Top of the Town

We had our wedding at Top of the Town in February 2019. All of our guests loved the view, and the outside terrace was perfect for pictures (even in the cold). It was the perfect setting for our wedding. We found the staff easy to work with during the planning process, and would definitely recommend this venue to others!

We had our wedding at Top of the Town in September and it was perfect, especially since most of our wedding guests were from out of town so the DC skyline was a real treat! The windows, chandeliers, room size, terrace, and views were just incredible. The venue also provided chairs and tables, which looked really nice. In addition, we rented their columns to use as stands for flowers during our wedding ceremony. Minimal decorations are needed with this venue since the views are a "decoration" alone. We worked closely with Kate and her team, who were helpful and accommodating. They provided a list of approved vendors, which we found very useful and felt there was a wide variety (FYI Chef's Table and DJ Norman Voss were fantastic).The vendors we worked with were knowledgeable of the venue, which was very helpful. We also hired a day-of coordinator through Top of the Town, which was helpful since they were knowledgeable of the venue and had experience with previous weddings - well worth the cost! There are quite a few restrictions for this venue due to people living on the lower floors, but we felt they were reasonable and did not impact our experience. Just be sure to thoroughly review the contract. The space holds roughly 180 and we had 130. I feel it would be a little tight with 180, but do-able. Having 130 guests in this space worked perfectly. There was also multi-stall bathrooms and a free parking lot, which was useful for both the night of the wedding and during our numerous visits during the wedding planning process. We felt the overall price was comparable to the area, but add-on's were expensive. For example, we booked an extra hour which was a little less than $1k and we did not have a rehearsal/practice run because of the additional cost. Overall, ToTT offered the perfect venue for our wedding day. We were extremely lucky we had fantastic weather so we could take advantage of all they had to offer and we have great pictures to remind us. The approved vendors were great and the ToTT team were very helpful. We highly recommend this venue.

TLDR; We had our wedding at Top of the Town on November 11th, 2018. The phenomenal view across the Potomac, clear skies, great music, food and company made for an unforgettable evening. #### My fiancé initially looked at venues in Washington D.C. (Spy Museum @ L'Enfant Plaza, Ritz Carlton in Georgetown) but all were very pricey venues. I searched for alternatives in Northern Virginia with hopes of finding a venue that offered a view across the Potomac. We first contacted the Observatory in Rosslyn but that communication ended abruptly after hearing our initial guest count of 80-90. I then stumbled across Top of the Town. I immediately informed my fiancé to visit the location as the date (11/11) was still available (we started looking at venues in early 2018). After visiting the location, my fiancé came back telling me that this (Top of the Town) will be our venue. We found out some of the unique quirks about Top of the Town. Because the venue sits atop a residential building there were guidelines that vendors had to follow - this applied to catering and music. I highly recommend using one of the catering or music vendors on their approved list. Their approved music vendor list included a string quartet group that we utilized for our ceremony. I have always wanted my wife-to-be to walk into Kanye West's All of the Lights (Interlude). We were able to make happen! Our ceremony seating started at 3:00PM which offered plenty of daylight for our guest to enjoy the view across the Potomac. Ceremony began at 3:30PM. We had a cocktail hour that followed. And the remainder of the night, until 9PM, was the reception. Aside from the phenomenal view, the location of the venue was very ideal, a wide option of hotels along the Ballston/Clarendon/Rosslyn area. In addition, there is a designated parking lot for the venue - so parking was not an issue. And of course, there were no issues with traffic. The venue contact (Vivian) helped us with seating arrangements and accommodate our constantly moving guest count - which settled in at around ~156. We opted with up-lighting with the venue which they were able to accommodate. And if you are like me and must have access to the Internet at all times - a password-protected Wifi network is also available. I wanted to immediately share this review after our wedding as I have benefited greatly from recent reviews of vendors during the planning process. I highly recommend Top of the Town.

