Absolutely fantastic! We used this caterer for our Police Department Awards Dinner, and the food…read morewas a huge hit. Everything was delicious, beautifully prepared, and the entire experience was professional and seamless. I have never been much of a fish eater--I love shellfish, but what I jokingly call "swimmy fish" has never been my thing. Well, the cod they served completely changed my mind! It was absolutely delicious and one of my favorite things on the menu. Our officers and guests raved about the food throughout the evening. In fact, the officers enjoyed it so much that they were already asking if we could order our Thanksgiving meal from the same caterer! When you're organizing a large event, having a caterer you can rely on makes an enormous difference. The food was wonderful, the service was excellent, and they helped make our awards dinner a special evening. Highly recommend!

After establishing the date we would need their services and dealing with Ms. Garcia for about a…read moremonth working on menu and driving over to pick up tasting last week I just submitted my authorization for downpayment. I just received a call from her stating "oh sorry we are not opened Memorial Day weekend." End of sentence. Matter of fact. No empathy. So unprofessional. I had to ask if she could refer anyone else. I just retired from banking after 49 years and am very proud of my customer service history. This by far was the WORST customer service experience I have ever encountered in my life. Obviously poor planning and communications on their part. They completed wasted my time. FURIOUS!!!!!

the dress I ordered was to big. took over two months to get. I asked for a refund and they stopped…read moreemailing me. this place is a scam to say the least.

Now that I'm more a year out from doing battle with the wedding industrial complex, I can finally…read moreput pen to paper about how much Pollyanna Events helped us with our big day. As a person who has experience with event planning, I knew I just needed someone who wasn't me or my spouse to coordinate some of those last minute details and to keep track of all of the pieces that go into a event (it also helped to have a professional to talk my wedding crazed spouse through stuff and stop bothering me about it). I am NOT one of those women who have been planning their wedding day since I was a little girl, so it was refreshing to talk mostly logistics and best practices without feeling like a bridezilla (I'm looking at you, Macy's registry who kept trying to register me for frilly plates that I didn't want). Sarah met with me for coffee to walk me through the range of day of coordinator versus full wedding planning packages, and I felt instantly comfortable with her. Since we were approximately six weeks out from the wedding, we did end up going with day-of coordination. Sam was my day of coordinator (with an assist from Kate), and they did such an excellent job. Prior to the event, Sam definitely talked me through one of my freakout moments when the venue "unapproved" our seating chart the day before and wanted to exile a table to 150 feet away from everyone else. Sam ensured that we stayed on schedule and that I had food, and remained professional and calm throughout the whole event. Seriously, I cannot recommend Pollyanna Events highly enough! Note: Pollyanna Events explicitly states that they're feminist on their yelp business description, and their literature with their package pricing was literally one of the first wedding industry items where I saw LGBT couples, interracial couples, and older couples. I was also determined to try to direct my wedding business to women owned or minority owned businesses, and I'm so happy I found such an excellent one.

Living Social had a deal where you would pay $100 for a personal chef from Insatiable Bites to come…read moreto your home and prepare a 3 course meal for 2 people that included wine. I thought, gee, this sounds pretty awesome, let me give it a whirl. The personal chef, in this case it was the owner Rakita, comes to your home with her own ingredients/food and prepares the entire meal for you. They do use your pots/pans and cooking utensils. The only thing they require of you is a working stove and oven, other than that, you can sit back and relax and have them cook and CLEAN UP for you. Yes, you read that correctly, they even wash the dishes and clean up after preparing the meal. They serve you the wine and all of your courses, so you literally can sit back and relax. Who's the genius that thought of this idea because I can truly get used to this!!!! I was able to choose my menu from her various selections of a prefix menu. I decided on the "Southern/Cajun Influenced" dinner. This included: Appetizers - Deviled Eggs Main Course: Smothered Chicken with Braised Collard Greens and Seasoned Potatoes Dessert: Signature Pound Cake. Everything was delicious! Granted a few issues occured with the potatoes and chicken not being cooked thoroughly, but Rakita promptly corrected the issue. The portions were plenty for 2 people to devour. I would've loved bigger slices of cake (it was jammin' on the one) but I'm a little on the greedy side when it comes to delicious desserts, so what would you expect from me! If you plan on booking this catering company for an occasion, you must BOOK EARLY! Weekends are understandably their busiest time, but if you plan well in advance I'm sure they will be able to accommodate your schedule. Also, after you do book your catering experience, make sure you request a confirmation/reminder email from the staff because I experienced some confusion on the date of my dinner. Keep in mind that they serve Hyattsville and surrounding areas. Check with IB to make sure they serve your area. They not only cater romantic dinners for 2 like I requested, but they also cater private events/celebrations, teach culinary demonstrations and wine/food pairings. IB also has gift certificates available. All and all I enjoyed my personal chef experience. Rakita was a very friendly, professional and down to earth person, who just so happens to be able to cook her tail off! Kudos to Insatiable Bites, a creative idea that I'm sure will continue to grow and grow!

