Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square - Events DC property Reviews

Reviews

• Rachel Sent on 08/17/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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    5.0

  Rachel & Sean at the Carnegie were very helpful, professional and courteous from the start. The made the whole process of holding our wedding at the venue very smooth, especially on the day. Due to the weather we had to change plans at the last minute and hold our ceremony at the Carnegie (in addition to our reception), and they went above and beyond to ensure everything ran smoothly. We could not have asked for better service. The venue itself is amazing - great for photos, and we'd highly recommend holding your wedding here.

  Rachel & Sean at the Carnegie were very helpful, professional and courteous from the start. The made the whole process of holding our wedding at the venue very smooth, especially on the day. Due to the weather we had to change plans at the last minute and hold our ceremony at the Carnegie (in addition to our reception), and they went above and beyond to ensure everything ran smoothly. We could not have asked for better service. The venue itself is amazing - great for photos, and we'd highly recommend holding your wedding here.
• Angel Sent on 05/27/2014
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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  Hands Down Carnegie Library is the most incredible venue in the Washington, DC area!!! Not only is it affordable, but is full of amazing architecture & character. The Map Room, beautiful entry ways, & marble stairs. The people at DC Events were such a pleasure to work with & made sure that our Wedding Day was unforgettable & they did just that. I would recommend contacting them to book any parties, weddings, all functions..... Thank you so much for making Our day beautiful & unforgettable!!!!!

  Hands Down Carnegie Library is the most incredible venue in the Washington, DC area!!! Not only is it affordable, but is full of amazing architecture & character. The Map Room, beautiful entry ways, & marble stairs. The people at DC Events were such a pleasure to work with & made sure that our Wedding Day was unforgettable & they did just that. I would recommend contacting them to book any parties, weddings, all functions..... Thank you so much for making Our day beautiful & unforgettable!!!!!
• Alexis Sent on 06/01/2014
  4.8 out of 5 rating

  4.8
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    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
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    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5

  The Carnegie Library is a beautiful venue. The staff working in the building is wonderful. Some of their contract language is vague/confusing, but the place is lovely and it's a great value for the space you receive. I'm glad I chose the Carnegie as our wedding venue. Our guests loved it!

  The Carnegie Library is a beautiful venue. The staff working in the building is wonderful. Some of their contract language is vague/confusing, but the place is lovely and it's a great value for the space you receive. I'm glad I chose the Carnegie as our wedding venue. Our guests loved it!
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• Kate Sent on 11/30/2012
  4.7 out of 5 rating

  4.7
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  We wanted to get married in DC at a venue that had a very DC feel to it. The Carnegie Library was perfect! We held the cocktail hour in the Map Room, which has a huge map of DC illuminated on the floor. The reception was in Literary Hall. Everyone was so impressed with the look and feel of being in this grand building. It is my understanding that DC Events has just started handling the venue so we were one of the first weddings with them, but even though everyone was figuring out the wrinkles, it worked out great! Kristina and Trayce were so friendly and easy to work with. There are a few additional expenses you have to keep in mind when renting the venue such as insurance and security, but Kristina and Trayce will help you get everything figured out. It was the perfect venue for us!
  

  We wanted to get married in DC at a venue that had a very DC feel to it. The Carnegie Library was perfect! We held the cocktail hour in the Map Room, which has a huge map of DC illuminated on the floor. The reception was in Literary Hall. Everyone was so impressed with the look and feel of being in this grand building. It is my understanding that DC Events has just started handling the venue so we were one of the first weddings with them, but even though everyone was figuring out the wrinkles, it worked out great! Kristina and Trayce were so friendly and easy to work with. There are a few additional expenses you have to keep in mind when renting the venue such as insurance and security, but Kristina and Trayce will help you get everything figured out. It was the perfect venue for us!
  
• Charlotte Sent on 10/08/2014
  3.9 out of 5 rating

  3.9
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    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5
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  Let me start by saying my husband and I loved our wedding reception at the Carnegie Library. Shawn, the senior events manager, was wonderful and supportive and worked seamlessly with our planners to make our day wonderful. That being said, all communication prior to the wedding was difficult and, at times, frustrating. On more than one occasion I had to resend information (wedding contact info, insurance info, etc.) because they claimed to have never received it. There was initial hardship in securing a contract even after being encouraged by the venue to book immediately to secure the best rate (which have remained the same one year later). We have no regrets and would have our reception at Carnegie again but just be aware you may experience some frustrations with communication from the Events DC staff.