AMAZING VENUE! we had out wedding here a few weeks ago and could not wait to write a 5 star review on this place! Kate was very helpful, organized a pleasure to work with. She was the one who walked us through the venue and gave us the pricing for our event. She was very thorough and very responsive Everytime we had a question during our wedding planning. The day of our event, we were working with Allison - WHO WE JUST LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! She was SUPER DUPER pleasant with everyone, including to our photographers, coordinators and caterer! Everything was perfect, even to the last minute where Alison and our caterer set up the bench for my husband and I to sit and enjoy the beautiful view on the balcony at the end of the night after the guests have left. THANK YOU TOP OF THE TOWN STAFF! You all were incredible to work with!

Other than the view, there isn't much to offer. Management is illusive. I assume it was because we were planning our own wedding rather than using a wedding planner. We were impressed from the start with how nice, prompt, and accommodating the staff seemed to be. They assured us they would be able to take care of things and had only a few simple rules. We quickly realized they were not as accommodating as they had let on. Communication: Calls/emails are rarely answered. We called to ask for specs of the speaker system. They repeated what was said during our initial walkthrough which was simply, “the speaker system is really good. It’s really good.” We asked for specifics and were given the same response. When that wasn’t enough of an answer, they said they would have to call us back. Never happened. We called again and got they same answer. Again, we were told a return call would occur, but it never did. After multiple unanswered emails and calls about multiple subjects, I stopped trying. The only times they were prompt with communication was when money was involved or there was some issue. An example is when Kate emailed (to tell me there was a problem) on a thread she claimed she never received. We requested a walkthrough less than 2 months before our wedding and were told they needed to get us in fast because our day was fast approaching. We realized they had dropped the ball in contacting us because we were then given a form that said there would be a fee if we submitted it less than 2 months in advance of the wedding. Money: I got an invoice for the 2nd half of the bill. I wrote a check to avoid a credit card fee and dropped it off. Near the close of business the following Friday, I got an invoice for $67 with a notice saying we would lose our date and all the money we had paid if I didn’t pay in full by the deadline (Sunday). It’s harsh to send that notice to someone who has paid in full with only hours before a payment could be made. I realized the $67 was a credit card fee. This happened again when we asked for furniture and uplighting rentals, which was $700. We again dropped off a check. A week later, we got a second invoice for $700. The best part was they didn’t even provide the rentals during our wedding even after trying to charge us twice. Day of: On two occasions (including the day before), we verbalized and drew how we wanted our ceremony setup to be. The setup wasn’t done. The facilitator kept blaming or referring our issues to others without attempting to rectify the situations. It was odd the facilitator had a guy there who didn’t seem to be working, but helped himself to our food and cake. We paid for our guests and our vendors to eat our food, but not for a random person. Remember that “really good” speaker system that you could just plug in and play? Our DJ tested the system and emphatically told us it wasn’t a good system. Rules: You will be charged a $500 interview fee for any vendor not on their preferred vendor list. From the beginning, we were told about the no synchronized jumping rule. The only song they talked about was a Virginia Tech anthem. We weren’t planning on having a rave and we’re not VT alum, so we didn’t mind. While setting up for the day, our DJ was unexpectedly given a list of 30+ songs that weren’t allowed to be played. The list included “The Cupid Shuffle,” “The Chacha slide,” and “Yeah” by Usher.

I absolutely loved having my wedding at Top of the Town! It rained on my wedding day but my guests still utilized the awesome outdoor terrace and nothing beats the panoramic view of Washington, D.C. I found that my wedding contacts at the venue were easy to get in touch with and very helpful when it came to planning my wedding. Not only that, but there are so many aspects of the venue that are beautiful starting with the scenic elevator ride up to the gorgeous hallways leading to the reception room. Although the venue does come with restrictions as far as vendors, I found that this actually helped with my wedding planning process as I had never planned a wedding or an event like this before so I came from zero experience. I found great vendors through their list as a result and ones I will recommend to my friends for future events. All in all, it was wonderful to have my wedding here! I highly recommend it!