Chef Rakita was wonderful! She arrived on time and was very professional. We learned how to make…read moremuffins which went along with our diet and she tailored the meal to fit our diet as well. She also gave us some great cooking tips. We had a great time chatting with her. The food was delicious and we will be incorporating all of her dishes to our meal rotations! Great idea for a tasty meal prepared in the comfort of your own home. She also did all the cleaning up afterward - leaving our kitchen in better shape then she found it.

I'd never been to this venue, and went for a concert. Parking was super easy, the venue staff was…read moreAMAZING, and I had the best time. Everything was well organized and ran perfectly. I'll definitely be coming back.

I've been at this venue twice for shows. Once in the winter time and once in the spring time. I…read morelove the indoor & outdoor spaces. There's plenty of room to dance and the staff has always been friendly and accommodating. There are only 2 negative comments... 1. If you're from out of town, you have to know that gratuity is already included on every check. The bartenders won't tell you, so you just have to know that if you want, you can definitely tip additional but it is included already. 2. During the winter event, there was no propane in any of the propane heaters and the outside area was very cold, so bring your coat if you go to a winter show there. It is a great place for live music!

I am so glad we had Tara help us with our wedding, even though it was relatively small and not that…read morecomplex. She gives you options about her level of involvement and is very clear about terms, costs, etc. of her services, always checking in before doing something if it's going to cost more. She was amazingly pro-active and thought of things I never would have (and didn't care to) in terms of details and liaising with our hotel, caterers, etc. It took about a week of working with her before I realized I genuinely didn't have to worry about much as I knew that if I didn't think of something, she would, an in time to take care of it. She also went above and beyond in terms of prepping things like creative menus, cute ways to display seating charts, etc. She's also personal and supportive and lends an air of "this is under control" to the planning and event.

We hired Tara as our day-of wedding coordinator and she was fantastic. She also helped us with…read morechecklists and advice prior to our wedding day...a great resource! Tara was a great go-between for us and the staff at our venue, who were not always on the same page as my husband and I. She stood up for what we wanted and made great decisions. A traffic accident caused long delays on the route to our venue and Tara called all of our venues to notify them of the accident and suggest they leave extra time to arrive. We ended up only delaying the ceremony by 10 or 15 minutes. I definitely recommend Tara and Emerald Engagements!

TL;DR Troy's events are much more than ordinary events. They're for those who live for the…read moreunexpected moments and making unexpected connections. When we go to events, most of us generally have expectations of what they normally entail. Some of us will begin to dismiss the possibilities of the unexpected. In my own observation and experience, Troy's events are not those events. Troy is not the planner you collaborate with when you want a normal event. He specializes in the unexpected. However, there are those of us that understands that every waking moment is unexpected. Everyday, we meet all kinds of people. But what is it about meeting them at a networking event, holiday party or wedding makes the unexpected come out of some. You will meet these people at Troy's events whether out of familiar faces or out of strangers you are soon to meet. If you're a event's professional in DC and you're not attending these events, you're missing out on making lasting connections. These are the kind of connections that propels personal and professional growth. In my past experiences. I've partied through the stroke of midnight with friends I made that evening at his Studio 54 DC New Years Eve Party. Set at the Blind Whino artistic venue, this event was a step out of reality and memorable. At the MES mixers, I've caught myself in the a truly diverse mix of DC young professionals ranging between artisans, techies, musicians, natural-born hustlers and jet-setters. The connections I've made so far can be best described as relationships fused between business and friendship. If you're a DC professional networker, a couple planning your big day, or living for those truly unique experiences, check out Troyal Events.

We hired Troy about eight months before our event, when it became clear our wedding was becoming…read morelarger than we were capable of handling. He helped us design the entire day, and the result was more beautiful that we could have ever imagined. We definitely felt he took the time to create a personal, individualized reception for us, as opposed to just pulling from a usual "bag of tricks." Troy was also invaluable by running our ceremony and rehearsal. He made sure we were calm, prepared, and stayed on schedule. We knew we didn't have to worry about any details besides sharing the day with our friends and family. The peace of mind was tremendous, and we couldn't have done it without him. Troy's professionalism and passion for his work is unparalleled, and I highly recommend you consider him to be a part of your next event.