Torpedo Factory Art Center Reviews
Reviews
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![Keara]()
Keara Sent on 12/29/2024Fun Washington DC metropolitan area wedding venue
When my husband and I were engaged, we had a connection to the Torpedo Factory Art Center because we had already visited the studios together numerous times. After touring the venue with Deri Collingwood, we decided this location would be the site for our wedding reception. We had an amazing experience with all the TFAC staff and outside vendors. In particular, Deri (TFAC Senior Private Event Rental Manager) and Richard (TFAC Director of Facilities) were organized, courteous, and communicative. Richard helped direct our wedding party with loading in beverages/decorations the day before our event and loading out leftover materials the day afterwards. Deri was the keystone person on our wedding day, and we feel so fortunate to have worked with her. Deri's team handled everything including the timeline, décor installation/deinstallation (images below captured by @christyscheelphotography), and management of all outside vendors. Deri had the best attitude and checked-in with us multiple times throughout the night to clarify or correct things that deviated from the original timeline. We have no plans to host another big event in the near future, but we will gladly promote our experience with the Torpedo Factory. -
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![Ali]()
Ali Sent on 01/10/2026The Perfect Historic Venue for Our Special Day
Getting married in Old Town Alexandria was truly a dream, and Torpedo Factory Art Center (TFAC) was the perfect place to celebrate our wedding. The location is incredible, full of charm and history, and created such a special atmosphere for our day.
From our very first email, Deri was amazing to work with. She gave us a thorough tour of the venue and provided a helpful list of recommended vendors, which made planning so much easier. Throughout the entire process, she was incredibly supportive. She even took the time to meet with a vendor who was new to the venue, ensuring everything went smoothly.
The venue itself is extremely flexible and can truly accommodate any type of event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience and highly recommend TFAC to any couple looking for a beautiful, historic, and well-supported wedding location. -
![Anastasia]()
Anastasia Sent on 09/05/2025Great venue – great location – great people
Deri and her team are wonderful – the list of recommended vendors was useful and easy to navigate and the Torpedo Factory team made coordination smooth. Cost for the space is very reasonable, with a fair amount of flexibility (in the vendor selection), especially for the Old Town location. Would highly recommend them! -
![Miranda]()
Miranda Sent on 06/09/2025Fantastic venue!
We loved having our wedding at TFAC! The venue is so flexible with vendors, vibe, setup. It was a dream to work with Deri as well. -
Rook Sent on 01/01/2025
A Wedding for the Books!
The Torpedo Factory was the best location for our wedding reception. Deri the event coordinator and her assistant Michael were incredibly responsive and helpful even on the day of the event. Deri had the perfect recommendation for a caterer (Genesis Delight Catering was incredible and more cost effective. Our guests literally raved about how great the food was). The dance floor was never empty, and facilitated a perfect unforgettable evening. I highly recommend this location to anyone who is looking for a hip, and beautiful location for their wedding or event.
Thank you Deri and the Torpedo Factory team for making our wedding night one for the books! -
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![Patricia]()
Patricia Sent on 12/29/2024Great Venue & Service
I attended a wedding event here recently and was extremely impressed.
The Events Manager and her team transformed the rather industrial space into a warm and inviting atmosphere filled with amazing decor and creative flare.
The staff were attentive and very professional and the vendors used from the caterer to the flowers were top notch.
I’d highly recommend the Torpedo Factory for a variety of events as it provides a truly unique experience. -
![Havy]()
Havy Sent on 12/25/2024Torpedo Factory Wedding
We recently had our wedding at Torpedo Factory, and it was absolutely perfect! The venue is stunning, with an industrial urban vibe, making it a truly magical setting for our special day.
