We were incredibly pleased with the Hotel Monaco as our wedding venue, and can’t imagine it could have been any better. Buddee (Director of Special Events) has been doing this for ...many years, really knows what he’s doing, and has great taste. He and Eric were exceptionally helpful, well organized, and wonderful to work with. We were pretty organized ourselves, and did not feel a need for a wedding planner or day-of coordinator, as Buddee kept us on schedule leading up to the wedding, had good suggestions on vendors (though we found some less expensive ones on our own), and was on top of everything the week and day of.
The Hotel Monaco got rave reviews from our guests. It’s exactly the unique, unconventional hotel experience that we had hoped for. Location is great, within easy walking distance of DC attractions, many restaurants and bars, and Metro. The front desk was terrific, as we experienced ourselves and many of our guests told us, and the lobby and rooms are beautiful and recently redecorated. The bridal suite (one night included) is gorgeous. Guests can even borrow yoga mats and bikes, and partake in free wine at 5 PM every day in the lobby.
The Paris Ballroom, where we had the ceremony and the party, and the Athens Room, where we had the post-ceremony reception, are both beautiful and also recently redecorated. Our Jewish ceremony under a simple Chuppah inside the columns and under the dome in the Paris Ballroom was gorgeous. We didn’t spend extra for chairs or tablecloths, and the standard ones looked stylish and the chairs were very comfortable. At Buddee’s suggestion, we put family pictures on the bookcases, which was a nice touch. Although I know they could fit more, the room worked perfectly for the 143 guests we ended up having, and probably would have been fine up to 170 or so, even with a large band (Bachelor Boys Band). Most of our guests danced most of the time, which was great and packed the dance floor, but it made for a fun, awesome vibe.
The room is so beautiful that we didn’t think it needed much, but the classy, artistic flowers from Yellow Door (on Buddee’s list) were perfect. We weren’t really planning to get lighting, particularly once we found that all of the DC vendors we contacted had $2,000 minimums. But we found what turned out to be an incredible lighting company, Baltimore’s Premier Event Solutions, which really transformed the already gorgeous room with 8 LED uplights and a dance floor light for less than half that much. (See my review under DJs.)
Our parents had some concern that our 7-piece band, including sax and horn, would overpower the room and be too loud, but it worked out just right. But the Bachelor Boys’ equipment apparently focuses sound on the dance floor, so this could be different with other bands.
The food service was amazingly well coordinated and fast, and the food that was served to my husband and me when we were away from the table was reheated without our asking. The food (on the less expensive menu) was delicious, interesting, and had large servings that were beautifully plated. The passed hors d’oeuvres at the cocktail reception were also good and seemed to be plentiful; the one extra we elected for was 2 cheese displays and 2 veggie displays (total cost $870), which the guests seemed to appreciate.
I am trying to think of anything to criticize, but amazingly I really can’t!!!