Man, the latest big to-dos—honeymoon and a rehearsal plan—are taking us forever. I think I first started sending out inquiries for rehearsal dinner spots four MONTHS ago, and we’re finally getting around to booking something. Whoops.
Wolfman’s parents have graciously offered to host the rehearsal dinner—which is amazing—but it’s pretty hard to plan from afar, so we’re tackling it. I emailed basically every restaurant within a few mile radius of our venue, thinking we’ll definitely rehearse there so it’d be most convenient to be close (walking distance, ideally). But alas—no big surprise here—DC is expensive. For a friday night, the private dining minimums were crazy. It was especially frustrating because some of the restaurants we love had great options for rehearsal spaces—but simply because it was a private event, the prices for food increased by THREE TIMES from the normal menu price. It was a little hard to stomach when, ostensibly, if it were possible to make a normal reservation for 35, we would be paying less than half of what their private dining minimum was. LAME.
So, we started inquiring closer to where we live, in Arlington. And we figured we might as well accept the inevitable and go to Lyon Hall:
(image via Arbour Realty)
Lyon Hall is our “spot.” It’s a block away from our house. We go there for dinner about once a week, the hostesses know us, and the bartenders know our beer orders (Zywiec Pilsner for him, Hitachino Nest White for me). It’s where we went the night we got engaged. They have a private dining room…with a minimum fee less than HALF of what we were seeing in the city. We don’t pick our menu for a while (they rotate often), but since I’ve had basically every dish I know it’ll be tasty.
The only issue—it’s not close to the venue. We’re going to have to figure out transportation from the city back to Arlington (and then back out again for the majority of the folks staying in a hotel). This isn’t impossible, of course—just something to think about. Further, since our venue is also an event space, there’s a huge likelihood that they’ll be hosting something that Friday, so we might need to even find an alternative rehearsal spot. (That these will definitely be last-minute decisions really throws a wrench in my organization level.)
Did you have your rehearsal dinner far away from your wedding venue?
This doesn’t answer your question but I always thought that, if I had picked a venue in the city, I would have brought everyone to Five Guys for the rehearsal dinner…
Love Hitachino!
Aww man, if I knew Lyon Hall had a private room I would have inquired…their food is dee-lish!! We ended up with ours at the Capitol Grille in Tysons. Amazing food and out of bounds service!!!
Oh oh. We’re having our rehearsal dinner location no where near our venue too. Not nearly as far as you guys but definitely not walking distance like we originally wanted. Boston, like D.C., is stupidly expensive. We ultimately ended up on our engagement dinner location too, oddly enough. Our plan is to gather and shove everyone into the train and hope we get there okay.
We are renting out a bed and breakfast for the night and either cooking in the kitchen there or having some catered food brought in from a nearby restaurant. Turned out to be cheaper this way ( and you can stay at the b&b with your bridal party).
Although I do love the idea of having it at your “go to” place since you have so much history there. We have a place like that, too, (go there 1-3 nights/week, went there after we got enshaged to celebrate). I think it could work out!
Our rehearsal dinner was a hike from the venue and hotel so we arranged hotel shuttle service for guests and bridal party alike. Our dinner was at a favorite local restaurant too.
We had our rehersal at our vineyard, gave everyone a two hour break, then met back up downtown at Mr. mink’s favorite restaurant for the dinner. I actually liked having everyone at one of our hang outs and the couple that owns the restaurant was so good to us. 
I love Lyon Hall! Great choice!
This is my dilemma also. The reception hall we are using is almost certain that they will be having a wedding that Friday and Saturday evening which means that we may have to rehearse on Thursday night for our Sunday wedding. Kind of crazy but I guess this is nothing we can do unless we do an early day rehearsal.
This might be a silly suggestion, but for all the guests that have to travel back in and travel out, can you take Metro? Traffic that time of day might be rough! Then again, Metro might be pretty crowded too…
@purpeley: we can definitely all do that – and that might be a possible solution…but i’m also conscious of all of our grandparents/family and it would be nice if we had a car or something planned. we’ll figure it out!
Can you group Uber for the folks that don’t want to mess with the metro?
Lyon Hall is fantastic! I also love their sister restaurant, Liberty Tavern
I like the idea of having it somewhere that is “you”.
Uh, checking this place out asap, it sounds awesome
Oh how stressful! I hope you get the place you want though it sounds nice!
I live in Arlington too, we like Lyon Hall too! I know I’m behind in reading this, so I don’t know if you’ve already found a restaurant, but have you checked out Altirmisu near DuPont? SO good, and in a great location. I have no idea if they rent out their space or their prices, but the food is great!
Have you thought about doing family-style restaurants where they’re used to booking for large parties e.g. Carmine’s in Chinatown? http://www.carminesnyc.com/locations/washington-dc/private-parties/
Buca Di Beppo is another option as well.
Mrs. Gray Wolf, Washington DC Age and Occupation: 26, Business Development Executive Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Research Scientist Engagement Date: November 11, 2011 Wedding Date: February 2013 Venue: Whittemore House About Me: I'm an ultra-organized, pun-loving, list-making, cheese-enthusiast bride-to-be. Although my day job is in cubicle land, I'm happiest in the modern art wing of a museum, having recently earned my Masters in Museum Studies. Shortly after a chance meeting five years ago, I moved in with Wolfman and haven't looked back since. We love music, movies, TV, and all things pop culture; we have an unspoken competition to be the first to share the latest YouTube sensation or indie song. Together, we've filled quite a few pages in our passports, but also love quiet nights in with a Game of Thrones marathon and our French Bulldog, Tonks (Harry Potter, anyone?). I'm planning a small, cozy winter wedding---think mercury glass and candle light---in the heart of DC. Our venue is a historic home with a lot of political charm, but needs a bit of work to be wedding-ready.
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