The National Press Club

Quintessential Washington, DC classy

What initially made us go with the National Press Club was that much of the most complicated aspects of putting a wedding together are available in-house. You deal with one person who asks the right questions up front, assesses your wants and needs and manages every detail from that point forward. If you’re planning your first wedding (like we were), it’s likely you’re already getting overwhelmed by the realization of how many critical details go into a successful wedding. However, at The Press Club: Reception Catering: Check. Cocktail hour catering: Check. Bar: Check. Tables / chairs / linens / etc. Check. Dance floor: Check. Audio Visual technician: Check. Alphabetizing your table place cards. Check. And so on and so on. All we needed to do was hire a deejay, a wedding photographer, a bakery for the wedding cake and the florist. And on the day of the wedding, the NPC staff took care of getting our vendors in and out and dealing with unexpected logistical issues, which there always are with any large events. The pricing was transparent and the estimate on the banquet order was what we paid. Ok, those are the practical reasons the NPC was a great choice. Now for the aesthetics. The Press Club is quintessential Washington, DC classy. They have multiple rooms that one can rent to customize your wedding experience. Our ceremony took place in the Holeman Lounge which flowed into the First Amendment Lounge, where we had our cocktail hour. The First Amendment Lounge offers stunning views of DC, including the Washington Monument and the east wing of the White House. Our reception took place in The Ballroom. We also had a room for our vendors to stage and a private space for us and the wedding party, which was such a nice touch. Many of our wedding guests were in awe of the NPC. It feels very exclusive and so many of them took the opportunity to take pictures of themselves at the Press Club podium and selfies with the luminaries and historical figures adorning the walls throughout. The service: This is where the National Press Club really stands out. We were blessed to have Renee managing the process from beginning to end. We can’t stress enough the amazing service she provided. She went through every detail with us. Twice just to make sure she captured everything correctly down to how we wanted the napkins folded. Two months before the wedding she put together the most beautiful food tasting experience for us. Before locking in our menu, we tasted a number of appetizers that would be served during cocktail hour as well as the dinner options and desserts. We also tasted a variety of wines. All in all, it was a preview of how fantastic our reception would be, with both the food and the service. The day of, Renee and David took fabulous care of us and our guests. Both really went above and beyond of what we could possibly imagine. During our rehearsal the day before, Renee noticed the wedding party was struggling a little to get the timing of the processional right and she jumped in and helped with our timing and ended up cueing us as to when to start walking the actual day. All of this combined to make our wedding a fabulous experience with zero stress. As positive as this review is, it falls hopelessly short of conveying just how wonderful our experience was.