Kimpton Hotel Group - a Great Company

Fortune Magazine recently released its annual list of 100 Best Companies To Work For.  Once again, there was only one hotel company among the Top 30:  Kimpton, a hospitality company known for its "boutique" style hotels.

I'm not surprised. Every time I work at one of Kimpton's DC area hotels, I am delighted not just by the professionalism but also by the friendliness of their staffs.  I frequently observe how extra courteous and helpful they are to wedding guests, and I can attest first-hand to how cooperative they are with outside vendors like myself.  It's always occurred to me that Kimpton management must be doing something right, and that the people who work there seem to truly enjoy their work.

The Kimpton Hotels I've worked in include the Hotel Monaco-DC, the Hotel Monaco-Alexandria, the Hotel Palomar (DC), Morrison House (Alexandria) and Lorien Hotel (Alexandria). I highly recommend them to wedding couples!

New Venues (for Me) from the Past Year

With many years of DJ'ing under my belt, most of the weddings I perform at are at venues I've worked at before. But each year, I work at a few new ones -- new to me, that is.  Here are the venues I worked at for the first time in the past year, 2012:

• 1840s Ballroom, Baltimore MD 
• Eastern Market (North Hall) , Washington DC
• Trummers on Main, Clifton VA
• Lorien Hotel, Alexandria VA
• Rock Creek Mansion, Bethesda MD
• The Belvedere, Baltimore MD

If you're considering holding your event at any of the over 200 venues I've performed at, I'd be happy to share my insights about them.  Just send me an email and I'll be happy to respond (please include your phone #). 

10 Great Wedding Venues in the Washington DC Area

I'd like to share with you ten wonderful sites for your wedding reception.

In 2009, most of the venues I worked at were places I've worked before, and many of those are wonderful. But I also had the opportunity to work at many venues for the first time, and quite a few of those struck me as extraordinary  -- either because the setting is unique, or the people who work there are fantastic, or both!

Ten in particular struck me.  So I'd like to recommend them. Here, my list of 10 favorite "new" (new to me) wedding sites in the greater Washington DC area.


    * Airlie Center, Warrenton VA. An impressive conference center in a bucolic setting, a 1200-acre campus. Ample lodging as well as banquet facilities.

    * Chesapeake Bay Foundation (Phillip Merrill Center), Annapolis MD. Great site for a truly "green" wedding, both in terms of the facility itself and the organization that runs it.

    * City Club (Franklin Square), Washington DC. Very attractive option for a downtown DC reception, and the people are great. The high-ceiling main lobby makes a stunning setting for dinner.

    * Engineer's Club, Baltimore MD. Worth driving up I-95 for. A true gem brimming with 19th century Gilded Age opulence and charm.

    * Hilton Alexandria Old Town, VA. Lots to like at this up-to-date hotel at the western edge of Old Town. Facilities and personnel all first-rate.

    * House of Sweden, DC. Truly a unique site. Strikingly modern, award-winning architecture; a true touch of Scandinavia in Georgetown.

    * Marriott Wardman Park, DC. One of the city's well-known grand hotels. What makes me recommend it so highly are the people: Everyone I interacted with, from the banquet coordinator to the valet guy, was super-friendly, cheerful, and helpful.

    * St Francis Hall, Northeast DC. A little-known castle-like Romanesque gem in an out-of-the-way part of Washington, adjacent to the Franciscan Monastery.

    * ThorpeWood Lodge, Thurmont MD. Nestled in the Catoctin Mountains not far from Camp David, this setting deep in the woods is delightfully rustic yet features elegant catering.

    * VisArts, Rockville. Located in the heart of the new downtown Rockville (Rockville Town Square), a reception site amidst working artists' studios.

Again, just to be clear, these are my favorites among the sites that I first had the pleasure of working at during the past year, 2009.  There are many other wonderful sites I could recommend. (And yes, there are a few I would NOT recommend -- email me privately if you want to learn of those.)

As I mentioned in a prior blog post, consider consulting with an experienced wedding DJ, caterer, or photographer in your area before booking your wedding venue. These wedding professionals often have invaluable insights into to the pro's and con's of venues you're considering.

