Book your wedding reception at Bay 7. My husband and I had only considered locations in New Jersey…read morebefore we decided to host our wedding in NC. Upon making that decision, we only considered Bay 7 and The Pavilion. Bay 7 was the perfect spot for our many out-of-town guests. They were able to stay at a hotel within walking distance and explore the American Tobacco Campus when not at a wedding event. If you have ever been to the Angus Barn, you expect exceptional service at Bay 7 and you will not be disappointed. As vegetarians, we cannot vouch for most of the meals (though all our guests raved), though the vegetarian option we chose was delicious. Wendy, our contact, said that though it is not served at Angus Barn regularly, if we reach out before we head there, they'd even whip up our wedding meal for us! Wendy had everything covered. I had zero stress about the reception thanks to this team. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Thank you, Wendy and the entire Bay 7 team, for working with us to have our perfect wedding day.

We came here for a friends wedding and it was a super cute wedding venue. We had an amazing time…read more The cocktail hour started on the balcony and then we moved downstairs for dinner. The food was great and the servers were great. One thing I particularly liked was how the servers didn't take away your drinks when you went to the dance floor, which usually happens at weddings.

Emily is THE absolute best! Her amazing organization, attention to detail and calming presence were…read moreso helpful throughout wedding planning and especially came in handy on our big day. Her organization resources, contact sheets and lists she went through with us in our final details meetings were unbelievably helpful as well. She completely removed the stress from the weeks leading up to our wedding and made our big day feel totally seamless. She also traveled from Durham all the way out to the Outer Banks for our wedding, having never seen our venue before our rehearsal and she still knocked it out of the park. I can never thank you enough for coordinating our day perfectly! xoxo

We worked with Eva with EKEvents for our wedding and it was everything we could've asked for and…read moremore. Eva helped us out so much in getting organized, connecting our vendors, and helping us execute the vision of the colorful disco nerd wedding of our dreams. She also helped us keep to schedule and just did such an amazing job. We felt SO comfortable with her and her team! I HIGHLY recommend working with them!!

When we were planning a wedding from out of state, we knew we would need some help coordinating the…read moreday-of. From our first phone call, I immediately clicked with Amanda. She was enthusiastic, and had great tips on how to implement our ideas. She has totally customizable service, meaning you can choose the exact aspects you're looking for, within your budget. We hired Amanda for the day-of coordination - my fiance and I wanted to do the planning ourselves, but we needed help to make sure everything went smoothly on the actual day. We also added on catering guidance. Amanda worked in catering previously, and has a good handle of what to look for in catering contracts. She set up tastings with local caterers, and was able to accommodate our short trip in town. We met with Amanda at the venue a couple times, and she was always very responsive via email and phone. I know she handles a lot of events, but I never felt rushed. On the wedding day, everything went smoothly! I heard of tiny incidents after the fact that she took care of immediately. It was great to know that our wedding was in extremely capable hands, and my family and I could just enjoy the day. From the small things (making sure I had my shoes and phone in the getaway car) to the big things (making sure everything was on schedule!), she handled it all with ease and a smile. She has a great reputation in Durham, and I can attest that she lives up to the hype! I cannot recommend her enough!

From the owner: A Swanky Affair specializes in full service coordination, event design, and day-of production for…read moresocial and corporate events. Please contact us to discuss your event and to receive a custom proposal for your special occasion.

I had a great time at AR Workshop. I went with a friend, and we ended up being the only people in…read morethe class that evening. Our instructor Michelle was so nice and helpful. I made a small box and my friend made a larger one. It was great being able to choose everything from the project itself to the wood stain to the paint color(s). My box is now displayed proudly in my home, and there's lots of other projects I'd love to make whenever I get a chance to go back! I feel like these folks really have this down to a science. We walked in and our boards were waiting for us. We sanded them and stained them. Then Michelle helped us putting our pre-made stencils onto the wood, and we primed and painted. Very simple, yet so brilliant because I don't have to deal with paint and sawdust in my home. :)

Awesome experience at the AR Workshop Durham. A friend and I each brought our moms to a Christmas…read moreworkshop, and we had so much fun. Projects were set up and ready to go as soon as we walked in the door and the staff was phenomenal. Really appreciated all the extra care and attention our table assistant, Allie, gave to our group and projects. Highly recommend this place!

