Let's Party is AMAZING! I had to host a pretty large graduation party for my neice this summer and…read moreMara and Rebecca were awesome. They came up with great ideas that fit my budget, space and personality of my neice but even more so, they enabled me to be able to really make it happen without feeling the stress that usually goes along with hosting a big party. They were so helpful from the first planning visit, through picking of vendors to renting/returning supplies. I cannot be more complimentary of this team, recommend this to anyone trying to host a memorable event and will definitely be bag for the next celebration!

Let's Party helped me plan a baby shower, a bridal shower and engagement party over the last 18…read moremonths. Each time I could not have been more pleased with the planning process and the results. They started by coming to my home or the event venue and listened to all the thoughts and ideas we envisioned. They then emailed us a detailed and organized party plan that pulled our ideas together and included vendor suggestions, links to items to purchase and suggestions for decor. They also provided invaluable set up and styling of all the party items on the day of the event. They really elevated each party to something that we could have never done on our own. And the best part was Mara and Rebecca were both genuinely a pleasure to work with. Don't hesitate to call Let's Party if you have an event to plan and want to make is something special!

Inexpensive, clean, and comfortable option for an event! Our charitable organization and social…read moreclub utilizes this great option atop the American Legion Post 180 for our bimonthly dinner meetings and our holiday events and socials. Set up is easy, the staff is a pleasure to work with, and the kitchen and buffet line is well appointed whether you want to have catering or hire onsite meal prep. There's a dance floor where you can have a DJ or playlist and take a spin with your date around the room!Hooray for the Legion for offering an affordable and accessible venue for social events.

We have used BossLady Productions for lots of office gatherings to include our holiday party and…read moreorganization day. She is extremely professional at sitting the tone and engaging the crowd. We are so happy with her services that we don't consider other DJs.

This is by far the cheapest wedding and party lighting vendor in the DC area I found. We spent $410…read moreon 20 colored uplights, which we probably could have only used half of (we used it to light 2 rooms with 70 people), but it really made the wedding venue feel more like a wedding. All the photos are lovely because of it, too. The only thing is you have to set them up yourself, which can take time but is really easy. He's also all the way in Herndon, VA so if you're party is in DC it's kind of a hassle. But otherwise the guy is very professional and the lights were all in working condition.

We were looking for lighting to jazz up our teens birthday party and we found BYODJ. I didn't know…read morewhat to get so I visited their shop and it is amazing - like a lighting candy store. The owner showed us several lights and we rented a pair of star lasers and these were a big hit.

New event facility that has all the technology you may want when hosting an event. It is on the…read morefirst floor of the building, to your right as you enter. Within walking distance of the Innovation Center Metro stop opening next year. The space looks very flexible with its ability to offer many options when booking a meeting space. Food was provide at the event by their catering staff, but I did not stay for the food. Also did not have a chance to try out their Wifi to see what speed they offered.

For historical sake, this is a stunning building. My favorite time is the Christmas tree lighting…read moreover here. The stairs are comfortable, for a view of old town. If you go on YouTube, there's footage of one of the large columns that fell over a couple years ago. Thank goodness no one got hurt. It's an antique, and while the new city patch doesn't show it, let's take a look inside. Restored with love for years, a lot of people have weddings here. I doubt I'll do that experience again, but cheers to all who do, as this would be a good location. Parking is for the most part a cinch too. The interior is well taken care of. The lower part is good for music, while the upstairs sometimes has paint exhibitions.

Fairfax City Hall, a magnificent icon of city history, worth visiting. On my last visit I was told…read morethat city is run by a Mayor-Manager relationship. Where a part time Mayor and council vote on policies and procedures to run the city & a full time Manager enforce those policies with his administration. Current City Mayor is Steven C. Stombre and council members are Michael Marco, Jeffrey Greenfield, David Meyer, Janice Miller, Eleanor Schmidt, and Jon Stehle.

McLean Gardens Ballroom is one of my favorite venues to work as a vendor. As a music supplier, I've…read morebeen helping to put on social and corporate events there since 1999. It's a beautiful and classy room perfect for a DJ, string trio or quartet, soloist and small jazz combo. I've helped countless numbers of brides and grooms with their music needs as well as corporate clients (annual parties and meetings) supplying not only music but also, A/V, projection, lighting, lecterns and technical needs for their meetings. (In short, I know this room, its acoustics, what works, what's possible and what simply won't work). When Philippe and Stuart (who I've had the good fortune to work with for the past 14++ years) took over managing this room a few years ago, operations became a lot smoother. Having an 'in house' caterer makes so much sense and reduces wear and tear on the room from outside caterers who need to bring everything in and everything out. So, I really do have a unique history with this Ballroom and highly recommend it for anyone who wants a beautiful room for their event and a top notch catering (and fun) pros who will provide a fun, unique and memorable experience.