I wish that I could give less stars for this business. My husband and I chose this venue based on a recommendation from 2010. Our first visit to view the venue was good. However, every other contact with them was full of issues. My wedding planner and other vendors had nothing but problems and explained how difficult the venue was and has been in the past. I was told less than 2 weeks before my wedding that the time that I had been originally told that I would have for my wedding and was listed on invitation was incorrect, even though they received the invitation before that time. I had great vendors but it's very disappointing that they has to deal with rigid and unreasonable requirements. It was nothing but a fight with this venue and I will continue to let everyone know that they should be aware and cautious when using this venue for an event, especially a venue. The good: the views were amazing and that's what's working for them.

Very torn on my feelings about Top of the Town. I do not regret booking this venue, but it wasn't a pleasant experience leading up to the event. I will start with the good. The venue is GORGEOUS! It truly is a beautiful location. Hard to beat views of DC that stunned my wedding of mostly out-of-town guests. Flooded with natural light. Beautifully simple decor that can fit into any aesthetic. The bathrooms are spacious, which sounds like a silly thing to mention. But once you've been to a wedding where there is one, single toilet for the whole place you have a different perspective. The tables and chairs a great quality and come with the venue. We rented their navy linens and they were great as well. Now for the rest. The contract is extensive with restrictions. Most of the time these weren't a problem for us. The one I was most concerned about was no music that elicited synchronized jumping/dancing, but I didn't even miss the songs that would be on such a list. While they do require you to use a caterer and dj that have been pre-approved, both lists are very long. You'll find someone you like easily. Besides all that (which you know before booking!), my greatest frustrations were issues with communication and being very unaccommodating. Just a couple examples. I was originally told months before, when I brought my parents on a tour, that using command strips would be okay. Three weeks before the wedding, during our walk thru, my coordinator tells me that the venue says command strips are a no. Their speed of communication varies a lot. Sometimes I would get a response that day. Other times it would take multiple days. And I could never get someone on the phone. Finally, the main reason my rating is what it is. When trying to schedule the walk thru I was nearly brought to tears in frustration. I emailed the venue, my catering coordinator, and my wedding planner to pick a date/time. I said I'd prefer weekends, but "I do realize that weekends are your busiest days in the wedding industry so if we cannot make that happen, I can do an evening during the week." Because I work 9 to 5:30. Top of the Town's response is that they are available during week days from 11 to 4. After TEN days of emailing back and forth, they inform me someone will stay until 5:15. I eventually got it pushed back to 5:30, but I still had to leave my job an hour early because of the commute. In an industry so dependent on your clients, I would assume only operating during the average work hours would be counter productive. But maybe every bride before me has been able to take off work mid-day for a venue walk thru. Overall, I am not disappointed I chose the venue. My guests adored it. But if you work 9-5 like the majority of the work force, get stressed easily (like me) or don't have an amazing wedding planner to support you, maybe take a second look.

Top of the Town's views cannot be beat. We had many out of town guests attending our Feb. 3 wedding reception and they were thrilled by the city skyline. Even many DC locals had never been here and were impressed by the view. We loved the space and it was the perfect place for our reception. We benefited from the reduced off season rates, otherwise it would have been out of our budget. It is really nice that table and Chiavari chairs are included with renting the venue. The staff is pretty hands off after you've signed a contract, which worked well for us, but I can imagine some people may want the venue more involved. We couldn't have had a better wedding reception, and the venue was a big part of that!

