Planning Tips
Below are a few tips to make your wedding planning process (and life) easier.
Planning your wedding (a few tips):
After the hard part of falling in love the logistics of putting together a wedding can take over your life. There are two options most people take 1) hire a planner to some degree or 2) DIY everything. Whichever path you lean towards here is some advice we have gained over the years. First of all, be honest with yourself about your career and your expectations for your wedding. If you are already making jokes with your partner about whether or not free time actually exists you probably don’t want to take on the second job of completely planning your own wedding. However, if you’ve been secretly planning your wedding for the past few years in the back of your mind and aren’t daunted by the task at hand then roll up your sleeves and get ready to jump in. It’s a fun creative process and we are here to give you some pointers.
The best advice we can give is to start by selecting a venue then drafting a rough timeline and floor plan around it (contact us and we will get you our timeline planner). The venue always comes first because the plans have to fit the space. The timeline and floor plan help you see how the day will actually unfold and will help insure that your wedding will be talked about for years to come. It’s much harder to plan all of the details when you aren’t looking at the end result. Your timeline lets you see how it all comes together.
After selecting the venue it’s a good idea to book the next round of vendors as far in advance as possible (ideally 1 year out): caterer, planner, entertainment, hair & make up and photography. These are the services that often depend on the skill of a particular individual attending your event and therefore are more limited in supply than say a dressmaker or gold smith. Even caterers have a limit as to how many events they can serve in a single day.
There is no one right way to host a wedding but there are some good general rules of thumb that we swear by. The cocktail hour is not just a nicety it’s an essential. After the high emotions of a ceremony it gives people a time to relax and mingle over intensely delicious bites and alcohol. Open bars are the way to go. During cocktails and throughout the night a signature cocktail or two are a great way to save on the cost of a fully stocked bar. If you have the budget and the space, multiple bars are extremely popular with guests. With a full hour of cocktails guests will be satiated and not anxiously awaiting dinner. You are also setting the pace for the evening to come. Cocktail hour’s other function is to allow the caterer time to transform spaces that might need to serve as a ceremony location, then a family photo backdrop and finally be transformed into a space for dinner and dancing.
Dinner is the anchor of the entire day. Food is hot when it’s hot and takes a certain amount of time to serve and eat. Therefore we recommend toasts, slide shows, and other portions of the celebration that don’t have a fixed duration happen after food has been served. Another tip is to budget half an hour longer for dinner than you think it will take. This last bit of advice is especially true if you are at (or over) your venue’s maximum capacity (it happens all the time!). It’s easy to add extra time onto dancing if dinner stays on track but impossible to get it back if there are any delays.
Another tip is to have a basic MC. Not a chaty personality MC that tells jokes but someone to make brief announcements to let guests know what’s happening. Unlike yourself your guests haven’t been pouring over the details of the wedding for the last few months and only have a rough idea of what’s happening. A well timed introduction as to how dinner will flow or that guests are invited to a buffet in a particular order keeps everything flowing smoothly.
We highly recommend using Google Docs for planning and coordinating with all vendors. A shared timeline & floorplan ensures everyone can stay on the same page, literally. A shared document also cuts down on unnecessary emails and ensures that everyone can have the most up to date timeline whenever they need it. It also lets all of your vendors look for potential conflicts like toasts and sun set photos happening at the time or seating arrangements that conflict with the audio setup.
It might sound redundant to say but we recommend breaking events into simple logical blocks such as: cocktails, followed by dinner, followed by toasts, followed by dancing. The more complicated the event the less likely it will work as planned no matter how great your planner is. Keep in mind that each time you start or stop a large group of people from doing anything it can add 5 to 15 chaotic minutes to the timeline and zaps momentum. This is most important when it comes to dancing. We recommend avoiding “dance sets” with a DJ. These only make sense with live bands that need to take breaks. Let the DJ build up the energy and take people on a seamless musical journey, that’s what they do.
Dancing is obviously our favorite part of the celebration. There are a few things to keep in mind when planning for dancing. The location of the dancefloor and DJ are vital in ensuring a great party. The DJ needs to be set up at the edge of the dancefloor to ensure that the loudest part of the room is in fact the dancefloor and not the seating area. An all too common mistake is to have a centrally located dance floor surrounded by seating on all sides. While this looks pretty on a floorplan it means that the area between the speakers and the dancefloor (the seats) will be louder than the dancefloor. The volume of sound drops by 50% with every doubling of distance. This means that if the DJ is across the room your dance floor will sound too quiet while the area between the DJ and the dance floor will be obnoxiously twice as loud. The other reason to keep the DJ at the edge of the dancefloor is so they can read the crowd. The DJs ability to sense the energy on the dancefloor and respond accordingly is what distinguishes them from static playlists. Lastly, once you have a floorplan, seat guests who are unlikely to dance as far away from the speakers & dancefloor as is practical. They will thank you for it.
