wedding

All I can say about my wedding flowers on 9.8.18 is WOW. Twinbrook Florist went absolutely above and beyond everything I imagined. The made my bouquet absolutely perfect for me, with flowers many of my gardening friends have never seen but were exactly what I wanted. My bridesmaids bouquets were gorgeous, and the garland they made was absolutely out of this world beautiful. The small sprays of flowers placed all around the reception were just the “feel” I was going for. The owner of my venue took many pictures of their flowers to use as examples of what is possible in her barn because they were so beautiful. My mom and I (primary flower deciders) worked with Janice to create my perfect flower plan, and she was responsive, professional, and had some truly beautiful ideas. As far as value goes, we feel as though our dollar went as far as it could and we truly got our money’s worth. Flowers were so important to me as I have always loved fresh cut flowers, and I can’t recommend Twinbrook Florist enough for your wedding, you will not be disappointed!

Whitehall Estate was the first wedding venue we visited and after meeting with Douglas, my husband and I knew where we wanted to get married. Whitehall is as beautiful as it looks from the inside out and both the Manor itself and outside grounds are impeccable maintained. It’s an incredibly spacious property with ample room day of to get ready in – both a bridal suite room and upstairs lounge area for the groomsmen – as well as plenty of space for your guests (in addition to the main reception hall, our guests took advantage of the front and back outdoor patios as well as the lawn and, for our younger guests, the upstairs kids room.) The views surrounding the property are gorgeous with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background and many wonderful spots on the Estate itself including a small vineyard, old dairy barns, and even an old railway car (all great spots for photos!). Douglas, the owner, was our main point of contact and he made the entire planning process incredibly smooth. He was super flexible meeting with my husband and I – over Google Hangouts a few times as we were in California – and was happy to answer any questions we might have throughout the planning process. Whitehall was also wonderful to work with as our caterers and they were incredibly accommodating for the various food allergies we had; Douglas even made sure to offer us gluten-free hor d’oeuvres to samples on our first visit to Whitehall after I had advised I have celiac. The food was delicious and everything from the hor d’oeuvres to the entrees to the late-night snacks was well received by our guests! On the day of our wedding, Francisco was our point of contact and he and the team did an outstanding job and ensured we had a wonderful time! We loved the Whitehall venue and loved working with Douglas, Francisco and the entire Whitehall team!

We chose Roman Grinev Photography based on their positive reviews. However, our wedding day experience with Dawn, Roman’s photographer, led to multiple concerns about her poor communication style, inflexibility in working with us, and her failure to deliver 2 of her contract hours. We planned to go to the National Mall with our wedding party to take pictures. We emailed Roman about our intent, inviting him to ride with us in our limo, since we knew that parking in downtown DC would be difficult. Once identified as our photographer, Dawn was given the same invite during our phone interview and on our wedding day. She decided to drive herself, but once there she couldn’t find parking, didn’t want to be ticketed for double parking, and so wouldn't take pictures. This was incredibly frustrating as the situation could’ve been easily avoided if she rode with us. Over the past 2 months, we tried to patiently resolve this with Roman. We respectfully declined his offer for a free hour session with Dawn due to extra costs of a 2nd National Mall photo permit, my makeup and hair, and my husband’s tuxedo rental. More importantly, all of our cherished wedding party members couldn’t be there. We asked for a partial refund of $652. Roman offered an album but we were gifted multiple albums so we respectfully declined. Roman then refused to give us a refund and furthermore rescinded his offer for the album/ session. He falsely accused us of not having room in the limo (the passenger seat was for Dawn), that I told Dawn to take her own car, and that I said the missing hours “wasn’t a big deal”. We are extremely disheartened that we weren’t able to resolve this situation with Roman and communication devolved due to false information. We planned our wedding for an entire year and wouldn’t suddenly feel so cavalier about not getting our money’s worth. Many photos turned out alright, so we are saddened that Roman refused to honor the contract’s failure to perform clause.

Super responsive (within an hour or two every time), professional, and accommodating all the while being very sweet. Drove flowers to our hotel, then venue, and kept us in the loop on her coordination with the venue. She also helped with recommendations for flowers and provided reasonable prices!