We recently had our wedding and at Top of the Town. We loved that the venue easily flips from one part of the event to the other and the view of DC is absolutely amazing. Our pictures are incredible and the venue is ideal for a picturesque wedding. I do highly recommend that you stick with the list of approved vendors for the venue, however, as they have A LOT of rules for vendors and it was so much effort to have our kosher caterer be added to the list. I highly recommend hiring their day-of-coordinator to help your day go more smoothly, especially if any of your vendors are new to the venue. Please be sure to check their do not play list for reception songs as the venue is on top of an apartment building and does not allow songs that have everyone jump up and down at the same time. The list they gave us was extremely different than the one they gave the DJ and several songs had to come off our playlist last minute because of the venue. Ask a lot of questions when you book the venue as many details were left out when we initially booked. Despite all that, it's a great venue and we highly recommend using it.

We held our daughters wedding at ToT in October 2017. It is "the place" for a DC area wedding. You get 5 hours of the same view of the DC monuments that you see for 5 seconds when taking of and landing at National. Airport. Guests--both local and out-of-town--were in awe of the spectacular views. Weddings are long, so it provides a wondrous diversion for guests. We had both sunny afternoon and evening lit-up views. Spectacular. We found TOT staff to be supportive (we lost a close family member a week before the wedding) and they stepped in to coordinate everything with the caterer, DJ and photogapher. TOT staff are top notch. Their recommended vendors are outstanding and it saved a lot of time in screening and selecting other vendors. Many guests said it was the best wedding they ever attended. Highly, highly recommend. .

We held our wedding ceremony and reception at Top of the Town in September of 2017 and we could not have been more pleased with the experience! Major pros: + The view is incredible! We received so many compliments from guests about the view and the venue - it was such an impressive element we could not have recreated elsewhere. + The team we worked with are total wedding professionals - through every step of the process, they offered advice on what worked best for the space and gave us great help in keeping the event rolling + They were flexible as our needs changed and were very considerate of guests who needed special accommodation As mentioned in other reviews, the exterior as you arrive is not particularly impressive but trust us, it is worth it once you step into the elevator and you start to see D.C. laid out before you. The elevator is rather small and can only hold 12-15 guests at a time, so I suggest that couples planning a wedding consider adding some buffer time for seating. I also noticed some reviews mentioning the venue and its vendor lists - we had no problem in going off their recommended list and using our own vendors. When we mentioned our preferred caterer, they waived the $500 fee because they had worked weddings in the space before and they allowed us to use our preferred DJ (not from their list) simply by adding a refundable deposit, that we got back in full. Due to their unique location, they do have some rules that may seem restrictive but we had no trouble working with them to make sure our wedding was exactly what we wanted and our guests had an amazing time! Thank you, Top of the Town, for making our wedding day so special!

Obviously the view is stunning. The staff was also so helpful. Everything ran smoothly and the reception was perfect. We had a particularly magical evening with a thunderstorm right after sunset that coincided with dinner, then the sky cleared and we had gorgeous views of the lit skyline during dancing. I also found it helpful that they have a list of recommended vendors--which means you only need to look into ten or so DJs and Caterers instead of thousands--for a lazy bride like me that was perfect.

:) very very friendly staff and phenomanal view

Best view ever! We had a magnificent wedding!

Top of the Town is an absolutely amazing venue! The view of the entire DC skyline, as well as parts of Arlington and Alexandria absolutely can't be beat. All of our guests were absolutely wowed and the staff there is very attentive and helps keep you on time and organized. Any time I had a question or concern, the staff was very helpful and answered promptly. This was definitely a splurge in our budget, so those looking for an inexpensive venue may want to look elsewhere, but if you can afford to squeeze it in it's well worth it. There are some restrictions as far vendors needing to be pre-approved and song choices (because it is on top of a residential building); however, they certainly weren't deal breakers. It took us a little longer to find all the vendors we wanted that fit our budget and were approved to work there, but overall the quality was much better because of it. Overall, the space was a perfect fit, the outdoor terrace was a dream, and the view truly could not be beat. The pictures from the reception are absolutely gorgeous and we would spend the money and do it all over again there if we had to. I would absolutely recommend this to any bride who is willing spend an extra couple bucks on a fantastic view and doesn't mind tracking down each vendor individually to fit the space!