Finally once you have a plan for the day, stick with it. Events are highly choreographed behind the scenes. There are lots of people working together to make them flawless. The best time for changing details is in the months, weeks and days ahead of time not in the seconds beforehand.
Planning Checklist
The following is a checklist we recommend going over. We have encountered each of these issues time and time again.
- Can you control the lighting? Are there dimmers or light switches you are allowed to turn on and off? Do the light switches also cut the power to electrical outlets? Oddly enough this sometimes happens.
- Don’t get caught up trying to recreate the exact color or lighting in a photo of your dream wedding. The photos that make it to publication on the web and in print have been heavily photoshopped with completely unnatural lighting effects and offending bit’s of reality digitally air brushed away. We have DJed weddings only to see when we get the photos back that we had an amazing tan that day! Who knew?!
- Whose wedding is it anyway? To put it another way, too many chefs spoil the broth, a camel is a horse designed by committee, three is a crowd… If you are not saying I DO then chances are it’s not your wedding and the music should reflect that. Make sure parents and other VIPs know that the soundtrack is not from their wedding but for you and your guests.
- Sparklers & fog machines are usually not allowed and often set off fire alarms or even the sprinkler systems! Find out ahead of time.
- How loud can your event be? Establish how loud your event can be and what time the music needs to be cut off. Some venues have shockingly restrictive rules about this. If your venue has a stated dB level maximum make sure they know if that number is measured A, C or Z weighted and averaged across a slow response or not. Most venues have no idea how to use a dB meter or where the measurements are meant to be taken. If your venue has a limit be sure to tell the DJ well in advance. DJs should never play too loud to start with but some venues consider just about anything “too loud”.
- Some venues look good and some sound good. Rooms made with marble, glass, stone, square shapes, domed ceilings, low ceilings and without any absorbing material often sound bad when you add large numbers of people and music. If you are using a space that fits this description add absorbing materials like heavy drapes or thicker table cloths to help the room from sounding shrill.
- Which areas can you use and which are open to the public?
- Do all vendors have the same floor plan and timeline?
- Is there an electrical outlet where you need it? Does it work? Is it grounded? Is it properly wired?
- What is the rain plan? Quickly running inside is not a rain plan!
- Avoid having guests sitting or standing outdoors in the hot sun! Trust us. People fainting during ceremonies in the hot sun is not as uncommon as you might think.
- If you don’t have enough seating for all of your guests, have enough tall tables for everyone to stand and eat at.
- Is someone from the venue there to help if something goes wrong? Do they know where the electrical breakers are?
- If you are using professional incandescent lighting or you hire a lighting company to provide this make sure there is enough electricity available! Lighting companies sometimes (always) forget that the caterer, photographer and DJ also need electricity.
- Is there parking for vendors and guests who can’t move their vehicle?
- If your caterer hasn’t worked at a venue before, insist that they do a walkthrough!
What does a wedding for 150 people cost in the DC area?
While there is no upper limit you should expect to pay between $35,000 and $75,000 for a 150 person wedding in the DC area. To think of it another way between $233 and $500 per person. Most of that will go towards food and drinks.
Below we breakdown the typical range of wedding expenses:
- Alcohol (providing your own): $2,700.
- Attire: $1,500-$4,000.
- Cake: $200-$900.
- Cake (having your own cake plated and served): $5 per slice.
- Catering: $95 to $300 per person with alcohol.
- Catering: $70 and up without alcohol.
- Entertainment (DJ): $1,200 – $2,500.
- Entertainment (DJ) with lighting: $1,800 – $2,800.
- Entertainment (photo booth): $150 per hour.
- Entertainment (band): $4,000-$10,000.
- Favors: $100-$600.
- Flowers (potted plant rental) $1,000-$2,000.
- Flowers (custom arrangements): $2,000-$10,000.
- Flowers (making a statement): $10,000-$30,000.
- Hair and Makeup (brides): $350 and up.
- Hair and Makeup (bridesmaids): $200 and up per person.
- Insurance: $150 to $500.
- Invitations (professional): $5+ per person.
- Invitations (Evite / email / social media): $0 per person.
- Photography: $3,500-$10,000.
- Planning: (full): $8,000-$12,000.
- Planning (partial): $5,000-$8000.
- Planning: (month of): $2,000-$3000.
- Planning: (day of coordinator): $1,600-$2,000.
- Private Transportation: $2,000-$4,000.
- Venues: $2,500-$12,000.
- Videography: $4,000-$10,000.