Our guests couldn’t stop raving about the beauty of the space and how seamlessly everything flowed. If you’re looking for a venue that combines elegance and charm, I wholeheartedly recommend Torpedo Factory. It was everything we dreamed of and more! -
![Sejal]()
Sejal Sent on 04/29/2024Amazing experience at the Torpedo Factory
We held our high school prom at the Torpedo Factory. And, WOW, what a night it was!! From the recommended vendors to the event planning staff it was perfection and the best prom ever. We had 700 students in attendance. It went off without a hitch. The event staff helped guide us through all of our desires from check in to hanging decorations to the final clean up. We used Bittersweet Catering, DMV Flowerwalls for decoration/360 Photobooth, ACPD and DJ Modern Box/DJ Amplitude. Everyone should use these amazing vendors and recreate our night at the Torpedo Factory. You will be so happy you did. I am so grateful to this amazing team that pulled off a lifetime of memories for our Juniors, Seniors and staff. -
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![Jessie]()
Jessie Sent on 03/21/2024Have your wedding at the torpedo factory!
The Torpedo Factory is truly a one-of-a-kind venue. Our guests couldn't stop talking about how cool and unconventional the spot was. It provided the perfect backdrop for our special day, and being surrounded by art added an extra layer of excitement and charm.
One of the highlights was the convenience of the location. Not only was it easy for us to organize a rehearsal dinner beforehand, but we also had the opportunity to host an unforgettable after-party. The proximity to hotels made it incredibly convenient for our guests, ensuring that everyone could enjoy the celebration without worrying about transportation.
Deri played a pivotal role in making our wedding dreams a reality. Not only did she recommend exceptional vendors who exceeded our expectations, but she also contributed her own creative ideas and valuable insights throughout the planning process. Deri's professionalism and dedication were truly commendable, and her collaboration with our wedding planner ensured that everything ran seamlessly on the big day.
In summary, our experience with Deri, her team at the Torpedo Factory surpassed all expectations. It was a day filled with love, laughter, and unforgettable memories, and we couldn't have asked for a better team to bring our vision to life. We wholeheartedly recommend Deri and this venue to anyone looking for a truly extraordinary wedding experience. -
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![Emily]()
Emily Sent on 03/08/2024Best Venue and Venue Manager!
First off, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is an absolute dream venue. It is beautiful, unique, and affordable (relative to other venue expenses!) Old Town Alexandria is such a beautiful and charming neighborhood as well, and all our guests enjoyed staying there. However, the main reason that the TFAC is so amazing is because of Deri, the venue manager. Immediately, she made my husband and I feel right at home and so much less stressed about the planning. She handled EVERYTHING and went so above and beyond. Even post wedding, she is helping me tie up some loose ends. I can't speak highly enough about her professionalism and her clear passion for her job and making your wedding day perfect. I can't recommend the TFAC enough for your wedding day! -
![Oates]()
Oates Sent on 12/08/2023Studio 54 meets the Oates
Our experience was amazing and this non traditional space helped give the perfect look to our wedding. -
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![Erin]()
Erin Sent on 11/06/2023Amazing Venue
Deri and her team are absolute rockstars. Being able to store decor and supplies Friday with a Sunday pick up helped make sure the wedding day was stress free. The galleries make a great cocktail hour and reception scene for guests. -
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![Libby]()
Libby Sent on 05/12/2023Super fun wedding venue!
We just had our 150 person wedding reception at Torpedo Factory. It was so much fun! The venue is so cool and funky that we didn't have to do much additional decorating. Once the tables, bars, and lighting were set up, the place looked fabulous. It fit our group size very well. We had a blast, and enjoyed working with Deri. Thanks!! -
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![Jaylen]()
Jaylen Sent on 05/09/2023Everything we ever imagined!
I am never the type of person to write reviews but I totally feel inclined to do so after having my wedding at TFAC. From the day we toured the building, we knew we could mold the space into what we imagined for the big day. All workers at TFAC were so helpful and kind and made everything so easy leading up to our wedding day as well as the day of and subsequently the day after to pick up our items. Our guests loved how unique the space was and its proximity to everything in Old Town Alexandria. Any time any of my friends get engaged, the first thing I do is recommend TFAC. The space was absolutely perfect and everything I imaged plus more. -
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![Heather]()
Heather Sent on 04/22/2023Wonderful and Cool Wedding Venue
We really loved Torpedo Factory Art Center. It was the perfect venue for our wedding. The staff was phenomenal and just made the entire process wonderful from the beginning to the end. -
![Crystal]()
Crystal Sent on 04/17/2023Amazing Experience! The transformation was totally awesome! Deri was professional!