My Husband and I had a wonderful wedding reception at Top of the Town! The staff was so hopeful throughout the passed year. We paid for the day of coordinator and Laura was amazing and very responsive to all my questions! Most of our guest were from out of town and were in complete awe of the beautiful view of Washington DC. We had a wonderful evening!

I had my wedding at TOTT on 9/17/16 and it was the best decision my husband and I could have made! Almost all of our guests had to travel to the wedding and they were all in awe of the beautiful venue. The view just simply cannot be beat! Everyone who we worked with from the start of the contract process through the day of the wedding were all extremely helpful. I would recommend Top of the Town to anyone who is looking for a beautiful venue for any event!

Hands down TOTT is an impressive venue for a memorable event. Katie was responsive, helpful and answered all of our questions. Contracting was easy through their web portal. Also easy was guest parking was included, and the contract included additional time for catering to move in and out. Other venues may be slightly less money, but they can't match the memorable views of the city. Katie and her team were very accommodating to questions and changes, and suggested back up plans should our out door wedding have been rained on. I'd recommend TOTT to anyone looking for a unique venue which will deliver impressive memories to your guests.

Choosing the right wedding location is very important. Not only, because, it’s the place, where You are going to spend the most important day of Your life. It is, because, choosing the right wedding venue, will save the limited time in the day. The perfect location should offer amazing views and create the perfect scenery for Your ceremony, reception and wedding film. RimasFilms believes, that there is no better wedding venue, for the best views in the city of Washington, than Top of The Town. It offers everything for a newlywed couple in one place and helps to create the most spectacular wedding film.

Thank you Top of the Town for making my daughter's wedding a night for everyone to remember. I can not say enough about how perfect the evening was. It was everything the bride and groom hoped for and the guests are still talking about it. Planning a wedding is difficult enough, but doing it from another state was overwhelming. However, you all made it easy and enjoyable. I actually missed not getting to talk with everyone once the wedding was over. The staff was so professional and did everything possible to make the day perfect! I had several unique requests and they made sure everything went off with no problems. The space was amazing and the views cannot be better anywhere. I have to give a special thank you to Joan! She kept me sane through this entire process and personally made sure every detail ( and I had a lot of details!) went off flawlessly. If you are planning a wedding in the DC area, it doesn't get any better than this place! The venue has views that create an ambiance that guests never forget. The staff were so pleasant to work with and genuinely want to help you create your perfect wedding. We just got our wedding video back and watching it made us realize again that we chose the perfect venue. If we could, we would do it all over again, so thank you Top of the Town!

The staff was perfect! professional, attentive and accommodating. Top of the Town was a beautiful place to have a wedding, everything looked amazing. They do all inclusive packages and it made my special day easier. The site is completely breathtaking all my guest loved it, learn about the location and have an great time. It was a memorable event and they made it perfect for me!

We had the complete package that included the amazing Main Event Caterers and the great Norman Voss as the DJ. When MANY guests who have each lived in the DC area for over 30 years, never been to the place and were utterly dazzled by the venue and its view, immediately a good time is had by all. Upon arrival, my wife and I got off the elevator and walked ten steps down the beautiful hallway with our bridal party where we found a regal waitress standing at attention holding two drinks (pre-ordered a month prior) for us. My wife had to use the ladies room so she went with her bridesmaids. The waitress handed me my drink, took the drink order for the groomsman and then went into the ladies room to take the drink orders of the bridesmaids... if that is not service, I don't know what is! Top of the Town is all about service... even getting on their hands and knees with scissors to cut (at our request) the bride's dress so she is able to more easily walk/dance. One of my brother's kids was found out in the hallway (out of his parents' view) grabbing personalized M&M's for consumption. One of the staff grabbed a small cup of M&M's, took the child back with the cup of M&M's to my brother and his wife. My brother and sister-in-law were utterly impressed. Same small child ended up falling asleep before the party ended... the staff created a bed and pillow out of extra clean table cloths on the floor for my nephew. These are only a FEW of the beaming examples of great service and absolutely couple/family focused service.

