are somewhat flexible on return dates, but don’t expect to hold onto the tux for too long. They were willing to let me pick up the tux a day earlier then what they recommend, but to time constraints.