Deri was awesome and had great ideas! Anything that we needed she made it happen! She and my wedding planner Sharon KenneY did an amazing job! I just smiled and enjoyed every minute of my special day! -
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![Samuel]()
Samuel Sent on 01/16/2023Such a fun/unique wedding spot
We loved having our wedding at the Torpedo Factory. It's such a unique space and was gorgeous when lit up at night. Deri is super enthusiastic and has plenty of ideas to share with you from previous weddings, especially on how to save money. She also somehow made my dream of displaying basketball highlights during our cocktail hour possible. The team knows what they are doing. Important to know that the art center is open until 5pm every day, so weddings start 630pm at earliest, and good to have vendors who know the space and can work quickly to turn it around. -
Laura Sent on 11/13/2022
Perfect artsy venue!
The Torpedo Factory gave us the wedding venue of our dreams, and in particular we loved working with Deri Collingwood. We were already big fans of the Torpedo Factory as a reclaimed art center, but from the day Deri gave us our tour, we knew it would be perfect for our wedding. TFAC is modern and artsy; different and cool; spacious and impressive (as our guests told us many times!). It was exactly what we were looking for, and Deri provided us so much help in our 1.5 years of planning - not only helping us feel comfortable when we were getting overwhelmed with planning, but also coming up with so many great ideas for how we could DIY things to save money. We loved having our wedding at TFAC, and our guests did too. Its story as a former torpedo factory that has been reclaimed by artists is something you won’t find anywhere else, and very special. The location is ideal - on the waterfront (at a great price!), walking distance to tons of cute Old Town restaurants and hotels, close to DC and the airport. We also really appreciated being able to drop off wedding items the night before and pick them up the day after the wedding. We highly recommend working with Deri - who was just an absolute pleasure to work with, endlessly positive - as well as Richard, Jocelyn, and the whole TFAC team. -
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Stephanie Sent on 08/19/2022
Fun space your guests will love exploring, great location!
TFAC is a very cool venue. It's in a great location that your out of town guests will love but still convenient to DC for DC-based couples. It's also a reasonable price compared to other venues, particularly when you consider how much space you get.
Their events person Deri really goes the extra mile, including helping us figure out how to hang a curtain to cover some art we didn't love the day of. She has a lot of equipment and odds and ends that she is happy to share with you (lanterns, napkin holders for the bathroom, votives, etc.) and will help you avoid wasting money on things that you soon realize you can do without. She was actually the person who encouraged us to DIY our centerpieces out of beach-y objects as opposed to paying thousands of dollars for flowers that get thrown away. She was there for our whole event (and before), tidying and keeping everything moving. She will absolutely ensure you event goes smoothly!!
The only flag about the space is that certain parts are hard to light. They turn off the big overhead lights but then there are parts of the entrance and back that are a bit dark. You might want to think about some free standing lighting for certain areas. -
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Marice Sent on 08/19/2022
The Perfect Location
I honestly could not be more happy with the TFAC. It was the perfect place to hold our wedding. Being in Old Town it was in the center of everything our family and any activity that we could have possibly wanted to do. Deri was AMAZING and was constantly going above and beyond to help us out (peep the curtain behind our sweetheart table that was also used at our ceremony.) She was 100% supportive and always offered really good input every step of the way. Deri was one definitely a big factor when we picked the location.The TFAC allowed us to hold our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception all in one space.
There is no doubt in our minds that we would choose the TFAC over and over again if we wanted to redo our wedding. -
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Steph Sent on 06/20/2022
TFAC made our wedding special for so many reasons!