Hands down the best view in the DC area! Plus it's one of the best values for the view and complimentary parking. Kate and Joan are great and easy to work with in planning your special. They are available to answer questions and make sure you are on track to make your wedding run smoothly. I wouldn't recommend anywhere else for are wedding reception. My wedding happen to fall on Veterans Day which made it even more a special place with the view of Iwo Jima Memorial below and Arlington Cemetery in the distance. In addition to my wedding reception I have hosted fundraisers at Top of the Town and attendees enjoy the the view and the ambiance. Best place!

The best view in Washington! Joan and Kate provided all inclusive service, and coordinated the music, catering and all of the small details, and did it in a friendly, professional manner. Their suggestions for catering, music and flowers were perfect. Alex and Ruth worked ceaselessly to make every detail perfect during the setup, ceremony and reception. Everyone loved the event, especially the bride and groom. We would not hesitate to do it exactly the same if we had it to do all over. We highly recommend this venue.

We LOVE Top of the Town! We held our rehearsal dinner there on July 4, 2014 and it was just about the most amazing venue we could have picked for the fireworks. The staff is fabulous, even bouncing party crashers for us. The view is spectacular, and it gave me shivers every time I went up there. We knew of the location because we had my sister's rehearsal dinner there 8 years earlier, and it was complete perfection. I hope I'm lucky enough to attend another event there in my life time, because it is breathtaking. Thank you TOTT!

Top of the Town was an amazing venue to have my wedding reception. It was a gorgeous day and we had our ceremony down the road at the Netherlands Carillon. The staff was very nice and helpful, even though there were some confusing information given to us at the beginning. We decided to go with the "All inclusive" plan so our DJ, caterer, table set up and centerpiece, and a few other things were included in one price. Not sure if it was the best deal, but it made it a lot easier planning. The DJ (Voss DJ) and caterer (Main Event) were amazing as well and both got good compliments by all our guests. It is a pricey venue but if you can afford it you won't regret it. My guests were raving about the view of DC it has.

TOTT is gorgeous but they definitely made the wedding planning period a nightmare! They have so many restrictions in terms of the vendors you can use ... I you want to go outside their list be prepared to pay! The interview for the dj is worth $500 All that said, the staff was very nice during the reception and after. I just wished they didn't make my life complicated when I was planning for it.

We had SO many compliments on the beautiful venue! Truly a exceptional, unique view of DC - a great place since we had so many out of town guests who wanted to see DC. Very easy to work with. Allows you to bring your own catering / liquor to the event, which can cut costs.

First of all, I would like to start with Kate & Joan - I worked with them to schedule my date, time & all other stuff prior to my wedding. They were always very responsive, gave me nice suggestions, recommended some good vendors. Alison was there on the day of my wedding. She was wonderful - I came a little late to the venue due to a nice long ceremony and I was kind of rushing - and she just told me - don't worry this is your day - relax- we are here for you.... totally love her. Great place to work with. All my guests were delighted with the beautiful views of DC.

The view from Top of the Town cannot be beat. That's the main reason my husband and I chose this venue, but we also really appreciated the staff's flexibility, speed in responding to our questions, and they weren't overbearing at all. The only drawback was the relatively short block of time- 30 minutes for the ceremony (which was an additional $800) and 4 hours for the reception. It went by way too fast!

I loved the venue. The view is amazing! All our guests raved about the view and the venue. It was well worth it! The staff was very helpful the night of the reception as well.

The vendor was amazing and their view was perfect. I loved it and your guests will too. It is one of the biggest things we have recieved compliments on. We used their preferred vendors and it was fantastic. They work well with you. Don't expect to go well into the night because the venue closes its doors at midnight or 10 depending on the night. But it doesn't matter when you can see the mall lit up at night as a backdrop to your perfect night.