Best Wedding Vendors in DC
Planners Who Get It
Photographers You Want to Work With
Alexandra Friendly Photography
Videographers to Capture it All
Shutter And Sound Wedding Cinematography
Florists Who Will Amaze You
Hair & Makeup Artists
Production Companies for Events
Event Furniture & Necessities
Wedding Venues We Love
Accelerator Space, Baltimore, MD
275 seated, 375 cocktail style – $4,500
Airlie – Warrenton, VA
180 capacity – $254 per person
Aix La Chapelle Farm – Poolsville, MD
200 capacity – $10,200
American Visionary Art Museum – Baltimore, MD
400 dinner & dancing -$7,280
Arts Club of Washington – Washington, DC
180 seated – $4,000
The Assembly Room – Baltimore, MD
200 seated – $5,500
Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, VA
230 seated, 300 standing – $8,550
Baltimore Museum of Art – Baltimore, MD
200 capacity – $8,000
Brenwood Lake Weddings – Luray VA 200 capacity – $4,500
Carnegie Institution for Science – Washington DC
150 capacity -$8,500
Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, Stevensville, MD 350 capacity – $3,000
Comet Ping Pong – Washington, DC
150 or 200 in multiple rooms – $ unlisted
Decatur House on Lafayette Square – Washington, DC
400 capacity – $12,000
District Winery, Washington, DC
200 capacity – $7,000
Dock 5 at Union Market – Washington DC
400 to 2000 capacity – $12,000
Dumbarton House – Washington, DC
200 capacity – $700 per hour
Eastern Market’s North Hall – Washington, DC
190 with a dance floor -$5,400
Evergreen Museum & Library – Baltimore, MD
220 Tented Patio & Carriage Room with dance floor – $7,100
Ghibellina – Washington, DC
86 seated, 106 standing in private dining room $3,200
Glen Echo Park – Glen Echo, MD
Spanish Ballroom 800 dancing, 450 dinner & dancing, $7,500 / Bumper Car Pavilion 350 theater seating, 200 dinner & dancing $3,650
Great Room at Savage Mill – Savage, MD
266 capacity – $2,650
Hook Hall – Washington DC
270 seated – $4,000
Hotel Monaco, Washington, DC
200 capacity -$140 to $170 per person
The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm – Sperryville, VA
200 capacity – $10,000
Josephine Butler Parks Center – Washington, DC
300 standing, 150 dinner & dancing
Khimaira Farm – Luray, VA
250 capacity – $5,900
Long View Gallery – Washington, DC
200 dinner & dancing -$10,000
Oxon Hill Manor, Oxon Hill, MD
300 standing, 210 seated, 170 seated with dancing $4,400
Raspberry Plain Manor – Leesburg, VA
200 capacity – $7,500
Riverside On The Potomac – Leesburg, VA
260 capacity – $8,000
Rocklands Farm Winery – Poolesville, MD
130 capacity – $6,000
Sagamore Pendry Hotel, Baltimore, MD
240 seated with a dance floor – $220 per person
Shenandoah Woods – Luray VA
200 capacity – $9,500).
Strong Mansion – Dickerson, MD
150 capacity – $3,900
Sylvanside Farm – Purcellville, VA
350 capacity – $12,000
The Loft at 600 F – Washington, DC
150 capacity – $4,800).
The Mayflower Hotel – Washington, DC
300 capacity – $12,000
The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown – Washington, DC
130 capacity – $100 to $300 per person range
Thorpewood – Thurmont, MD
150 capacity- $6,500
Torpedo Factory Art Center – Alexandria, VA
220 seated, 350 theater style seating, 450 standing – $5,750
Winslow Room, Baltimore, MD
250 capacity – $7,500
Woodend Sanctuary and Mansion – Chevy Case, MD
170 spring, summer and fall, 120 winter months – $8,500
Caterers
The Catering Company of Washington
KC (Marquee Artists) was an incredible DJ. He was professional, prepared, and organized. We had a New Year’s Eve wedding, so the DJ was a very important part. Both my wife and I love to dance and KC kept everyone engaged and dancing until after 2 AM. Not only was the reception music incredible, KC worked with us on our ceremony music, which was also executed perfectly. He came prepared with ceremony mics, both standing and floor, so the different parts of the ceremony (including readings) were able to be heard by guests even in the back row. KC truly understood our vision for our wedding music across the ceremony, cocktail hour/dinner, and dancing into the wee hours of the morning. He is also a wonderful MC and served a vital role in creating structured transitions between all the different parts of our wedding. I cannot recommend KC enough!!! He was beyond amazing!
KC (Marquee Artists) was an incredible DJ. He was professional, prepared, and organized. We had a New Year’s Eve wedding, so the DJ was a very important part. Both my wife and I love to dance and KC kept everyone engaged and dancing until after 2 AM. Not only was the reception music incredible, KC worked with us on our ceremony music, which was also executed perfectly. He came prepared with ceremony mics, both standing and floor, so the different parts of the ceremony (including readings) were able to be heard by guests even in the back row. KC truly understood our vision for our wedding music across the ceremony, cocktail hour/dinner, and dancing into the wee hours of the morning. He is also a wonderful MC and served a vital role in creating structured transitions between all the different parts of our wedding. I cannot recommend KC enough!!! He was beyond amazing!