Choosing the Torpedo Factory Art Center as our venue may have been one of our best decisions throughout the wedding planning process! First, let me give a HUGE shout-out to Deri, the venue's private event manager. Deri was a true joy to work with - she went above & beyond at every step of the process. Her optimism and creativity (and her handy iPad!) energized us, and her professionalism and experience prevented anything from falling through the cracks. The venue itself is absolutely beautiful, and unique in all the right ways. TFAC is a blank slate that we were able to customize in whichever way we liked, and is in an incredible location at the bottom of King Street in Old Town; hotels, bars & restaurants, and other attractions are all nearby. We had an amazing wedding at TFAC and could not recommend the venue more highly! -
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![Lauren]()
Lauren Sent on 06/12/2022Absolutely Incredible
The Torpedo Factory is a magical and unique venue. It requires vision and creativity but it is a unique place that really lets you design your own wedding. Deri Collingwood was a beacon of light to guide you through the planning process with a tablet full of ideas and a beautiful Pinterest. The Torpedo Factory houses amazing artists that was our one-stop-shop, we got our wedding bands custom made, my bouquets pressed and our guests even got us presents from the artists. It is an absolutely unforgettable wedding venue for the couple and guests! -
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![Maureen]()
Maureen Sent on 12/05/2021Beyond our WILDEST Dreams!
We're a pretty unique couple ... non traditional in every way, but we have a fairly traditional family. So when it came to finding a venue that allowed us to mix traditional and non-traditional elements for our wedding, the Torpedo Factory was a no-brainer. The art is amazing, the history is incredible, the location allows for so many guests to explore, and the staff ... especially Deri ... are just perfect professionals and LOVE delighting their renters!!! Honestly, the wedding was BEYOND our wildest imagination and it was (dare I say) easy!!! That was truly because Deri and the team there went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed AND if it wasn't readily available ... they found it or found a work around for it. We could not have found a more perfect partnership AND gorgeous venue!!!! 100% recommend!!! -
![Kayla]()
Kayla Sent on 11/02/2021Torpedo Factory Weddings
Our team over at Your Plan A Events had an amazing wedding weekend at the Torpedo Factory this past weekend. This venue is so unique and truly fit our couples vision of an artistic inspired space. Deri the teams Private Event Coordinator was so easy to work with and the best at communicating through this whole wedding prep process. -
![Danielle]()
Danielle Sent on 08/03/2021amazing and fun venue
Hosting our wedding at TFAC was the best decision we made. Our July 31, 2021 wedding was originally planned for May 30, 2020, and we postponed the wedding twice. Over the entire time we worked with the coordinator, Deri- over two years- Deri was super responsive, patient, and kind. She supported us through a lot of emotional and difficult decisions to postpone, etc, and was a true rockstar. She was easy to work with, and knowing she was at the helm day-of made us feel at ease because we knew we would have a stress free day- which turned out to be exactly the case! The TFAC is such a fun place to host a wedding because it is a gorgeous and fun location, and it transforms into a beautiful and lively space for a wedding. This venue does require a lot of coordination because you need to hire all of your own vendors, but TFAC has recommended vendors who can provide comprehensive services. Even as someone who sat on the executive board of my college's event planning club, I would recommend hiring a coordinator or planner to help you manage everything. -
![Ben]()
Ben Sent on 11/16/2017There are only a few venues in the DC Metro area that can accommodate nearly 200 people for an event. Not only can they accommodate this number, but they have the unique aspect of having the waterfront as well as awesome art galleries for guests to check out during the event. I am so glad we used them for our wedding and would not have done it any differently. Highly recommended! -
![Emily]()
Emily Sent on 11/20/2012Tara was great to work with and this is such a cool venue for those looking for a unique space that you can make your own. Definitely recommend getting the lighting package through John Farr as well - it completely changes the space. I got so many compliments from guests about how "cool" our venue was. Highly recommended! -
![Leigha]()
