The Watergate Hotel

e the perfect place to welcome our mostly out-of-town guests to the city. If you've ever stepped foot in the hotel, you know it is stunning! We hosted our ceremony in the Cecchi Ballroom, cocktail hour in the Moretti Foyer, and reception in the Moretti Ballroom. We loved being able to use the different spaces because it gave a different experience and vibe for each part of our wedding. The food was incredible (seriously - we keep getting compliments on how delicious the hors d'oeuvres and main courses were), the signature cocktails and bar package were top-notch, and the service throughout the event was impeccable (shoutout to Sammi and his stellar team!). The Watergate had so many beautiful photo ops (both for our professional photographer and our guests' Instagrams) and the bridal suite was insane (huge + wrap around balcony views of the Potomac!). As the couple getting married, we felt very special throughout the wedding weekend and it was so much fun getting ready and celebrating in all of their spaces. Since July 2019, we worked with Sarah Nester as the venue coordinator and she is wonderful! She is so personable and really cares about her wedding clients and delivering a great product that exceeds expectations. Unfortunately, before Sarah stepped in, the experience we had did not warrant a five-star review. From the time we signed with The Watergate until our wedding, we worked with four different coordinators (and additional management turnover) and faced countless communication challenges. The transitions between coordinators were rough and often left us feeling unvalued as clients, especially as a bride and groom. We had many meetings with different staff at the hotel to try to make sure details didn't fall through the cracks but we always felt like we were back to square one and were left with little confidence in how our event would turn out. It was clear that internal communication between teams was strained and we were often told different things by different people. To say the least, it was challenging. Fortunately, when Sarah stepped in she did her best to turn things around immediately and, as expressed above, our event was incredible! We are really excited about what Sarah brings to The Watergate and believe that future couples will have an amazing experience that is five-star all around. We are confident in the staff at the hotel to pull off a great event, but we would also highly recommend anyone choosing the Watergate to hire a full-service planner/coordinator (shoutout to Sarah Kazemburg Events!) to help pull everything together.