Top of the Town is a beautiful location for a wedding - with the added value of a great view rain or shine! Its a bit pricey, but we were able to save money by having our wedding on a Friday. The staff was super helpful in letting us drop things off early, take pictures beforehand, etc. The only hesitation before a 5 star review is that we met with several people before the wedding, but never the person that was going to be in charge of the wedding on the night of. As a result, the coordinator was asking me questions during the wedding, which wasn't ideal. The other issue was that we didn't have a DJ, just a friend with an iPod. While this worked out overall, TOTT hadn't tested the microphone beforehand and we ended up waiting in the hallway for 15 minutes before being introduced - not so glamorous! Again, everything worked out and its understandable that there are minor snafus throughout a wedding - I just think some of them could have been avoidable! Nevertheless, highly recommended - best view of DC by FAR!

We had our wedding reception here. It couldn't have been more perfect. All our guests raved about the view. The only downside to this venue is that they have a lot of restrictions. You can't play the wedding classics because you can't have synchronized dancing. It stinks, but the view is so worth it. If this place fits your budget, definitely get it!!!

Although my outdoor ceremony was cancelled for weather, the Top of Town staff made sure we had a dream wedding. They were able to rearrange our venue to have our ceremony indoors with a view of Washington. It was beautiful. No other venue in the area will wow you like this one with the spectacular views and the rooftop patio. I highly recommend Top of the Town whether you have DC or out of town guests.

My fiancé and I were looking for a place where we could fit our guests into one space (125), be indoors in case of rain, but have enough windows to enjoy nature. We found these things at Top of the Town and more. The view is fantastic and out of town guests (and locals too) loved that. The staff was always responsive and super helpful. We had The venue is very nice, but there are some things to keep in mind. 1. There are two events on Saturdays (afternoon/evening) TOTT requires that the same caterer be used for both events. First one to book gets to choose. We lucked out on this because the caterer we wanted happened to be catering that night. 2. Logistics - There are limited windows of time for set up. We had an afternoon reception. Since there was an event the night before, we could not set up centerpieces etc until the day of. I had friends rush from the ceremony to make it. 3. This place allows you to bring in your own alcohol- Big savings - yes, but it is a good thing my fiancé had a truck. After a few hours at the wine store we had FILLED his truck. Luckily, my fiancé was able to drop off the alcohol the day before (and pick it up on Sunday) so that was really helpful. 4.Valet-directional valets are required (you must contract with one on their list). Just FYI when you are calculating expenses. 6. Gifts. There is one elevator that takes all guests up and down. We had a ton of gifts. My Brother in law and cousin gathered the gifts during the reception and brought them to the car. The venue let them borrow a cart and pull up right to the door. Doing it in the middle of the reception allowed them to use the cart and not tie up the elevator during the mass evacuation. 5. The contract can seem overwhelming, but in the end they were accommodating and willing to be flexible with things within reason. I recommend reading the contract in detail. If something bothers you, ask. I thought we could only use bands/dj’s on their list. My cousin plays in a band that performs at weddings every weekend. TOTT said that was no problem as long as they can talk to them in advance. All in all the venue was great! My family had a great time and I got to have a view of my favorite city…the city where I met my husband (yeah, that is a little sappy. What can I say, I am a newlywed).

The Top of the Town staff is wonderful if you are working with one of their wedding coordinators, however, I did not know this until very late in the game and they have quite rigid rules, and hours that you can view the space. Since all of my guests were from out of town, it was the perfect location, however if I was having a local wedding it wouldn't even have been in consideration. Overall, it is a beautiful view, but the space could use some updating and the owners could have a bit more flexibility!

We loved our reception at the Top of the Town. They were easy to deal with and everything went smoothly. Our guests could not believe the views and many of them had lived in DC all of their life. I would definitely use them again.