Leigha Sent on 12/23/2011This was my first choice from the start, though my husband took a little bit of convincing. It ended up being the perfect location for our wedding reception. We had a sit down dinner for about 100 guests and the layout was perfect for ten tables on one end and the dj, dance floor, and bar at the other. It was easy to move around without feeling like the space was too big for our party. And with the uplighting on the pillars and the candles on the tables it looked magical. It really is a space that you can turn in to anything. We worked with Tara, and she was responsive, personable, and obviously very good at her job. It did take them a long time to send us the bill, but it was the accounting department's fault, and when we were approached about the balance about a month after our wedding they were very courteous. -
![Hannah]()
Hannah Sent on 12/26/2017We loved working with the Torpedo Factory, especially Shai. The venue is absolutely gorgeous and looks different than many other spaces, which our guests loved. We used all three floors and our guests enjoyed browsing each floor and looking at the studios. Shai was great to work with - very responsive and helpful. It was definitely a little tough not being able to get into the venue before 5pm, but we knew that going into it so we worked around it. I agree with other posters that the exclusive lighting vendor is pricey, but it the lighting ended up perfect. We were so happy to have our wedding at the Torpedo Factory and would definitely recommend it as a wedding venue. -
![CunninghamRunkel]()
Cunninghamrunkel Sent on 03/25/2024Excellent Waterfront Wedding Venue
We loved our wedding at the Torpedo Factory. It's location and cool setting helped make our wedding amazing. The Torpedo Factory's event lead, Deri, was great to work with and very helpful as it came to making sure we had all the things we needed for the wedding. They have a ton of supplies that can help save you from renting from someone else. If you want a huge dance floor I can't recommend this place enough. Overall, this is a great choice for a city, waterfront wedding for a good price. -
Megan Sent on 06/30/2023
Great Wedding Venue
My husband and I recently were married at the Torpedo Factory Art Center on May 13, 2023. We fell in love with the venue the minute we walked in. It is such a unique venue being a live art gallery during the day and transforms into a private venue at night. The venue is right on the water with a beautiful view of National Harbor. We loved the industrial vibe which fit our theme perfectly. We needed a place that could fit our unique theme and fun vibe and it was perfect. Not only was it a perfect place for our wedding the staff was unbelievably helpful. Deri and Joslyn the two even coordinators who worked with us and our wedding planner tirelessly wen above and beyond to make sure our special day went as smoothly as possible. You will not find a wedding venue that cares more about you or your wedding. I am a person who has worked in customer service since I was young and my service expectations are high and they exceeded all my expectations. I highly recommend using the Torpedo Factory for your next big event you will not be sorry. -
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Caitlin Sent on 05/25/2023
We love TFAC!
We held our wedding at TFAC and it was INCREDIBLE! Event staff were so helpful and easy to work with, and we loved that it was a unique location that was special to us. We got SO many compliments on the space! Highly recommend if you're looking for a venue with art, history, and lots of charm! -
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![oceanly]()
Lizzy Sent on 06/26/2009We loved the Torpedo Factory for our reception venue! Tara, the Events Coordinator, is very friendly and helpful, but also busy and sometimes a little slow to respond. The setting is very unique and you can totally make it your own. But one piece of advice, this venue requires that bring everything in so it is not for the vendor shy or disorganized. It requires a lot of coordinating. We didn't have any issues despite our many vendors, and would definitely use TFAC as an event venue again! -
![CountingDown060708]()
Brit Sent on 07/01/2008We wanted to do something different for our reception, and went with this place. It's an awesome venue, but not worth the money. We had to work with one person, the Special Events Director, and that was a nightmare. At first she was awesome. But after the deposit was paid, there were a lot of issues that came up and a lot of hidden details that were left out at our initial meetings. As much as I loved our reception, we could've gotten more for our money somewhere else. Just beware, if you book this space you basically get nothing. It's just a shell. We spent a lot of money to make it look good. Rought around $20K more than what we had or wanted to spend. Be cautious... cool venue... it's different... but it's just a shell.
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