American Party Rentals made our wedding so much easier! At no point did they upsell us. Rather,…read morethey figured out what we needed and the look we were after and spent a lot of time going over different ways we could get that look affordably. APR has a good variety of options for you to play with. And it does feel like playing! It was a lot of fun to mix and match tableware and linens to see how the different combinations looked. Cedrika could not have been more lovely when we visited--she was so personable and easy to work with. In fact, we had another appointment scheduled at a different rental provider, and after spending the morning with her at APR, we cancelled the other appointment. Our wedding was at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, and I was thrilled with how seamlessly APR worked with the museum. After we chose our rentals, we had to do very little--the rest went through the venue, even when we had to make some last minute changes to accommodate changed table sizes. The rentals were delivered on time, they looked great, they were reasonably priced, and it was an easy process. I highly recommend this company!

The staff was very professional. They were on time delivering and picking up the items we used for…read moreour event. Very friendly and respectful when entering home to pick up items. Highly recommend

We hosted our Bar Mitzvah at the Ballroom and it was fantastic! Great space, Rivers went above and…read morebeyond to help us set up and to brainstorm how to have a great event, and helped us find a great caterer. We had a photo booth, appetizers and cocktails out in the lobby and dinner/seating and dancing in the main ballroom. The space was perfect for family and friends, we had a really fun party with dancing, good food, and a great vibe! My son was thrilled with his event and everyone had a blast!

From the owner: Weddings, Private/Public Event Venue near Downtown Durham, NC; Max Capacity 300 (200 seated); no…read morevendor restrictions; 1500 SF bamboo dance floor; 900 SF connected atrium/lobby; sidewalk terrace with City skyline views, located on pedestrian-friendly Geer Street; beside Cocoa Cinnamon Coffee Shop and Motorco Music Hall; Packages starting at $2000 packages (6 hours); $350 an hour. Great spot for corporate and daytime events, birthdays, graduations, quinceaneras, formals and retirement celebrations.

Chris Rock said about his daughter during an interview once, "my only job in life is to keep her…read moreoff the pole." Despite his admirable and well-intentioned outlook, I couldn't wait to dance, swing, and work my way around that pole! I originally learned about Vertical Tease Durham on Groupon, my curiosity roused I went to their website and decided to try the Intro to Pole but with the Pay as you go Rate for $10 a session in the 11AM Saturday morning slot. I don't know how strippers do it - working that pole is hard work, and not to mention super fun! Clad in yoga pants, my friend and I giggled like two mischievous school girls, I think there was even a "weeee" squeal after our first Firemans swing. Besides being a ton of fun, this pole dancing class was a pretty good workout as told by my sore delts, lats, and obliques the next day. I can't wait to work that pole again! I'm going to rent out the studio for a private party for one of my girlfriends birthday! Weeeee! Sorry Chris Rock. PS - Vertical Tease is a little hard to find, GPS took us over by Chapel Hill so we ended up calling and getting directions from the receptionist. There's a service road and it's upstairs.

I bought a livingsocial coupon for Vertical Tease, primarily with pole dancing in mind, but…read moreintrigued by the number of other classes. Having now been to two classes, I can say that pole dancing is definitely their forte. Kendra, the manager (and possibly owner), is fun and enthusiastic. Her constant encouragement was helpful for newbies like myself. "It doesn't matter how hard you fall as long as you get up sexy," may be my new motto. The instruction was great, and the workout was pretty good too (although I may be investing in kneepads). Five dollar Fridays rotate the style of lesson, giving you a chance to try some new things without spending a lot of money. After such a great lesson with Kendra, however, I was disappointed by the belly dancing class I took. The instructor seemed inexperienced, saying things like, "do the... what's it called..." and "let me see if I remember the next step." I've had better workouts practicing on my own, and since I didn't get a lot of feedback from the instructor on my technique, I'm inclined to keep it that way. Over all, I encourage everyone to check out the pole dancing classes, but if you're interested in another style of work out, maybe look somewhere else. PS. Give yourself plenty of time to get there; it's hard to find (on a frontage road to 15-501 and over Pomegranate Kitchen).

This was my second visit here and it's so fun. They have a nice variety of pieces to choose from…read moreand many colors of paint to choose. It's a relaxing, chill vibe and you've got two hours to work on your piece. They set up and clean up after your done. The turnaround time to get your finished ceramics is 3 days which is quick. Really enjoy this project with my granddaughter.

Not the best place for painting pottery. There's time limits to painting, whereas in other pottery…read moreplaces (like some in Cary) allow you to take as much time as you need. You have to make appointments and sign up for a time slot to paint. I guess it's typically not walk in, which is disappointing. There is an okay selection of pottery items to choose from. But the prices here are so much more pricier than other locations I've been at. Usually they provide a little "beginners guide" on how to begin, but there was none here. Won't come back but still got a cute plate out of it.