Wedding Venues - A DJ's Perspective

It’s funny. Venues are often asked by wedding couples to recommend DJs, but DJs are rarely asked to recommend venues.  This, even though an experienced wedding DJ has hands-on, real-world experience performing at scores, if not hundreds, of wedding reception sites in his region.

If that DJ is paying careful attention when he works at each venue, he’ll observe all sorts of things about the place. Big things. Little things. Good things. Bad things.

How practical are the logistics?  How well are the details managed? How friendly are the staff? How does the place look under different lighting conditions? How suitable are the spaces for cocktails, dinner, and dancing? Does the place have strict curfews or does it allow the party to continue another hour if you want it to? Your DJ may be able to give you insight on all this, and more.

Even during the planning phase, the DJ will learn first-hand from wedding couples about their interactions with the venue coordinators – how flexible and accommodating are they?

Beyond that, an experienced wedding DJ probably knows of venues that meet whatever criteria you’re looking for.  Are you interested in a rustic venue, or a very urbane one?  A big hotel or boutique hotel? A place by the Bay or in the mountains? A place that is architecturally distinctive, whether  historic or ultra-modern? A place with beautiful gardens or a drop-dead gorgeous ballroom or a breathtaking view?  Your DJ might suggest places you otherwise might not have considered.

So don’t hesitate to get your DJ’s input on your choice of wedding venues – and once you’ve chosen a venue, get his input on how to utilize that venue.  Not that the DJ's is the final word -- but his input might help inform your planning.  Likewise, get the input of other experienced wedding vendors who’ve spent countless hours working at various venues – such as photographers, videographers, caterers.

Maybe it’s just a pipedream on my part, but I think there are times it would even make sense to hire the DJ and photographer first, and the venue second!

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WORKING TOGETHER

I just returned from DJ'ing an event at a facility where the staff were so friendly and helpful and professional, it's worth giving them kudos. It's the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in the Woodley Park section of NW Washington DC. From the event manager to the parking attendants, everyone was a pleasure to work with. The ballroom was stunning, everything was first-rate, this place exudes class. To me, "class" doesn't just mean fancy -- it also means people following the Golden Rule ("do unto others ... "). Management must be doing something right at this hotel -- even the guys working the midnight shift breaking down the ballroom after the event were cheerful.

Another place I recently worked where the on-site coordinator and her entire staff were noteworthy for their positive attitude, professionalism, and cooperation was the Engineers Club in the historic Mount Vernon district of Baltimore. And the interior spaces in this beautiful landmark are gorgeous and distinctive.

Although this blog is not intended primarily as a vehicle for plugging specific wedding sites or other wedding vendors, I'd be remiss if I didn't occasionally single out some of the best for praise.

When the staff at a wedding site works well with other vendors, the result is sure to be a smoothly run event. Everyone's working hard but also enjoying their work -- and this rubs off on your guests as well.

WEATHER AND WHETHER

It's easy to have your heart set on an outdoor wedding. Perhaps you envision your ceremony outdoors in a garden, in a grove, at a vineyard, on a mountainside, by a lake, or on a pleasant patio. Perhaps you envision your guests mingling outdoors during cocktails. Perhaps your reception site even offers a pleasant outdoor setting for dinner or dancing, or both.

If your dream wedding involves the outdoors, do give careful thought to your "plan B" in case of rain or other inclement weather. Be sure that the rain-plan for your wedding site is satisfactory to you and accommodates your needs. If the indoor rain-plan wouldn't be to your liking, consider finding a different site for your wedding.

In addition to rain, excessive heat and humidity can also mandate a shift indoors. In some cases, so can chilly weather.

Contingency plans are particularly important for outdoor April weddings. The poet T.S. Elliot wrote "April is the cruelest month." I don't know what the poet had in mind, but as a wedding DJ in the Mid-Atlantic region, I think it applies to the weather! Spring officially arrives in late March, but rain and cold are not uncommon in April.

Weather can be unpredictable in any month. A couple of years ago, I DJ'd at a mid-September wedding that was so hot (felt like 100 degrees), the bride literally fainted during outdoor picture-taking after her outdoor ceremony. (Fortunately, the reception was indoors.)

A satisfactory contingent plan for bad weather in ANY month will ensure you'll be smiling on your wedding date even if it turns out Mother Nature isn't smiling upon you that day.