DanCole42 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Salutations everyone! I've been browsing the boards for a while now, but this is the first time I've ever posted. I'm not even sure if I'm in the right forum - all the threads here seem to have specific restaurants as the subject, so I hope this isn't too general a topic. My fiancee and I are getting married in October at the Sequoia in Georgetown. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good place to have the rehearsal dinner? We probably won't be more than 20-30 people (we better not anyway, or I'm feeding dog food to the in-laws). Does Ray's the Steaks do private parties? How would one go about arranging this? Should I worry about my fiancee leaving me for Michael? Thanks!!! -Dan Cole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Gastreaux Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Need more info. Do you require a private room, if not, would have a section of a restaurant work for you? Most rehersals are on Friday (IIRC). You could ask Landrum and see what he says. That would be a hoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanCole42 Posted May 3, 2006 Author Share Posted May 3, 2006 Need more info. Do you require a private room, if not, would have a section of a restaurant work for you? Most rehersals are on Friday (IIRC). You could ask Landrum and see what he says. That would be a hoot. Wow, during this whole wedding no one has EVER asked me what would work for ME. This is stunning. I should probably defer to the future Mrs. and the in-laws, though. A private room would probably be best, if only to protect the other restaurant patrons. Our wedding is on Sunday, so the rehearsal would probably be on Saturday, since many of the attendees will be arriving from out of town. What does IIRC mean? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeMc Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I went to a great rehearsal dinner upstairs at the Tabard Inn for 80 people. One room was blocked off for drinks and a jazz trio, the other was the dining area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Gastreaux Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Wow, during this whole wedding no one has EVER asked me what would work for ME. This is stunning.I should probably defer to the future Mrs. and the in-laws, though. A private room would probably be best, if only to protect the other restaurant patrons. Our wedding is on Sunday, so the rehearsal would probably be on Saturday, since many of the attendees will be arriving from out of town. What does IIRC mean? Thanks! IIRC=If I Recall Correctly. I though the rehersal dinner was the responsiblity of the groom and his family. I would not involve the bride's side if you and/or your family is/are paying for this (you put them in the position of spending your and/or your family's money, something you do not want them getting used to). Price tag is another issue. Finding a place with private rooms and in your price range will be the trick. The large private room at Oceanair would be bigf enough but likely to be on the pricey side. ETA:Welcome to DR.com and congratulations on your upcoming nuptewals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starfish Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 it would also be helpful to know your desired price per person. can we safely assume that you would like to be in the ray's ballpark? other questions to ask a potential host restaurant / things to be leary about: how far in advance do you need to give a firm number what is thier cancelation policy if anyone sends you a "banquet" wine list, run away - 90% of the time the are filled with really obscure, mediocre wines that have a felonious mark-up how many people will be staffing the event what is the service charge and is that limited to a straight percentage or is there a room set-up charge also (be leary of this as well; most room charges are just padding for the contract) how many similar events like yours does the restaurant do in a month, a year what type of seating configurations can they provide, one big table, several small ones, etc. just a few random thoughts. by the by, congratualtions to you and your bride. eta: the arts club of washington does this type of event and maybe very reasonable. i can't speak to the food these days, but a wedding i attanded there several years ago was great - and they have a lovely courtyard too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookluvingbabe Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 We had ours at McCormick and Schmick's in Bethesda on a Saturday night. 60+ people. (Everyone was invited...Don't ask...) They blocked off the front room for us. Your best bet is to know how much you are willing to spend, if you want a private room and how many people you are realistically going to have. An idea of geography is good--we need to be within walking distance of the OOT hotel. Then start making calls. A Saturday night is harder. We booked ours 10 months before the wedding and had a difficult time finding anything that would work. Good luck! Jennifer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol_ironstomach Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 With many attendees from out-of-town, which hotel will they be based in? Convenient transit is an issue, especially in Metro-less Georgetown. On a Saturday. Borrowing a page from my youngest brother, who set up base in Georgetown's Latham Hotel for his wedding, you might find a suitable space in one of the back rooms at the Sea Catch Restaurant. It's not haute cuisine but it's not bad, and appeals to a wide audience. Additional geek bonus: the building is the little-known birthplace of IBM's computing heritage, being where Herman Hollerith originally established his automatic card tabulating company in the 1890s. IBM's slightly older progenitors were punch-clock manufacturers. And welcome to the boards, Dan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.R. Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 You can pretty much take over many smaller ethnic restaurants for a pittance. Huge quantities of food and drink, and a lot of fun to boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC in DC Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 You can pretty much take over many smaller ethnic restaurants for a pittance. Huge quantities of food and drink, and a lot of fun to boot. We did our rehersal dinner at Bacchus in Dupont Circle (which I've posted about elsewhere). They closed the restaurant (we had about 50 ppl), and there was tons of food. My family pigged out on all the appetizers (mezze, etc) before realizing that there was even more food to come. They also did a complimentary tasting dinner for us. I did a lot of searching for a reasonably priced RD and this worked out very well. The only reservation that I had was that the restaurant was so casual about the reservation itself: we gave no deposit, we signed no contract, etc. They just showed us their reservation book with our night (Sat) blocked off. I was afraid that we'd show up and the place would be closed. But Bacchus definitely came through for us. I would strongly recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waitman Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 it would also be helpful to know your desired price per person. can we safely assume that you would like to be in the ray's ballpark? other questions to ask a potential host restaurant / things to be leary about: how far in advance do you need to give a firm number what is thier cancelation policy if anyone sends you a "banquet" wine list, run away - 90% of the time the are filled with really obscure, mediocre wines that have a felonious mark-up how many people will be staffing the event what is the service charge and is that limited to a straight percentage or is there a room set-up charge also (be leary of this as well; most room charges are just padding for the contract) how many similar events like yours does the restaurant do in a month, a year what type of seating configurations can they provide, one big table, several small ones, etc. just a few random thoughts. by the by, congratualtions to you and your bride. eta: the arts club of washington does this type of event and maybe very reasonable. i can't speak to the food these days, but a wedding i attanded there several years ago was great - and they have a lovely courtyard too. We had our wedding reception at the Arts Club a while back. As I recall, they gave us a list of chefs that might be available and, though it was not a sit-down dinner, we lucked in to some very good cooking. Lovely space, very off-the-beaten-track. MIght be a bit large for you, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgarthwa Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 We had our rehearsal dinner at Bistro d'oc, and they did a wonderful job. We took over the top floor of the restaurant, did drinks and passed apps in one room, and dinner and dessert in another. CG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Landrum Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Need more info. Do you require a private room, if not, would have a section of a restaurant work for you? Most rehersals are on Friday (IIRC). You could ask Landrum and see what he says. That would be a hoot. I don't know, Jacques, as soon as they get a little bit older and my waitresses get their hands on one of those boys of yours, you might find yourself asking the same question. Oh wait, I forgot, they'll want to do it at Eve. To DanCole: Congratulations! We couldn't close Saturday night for you, but if you wanted to do a supper at, say, 4 we could maybe do something and get everyone on their way to the hotel for relaxed catching-up and a good night sleep before the event. We are very very casual, though, and not everyone's idea of an appropriate place for a special event. I like B. A. R's idea above. A rehearsal dinner should be about family and friends, not about how fancy the place is. The less over-done and relaxed the venue the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I like B. A. R's idea above. A rehearsal dinner should be about family and friends, not about how fancy the place is. The less over-done and relaxed the venue the better.Agreed. We skipped the formal sit-down dinner and had a fun cocktail party for all the family. Both sets of parents are divorced and remarried, and in some cases, re-divorced so the drinks were more important than the food, IYKWIM. We had it at the hotel everyone was staying in just to lessen the stress for out-of-towners. I think they called it "heavy appetizers", but it was definitely enough for a meal.Not food related: we asked our parents to bring their photo albums of us as kids. Everyone enjoyed looking at our baby pictures and it was a good ice-breaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodleygrrl Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 IIRC=If I Recall Correctly.I though the rehersal dinner was the responsiblity of the groom and his family. I would not involve the bride's side if you and/or your family is/are paying for this (you put them in the position of spending your and/or your family's money, something you do not want them getting used to). Price tag is another issue. Finding a place with private rooms and in your price range will be the trick. The large private room at Oceanair would be bigf enough but likely to be on the pricey side. ETA:Welcome to DR.com and congratulations on your upcoming nuptewals. s a bride that is getting married in October, if I was not consulted about where and when the rehearsal dinner was going to be I would lose my mind. As for places: I friend of mine went to a rehearsal dinner at cafe atlantico and said it was out of this world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.R. Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Those in attendance still talk of how much fun our rehearsal dinner was, and it came in at about 1/25 the cost, per person, as the wedding reception. One of the many things my father in-law resents me for . If you are having a formal, elegant wedding, my suggestion would be go polar opposite with the RD. Have a barbeque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Delicious Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I had mine at Bucca Di Beppo....good, drunken times were had by all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanCole42 Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 To DanCole: Congratulations! We couldn't close Saturday night for you, but if you wanted to do a supper at, say, 4 we could maybe do something and get everyone on their way to the hotel for relaxed catching-up and a good night sleep before the event. We are very very casual, though, and not everyone's idea of an appropriate place for a special event.I like B. A. R's idea above. A rehearsal dinner should be about family and friends, not about how fancy the place is. The less over-done and relaxed the venue the better. Michael - having my fiancee there with me will, as it has been with every visit to Ray's, make the place look as fancy and done up to me as L'auberge Chez Francois. She's not reading this, so I'm not sure why I'm trying to butter her up... But I digress. That sounds PERFECT (to me, anyway - I'll have to run it by the bosses). What do you think we'd be spending on something like this? Maybe I should buy monogrammed steak brands for everyone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Gastreaux Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Maybe I should buy monogrammed steak brands for everyone... You could have Landrum monogram up some of those pre-bloodstaind aprons for you. Those would make great gifts for your groomsmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubesocks Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Take a look at Bistro Francais as well. They have a room in the back - while it won't hold 30, you could probably get 20 in there. Sea Catch also has a couple private rooms that they rent out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Landrum Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Michael - having my fiancee there with me will, as it has been with every visit to Ray's, make the place look as fancy and done up to me as L'auberge Chez Francois. She's not reading this, so I'm not sure why I'm trying to butter her up... But I digress. That sounds PERFECT (to me, anyway - I'll have to run it by the bosses). What do you think we'd be spending on something like this? Maybe I should buy monogrammed steak brands for everyone... As they say...Our prices are TOO LOW to advertise! Come by the restaurant if you get higher authority approval and we can discuss details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanCole42 Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 As they say...Our prices are TOO LOW to advertise! Come by the restaurant if you get higher authority approval and we can discuss details. You're the best. I'll be trying to get the higher ups on board. Should I stop by during normal business hours or before? Geez, before... that'd be like peering behind the curtain. I've been to Ray's three times. Definetely OUR kind of place. Maybe next time I'll actually introduce myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan7147 Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 We are looking for a rehersal dinner venue for 40-50 people for next April in DC proper. We are having our wedding at 2941 so something different would be in order...think along the lines of Dino. Anyone recently been to one and could offer up any suggestions? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mame11 Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 We are looking for a rehersal dinner venue for 40-50 people for next April in DC proper. We are having our wedding at 2941 so something different would be in order...think along the lines of Dino. Anyone recently been to one and could offer up any suggestions? Thanks. I'd check out Johnny's Half Shell's new space. They have two great looking private rooms. I am sure one of them could accomodate 40-50 people seated. Also the cool thing is you'd give your out of town guests a great view of the Capitol at night which is surely a treat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 We are looking for a rehersal dinner venue for 40-50 people for next April in DC proper. We are having our wedding at 2941 so something different would be in order...think along the lines of Dino. Anyone recently been to one and could offer up any suggestions? Thanks. Poste has a private back room and can seat up to 45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Gastreaux Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 We are looking for a rehersal dinner venue for 40-50 people for next April in DC proper. We are having our wedding at 2941 so something different would be in order...think along the lines of Dino. Anyone recently been to one and could offer up any suggestions? Thanks. You might investigate the backroom at Oceanair. I think it can accomodate a party of that size, but I'm not sure. Or. buy out Firefly for the evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLK Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Charlie Palmer Steak has several private rooms. If you ask nicely, they might take your group up to the roof for a lovely Capitol view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan7147 Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Charlie Palmer Steak has several private rooms. If you ask nicely, they might take your group up to the roof for a lovely Capitol view. I know that roof all to well. My former company lead tenant in 101 Constitution and spent many a drunken night up there. I miss that view though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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