So I've thought a long time about how I want to do this review (what with all these businesses…read moresuing for bad review lately) but I just have to do it. We had our wedding reception here in October. I'll start with the positives: + The food is fantastic + The venue is gorgeous + The prices are reasonable This would seriously be a five star review if I could overlook the service issues. I was so excited about our wedding and I seriously thought McLean Gardens Ballroom was going to throw the best event ever until about a month before the wedding. Washington Parties, the exclusive caterers at this venue, and specifically the owner, Philippe, put a pretty big damper on our big day. And not in some sort of Bridezilla "omg why aren't there sugar cubes with the coffee instead of regular sugar" kind of way. More of a "this organization didn't keep their size of the contract" kind of way. About a month before the wedding, Philippe began to be difficult to get a hold of. And when we did talk, it was like we had the same conversation over and over again (it didn't seem like he remembered anything we had talked about in previous conversations or emailed about). And when I would get him on the phone, he would just tell me what I wanted to hear to get me off the phone. He promised me just about anything I asked for. I should have realized it was a sign. So here's everything that specifically went down: - To start off with, they had another event there the day of our wedding. This, in itself, is not unusual or bad. What was bad was the timing. According to our contract, we were supposed to have the room two hours before the event to get set up. Our reception started at 6:00. Their party ended at 5:00. In the end, they worked it out but I found out about this conflict the day before my wedding. I feel like I should also note that we booked the room in April of 2010. When it came time to send out the invitations, I confirmed with Philippe that the time would be ok. He mentioned nothing of the conflict at that time. Stress? Yes. Stress. - We selected three types of DC Brau to be served at our reception, Heiniken, and left it up to the venue to select a couple of domestic beers to serve. They chose Milwaukee's Best and Steel Reserve. Malt. Frikkin. Liquor. At the time, I thought it was funny but after everything that transpired later in the night, it's just one more thing that was screwed up. - According to our contract, they were supposed to serve "mini desserts" with the cake. They were never served. Ok, so any of the above I could have just laughed off. But what happened at the end of the night really soured me on the service for this place: - So Philippe let the Bridesmaids and I keep our stuff in his office (when we actually booked the venue, there was an unused room that we were told we could use while we were there but by the time we had our event it had been rented so Philippe let us use his office). Unfortunately, the door would lock if you pulled it shut behind you so we had to keep it propped open. One of my 'maids accidentally pulled it shut behind her at the end of the evening. Oh crap, well Philippe has the key, right? OH, Philippe left 20 minutes ago. Well crap. Let's ask the assistant he left in charge to call him. Wait, why is the assistant trying to jimmy the door open with a butter knife? Oh, Philippe isn't coming back? But my ID and telephone are inside and I'm flying out for my honeymoon tomorrow morning and I need the ID to get on the plane... So a couple of my drunk guests are starting to talk about breaking down the door (we were obviously not letting them). The assistant turned around and yelled at everyone to just get away from the door and disappears. Did not ask politely, yelled. Doesn't tell us what he's going to do. Doesn't say he's going to try to keep fixing it. From what I understand, he just left and kept going about the business of cleaning up (I didn't see myself so I have no idea). It basically took me calling Philippe up myself on one of my guests phones and begging him to come back. He showed up almost an hour later, unlocked the door (without saying a word to me sitting right there in my wedding dress or even looking at me), and just walked away. From what I understand, he actually yelled at my mother in law and my florist because they were having a glass of wine while they were cleaning up (his exact words were "PARTY'S OVER" as he snatched their glasses away). If that wasn't allowed, fine but he yelled at them. The caterers had shooed everyone out the door by 10:30 (we, contractually, had until 11:00 to clean up). In conclusion, I would not recommend this venue unless Philippe hires someone to manage the events or to assist him. He is a fantastic cook but disorganized and his people skills suck when he's stressed out.

The Alexandria Aces Collegiate Baseball Club, an IRS-deemed 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation,…read morehas teamed up with Jon Hoffmeyer and Mobile Event Bars for three events, this year, and each and every one has been a tremendous success. Jon has a very top-shelf, first-class operation, with Mobile Event Bars, which has significantly enhanced the Alexandria Aces' profile in our community. The outstanding craftsmanship of Jon's work with each of his bars shows that he really cares about making events stand out and shine, so-much-so that many of our fans have personally asked us for more information about Mobile Event Bars for their upcoming events, receptions and parties in and around Alexandria. Jon's attention-to-detail and personal interest in our goals of what we wanted to achieve for each of our events helped our ball club reach out to a wider fan base of our community, that, in turn, prospectively will bring more fans into our ball park next summer. The Alexandria Aces will continue to work with Jon and build a long-lasting partnership with him and Mobile Event Bars for many years to come. We sincerely endorse Mobile Event Bars and highly recommend Jon's business. He's top shelf! To aptly use a great baseball cliche, Jon is really 'hitting 'em out of the ball park', with Mobile Event Bars! Pat Malone Co-Founder Alexandria Aces Collegiate Baseball Club www.alexandriaaces.org

We have used Mobile Event Bars on many occasions and have always been extremely pleased with the…read morequality of the bar as well as the level of service we have received. Equipment is always on site and ready to go when promised and picked up when agreed upon. The bar brings a level of sophistication to any outdoor event and allows our bar staff to do their job quickly and efficiently. Can not overstate how highly we recommend Mobile Event Bars.