Sep, 2016 Rehearsal Dinner in Old Town Alexandria for 50+ Diners

[cajcaj]

Hi all,

Reaching out for some ideas after I've done some fairly extensive research. My best guess so far is that we'll have at least 50 people for a Friday night wedding rehearsal dinner. Mostly I've run into the issue of a restaurant's space not being large enough and another issue of the cost just being too expensive.

2 places that I'm considering are Carluccio's and Theismann's. I'm a bit wary of Carluccio's since they are new-ish and I'm not sure they have had much experience with private events. Though we have eaten there before and enjoyed our meals there. We are going to try Theismann's for the first time sometime this week. I'm leaning towards them because private events are something they seem more than comfortable with, to the point that they have a rehearsal dinner section on their website. It is also incredibly close to both hotels I have room blocks at.

Any thoughts would be appreciated - thanks!

[Bart]

Have you looked at the upstairs at Columbia Firehouse?  I had my rehearsal dinner there back when it was Portners.  Don't know if they still do that kind of thing, but I think that space can hold 50 people.

[cajcaj]

On 4/26/2016 at 9:31 AM, Bart said:

Have you looked at the upstairs at Columbia Firehouse?  

I did, thanks! Their food and beverage minimum is $5k for a Friday night - more than we're looking to spend.

[StarStraf]

I've been to two large group events (Work) at Theismans and they do very well - the space is away from other diners, service is good - all the food came out the right temperature and was enough space to move around between tables.

The places I'm considering for ours is Jaelo Crystal city, Chart House, and Theismans.

Where i'm lost is the Sunday brunch

[jandres374]

We have done holiday parties at Columbia Firehouse (nice event space but mediocre food).  We have also used Landini Brothers which was very nice and everyone seemed to like the food, not sure of the minimum for Friday night.

Other possibilities: Blackwall Hitch, Lighthorse, Virtue, Union St Pub, Overwood, Mason Social.

[cajcaj]

Thank you both so much! We had dinner at Theismann's to check it out and while the food was better than I expected, I was disappointed that the space wasn't more private.

I'm saving myself the added headache of planning a day after brunch! How many people will you have?

I've now contacted Chart House and Landini Brothers - thanks for those recs!

Blackwall Hitch recommended the Crow's Nest area which is not quite big enough for our group and also not private and therefore incredibly loud. Mason Social never responded to my request but I suspect they are too small anyway. Virtue and Union Street don't have a good in between size for us and would require buyouts of areas capable of accommodating 100+ people. Overwood looks to be similarly priced to options I'm considering that have more exciting food options, and I'm not sure about the atmosphere at Lighthorse, having never been - their site makes it sound like it is a very bar/DJ type place at night.

[Pat]

What about something at National Harbor? For instance, the Westin's link on wedding venues. Going over by boat might be kind of cool...maybe.  

I"ve been to Lighhorse and liked it but would say it's pretty casual.

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, Pat said:

What about something at National Harbor? For instance, the Westin's link on wedding venues. Going over by boat might be kind of cool...maybe.  

I"ve been to Lighhorse and liked it but would say it's pretty casual.

This is an excellent idea. The Westin may be more than a buck a head, but you never know - these places need quantity to survive.

Plus, everyone going over there together (I'm not sure how many the ferries hold) just sounds *fun*.

[cajcaj]

The ferry is a fun idea! Unfortunately, I think that will be too much to schedule/worry about the night before and with the rehearsal at the venue that afternoon. 

Update - Landini Brothers is a $67/person minimum (exclusive of taxes and fees) on Fridays and Saturdays.

[DonRocks]

2 minutes ago, cajcaj said:

The ferry is a fun idea! Unfortunately, I think that will be too much to schedule/worry about the night before and with the rehearsal at the venue that afternoon. 

Update - Landini Brothers is a $67/person minimum (exclusive of taxes and fees) on Fridays and Saturdays.

What "fees?"

[cajcaj]

Likely a 20% service fee for the large group.

[DaveO]

Just a note, if most of the folks at the rehearsal dinner are staying at the hotels near the King Street Metro than Theismann's is of course very convenient.  If some of the folks going to the Rehearsal dinner are very elderly relatives that will require assistance getting to the wedding and rehearsal dinner, proximity and convenience are incredibly helpful, specifically for those important relatives.