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The TFAC is clearly not your typical wedding ceremony/reception venue, but if you're looking for something different, it can be transformed into a spectacular and impressive space. The events coordinator Tara was always very accessible by email and answered any questions quickly and thoroughly. It is relatively pricey, especially considering that you are only paying for the space itself, no rental equipment is included and must be rented separately or through your caterer. One key thing to keep in mind though is that your vendors cannot access the space to set up until the TFAC closes at 5 p.m. So you must plan accordingly to allow your vendors enough set up time before your guests come in and the ceremony begins. We rented all 3 floors, so that our guests could hang out on floors 2 and 3 during cocktail hour while the 1st floor was flipped for the reception. Our guests LOVED the location and have been raving ever since about how unique it was and really provided them with things to do while they socialized (like checking out the artwork through studio windows). A 3rd floor studio was also available for rent and we used that space for the bridal party to get dressed and ready.
We received quotes from several local caterers before settling on Helga's. After comparing the proposals between about 6 or 7 different caterers, we felt that Helga's would provide the greatest value for our money. Initial email exchanges took place between Michael Evans, and after we had our first tasting, any questions, concerns or revisions were handled by Tom Evans. After signing our contract we did have some concerns over communication, many of the emails we sent went unanswered and it took asking the same questions several times to eventually get a response. In all though, the food was excellent and memorable, and all of our guests were happy with their drinks as well. The service at the wedding itself was fantastic, and although we didn't make it back in from pictures in time for some of the passed hors d'oeurvres, we heard they were ridiculously tasty.
Rosalin's Bridal Boutique Falls Church, Virginia 22046
When it came time for dress shopping, I was clueless, and actually considering just wearing a fancy bridesmaid-style dress. Along with my mom and maid-of-honor, we went to 3 bridal shops on a very long Saturday. Rosalin's was the first store we went to and came highly recommended by my maid-of-honor, whose sister had gotten her bridal gown there the previous year. Rosalin's is a very small, very crowded shop. But the owners are very very friendly and if you tell them what you've got in mind, they'll pull a variety of dresses (and somehow seem to know just where everything is) that suit your style. I wound up getting a Maggie Sottero bridal gown, at a very reasonable price. The only hang-up came with the alterations. When the bust was brought in, they put the seams across the bust, creating a very unattractive line across the top of the dress. On our next visit, this was corrected. I also felt that the dress was ordered one size too small, but figured that the shop knew best based on my measurements. They wound up having to let the bottom of the dress out a little bit, which was rather costly. Had they ordered a size 8 instead of a size 6 to begin with, this might have been avoided altogether. All things considered though, we had a very positive experience at this shop, and even ordered the bridesmaid dresses from them as well, as they were about $100 cheaper here than at another local shop.
Shortly after we got engaged, we attended a friend's wedding. During the reception, the DJ grabbed the mic and stepped out onto the dance floor and started singing along with the music. The bride and groom were mortified... as were a lot of the guests. After an experience like that, we knew that we had to find a DJ for our wedding who was nothing like that guy. After researching several companies and interviewing 2 other DJs, we met with Evan of mydeejay.com. Working with Evan was a fantastic experience. From the first time we met with him we had no worries that he would be able to fulfill everything we were looking for. Shortly after booking, I realized that we'd never looked at the testimonials on their webpage and found that he'd also been the DJ at another friend's wedding a couple years earlier! We had a lot of specific song requests for our ceremony and reception, and using the client area of their website, we were able to enter all of our requests and they were all fulfilled. Evan also did a great job announcing everyone's names correctly during introductions, and all of the special dances and activities that were taking place during our reception. Although their fees are on the higher end of the spectrum, we feel they were worth every cent and would recommend them to everyone!
We researched every officiant in the DC metro area and came up empty handed before expanding our search to other parts of virginia. My parents are of different religions and my husband was raised roman-catholic, although he isn't anywhere near as devout as his parents are. We knew that we needed to have a non-religious ceremony, though spiritual references were okay. When I came across Rev. Claire's website, I forwarded it on to my husband for his thoughts. We both got a very good vibe from her website, and contacted her to set up a meeting. We drove down to Charlottesville to meet with her and were very happy with her attention to detail and overall presence. As we drove back up to NoVa, we decided that although it would cost more to hire her because she would be coming from out of town, the comfort we felt after meeting with her was enough to win us over and that we wanted to work with her. Rev. Claire was always very accessible by email for any questions or concerns that we had, and her positive, calming spirit helped keep us cool and collected in the days leading up to our wedding. The ceremony was just right, not too long, not too short. It felt perfectly suited to our non-religious backgrounds, without swinging too far into religious contexts, which also kept our families happy. We were able to select the different components for our entire ceremony, which she then tailored into a beautiful experience that we (and all of our guests!) were all impressed by. We are so happy that we found her and can't imagine anyone else uniting us on our special day!!
Review Date: 08/28/2007 Services Used: Beauty & Health
5.0 out of 5.0
Quality of Service:
(5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness:
(5.0/5.0)
Professionalism:
(5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost:
(5.0/5.0)
Flexibility:
(5.0/5.0)
Aisha did my bridal makeup and also makeup for my maid-of-honor. She was always very quick and friendly with all of the emails we tossed back and forth, did and amazing makeup trial for us both. I don't typically wear much makeup and was a little worried at how I would turn out looking, but she gave me a simple, natural and yet very elegant look. My maid-of-honor has eczema on most of her body, and when Aisha was done with her makeup, her skin looked glowing and healthy... so much so that she decided to book her for her upcoming wedding too!
Quest was recommended to us by both our wedding coordinator and also my maid-of-honor who had her engagement ring custom designed there. We went on a whim when we were out one day at another jeweler (who wasn't in when we stopped by). We decided to swing by Quest to see what they were all about, and were totally unprepared for the wide selection and superb customer service we'd receive. We wound up ordering our wedding bands on our first visit there, and had the finish customized. We called them the next day to change our minds on the finish, and they were very accomodating to our change. About a month before the wedding I brought them a pair of antique pearl earrings that I wanted refashioned into a different style, they worked on the design with me, though they didn't fit quite right when I went back to pick them up. They changed the style a little bit at no charge and the earrings turned out just as beautiful. We took our wedding bands back again a couple weeks before the wedding to have them engraved, which also turned out exactly as we wanted.
Alex was the DOC for our wedding along with her assistant Chantal. We're a very D.I.Y kind of couple, but when I realized we were in over our heads, decided that a DOC would probably be a good idea to keep our sanity. I researched a few coordinators, but after meeting with Alex, I literally felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I knew right away that we had to have her on board to help us execute all of the quirky ideas and non-traditional elements we wanted to incorporate into our wedding ceremony and reception. She was always accessible by email for any problems or concerns that came up along the way, and handled all of the details of the day-of flawlessly... especially when we had a minor hiccup at the end of cocktail hour and ran out of vodka! Chantal watched over the reception while Alex ran out to the ABC store for a few more bottles. Our guests never knew that it even happened, which in retrospect, may actually be a result of how much of the vodka they consumed before the reception even began! Alex and Chantal also ran our rehearsal, because our officiant was coming from out of town on the day of the wedding. The rehearsal went smoothly as did the ceremony the next day. I would definitely agree with a previous reviewer that the support and service she provides is worth double what she charges!
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