  Let me start by saying my husband and I loved our wedding reception at the Carnegie Library. Shawn, the senior events manager, was wonderful and supportive and worked seamlessly with our planners to make our day wonderful. That being said, all communication prior to the wedding was difficult and, at times, frustrating. On more than one occasion I had to resend information (wedding contact info, insurance info, etc.) because they claimed to have never received it. There was initial hardship in securing a contract even after being encouraged by the venue to book immediately to secure the best rate (which have remained the same one year later). We have no regrets and would have our reception at Carnegie again but just be aware you may experience some frustrations with communication from the Events DC staff.
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  User2614808 Sent on 05/19/2016
  3.8 out of 5 rating

  3.8
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    4.0
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    3.5 out of 5 rating
    3.5
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    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0
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    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0

  The Carnegie Library was incredibly beautiful and completely fit our theme and hearts. They were very professional, supportive, and engaged with us. They allowed for time to set up and breakdown and worked with some of our needs, such as having the ceremony and reception in the same space. It was a bit pricey for our budget, and we wish we could have afforded to have the map room for the cocktail hour, but for everything else we were very happy with the venue and staff.

  The Carnegie Library was incredibly beautiful and completely fit our theme and hearts. They were very professional, supportive, and engaged with us. They allowed for time to set up and breakdown and worked with some of our needs, such as having the ceremony and reception in the same space. It was a bit pricey for our budget, and we wish we could have afforded to have the map room for the cocktail hour, but for everything else we were very happy with the venue and staff.
• Ashley Sent on 04/22/2013
  3.8 out of 5 rating

  3.8
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    3.5
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    3.0
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    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5

  I want to be thorough because DC weddings are so grossly expensive. Despite a very tight budget, we wanted a wedding within the district.
  
  The Carnegie Library was way more affordable than many private venues of similar capacity due to the city’s stake in DC Events. More expensive venues in DC do come with staff more experienced in weddings. At the Carnegie Library, it was almost as if they were making up the rules as they went along - which in some cases is great & in others frustrating.
  
  Still, we loved having our wedding here. It is a beautiful building with an unbeatable price in a convenient downtown spot. When there were hiccups, the staff redeemed itself:
  
  For example, we chose the venue because you could use any caterer you wanted. But then the sales rep went on leave for a month (no one picked up the slack in her absence) & by the time we reconnected the terms had changed to a preferred list of caterers, all way out of our budget. Thankfully, they rectified this by allowing the caterer we wanted to apply & get on the preferred list. Great.
  
  Also, our point contact changed like 3 times during the planning process, forcing our planner to re-explain everything each time. This was frustrating, because each person gave different answers. Still, they compensated for this by throwing in an extra holding room, which was appreciated.
  
  They also played down how many people you could comfortably fit in the L'Enfant Map Room. Contrary to their claims, we were able to fit our 105-person reception in this room (not the pricier main hall) with plenty of free room & dance space. As a result we could stretch our budget & with the help of friends & a partial planner, pull off a great DIY wedding.
  
  All in all, if you are the type who can deal with a venue that still has its wedding training wheels on, the Carnegie Library cannot be beat. The price is right, the building is gorgeous, & your guests will love it.

  I want to be thorough because DC weddings are so grossly expensive. Despite a very tight budget, we wanted a wedding within the district.
  
  The Carnegie Library was way more affordable than many private venues of similar capacity due to the city’s stake in DC Events. More expensive venues in DC do come with staff more experienced in weddings. At the Carnegie Library, it was almost as if they were making up the rules as they went along - which in some cases is great & in others frustrating.
  
  Still, we loved having our wedding here. It is a beautiful building with an unbeatable price in a convenient downtown spot. When there were hiccups, the staff redeemed itself:
  
  For example, we chose the venue because you could use any caterer you wanted. But then the sales rep went on leave for a month (no one picked up the slack in her absence) & by the time we reconnected the terms had changed to a preferred list of caterers, all way out of our budget. Thankfully, they rectified this by allowing the caterer we wanted to apply & get on the preferred list. Great.
  
  Also, our point contact changed like 3 times during the planning process, forcing our planner to re-explain everything each time. This was frustrating, because each person gave different answers. Still, they compensated for this by throwing in an extra holding room, which was appreciated.
  
  They also played down how many people you could comfortably fit in the L'Enfant Map Room. Contrary to their claims, we were able to fit our 105-person reception in this room (not the pricier main hall) with plenty of free room & dance space. As a result we could stretch our budget & with the help of friends & a partial planner, pull off a great DIY wedding.
  
  All in all, if you are the type who can deal with a venue that still has its wedding training wheels on, the Carnegie Library cannot be beat. The price is right, the building is gorgeous, & your guests will love it.
• 
  User2711336 Sent on 08/03/2016
  3 out of 5 rating

  3.0
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    3.0 out of 5 rating
    3.0
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    3.0
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    3.0

  Venue was a dream come true. The spaces are absolutely gorgeous and provided just the write atmosphere for the rest of our vendors. However, the site staff could have been much better. On occasion we were given wrong information that caused inconveniences during planning. Also, there were charges we weren't told about until the last minute. I'd expect better service for the price.

  Venue was a dream come true. The spaces are absolutely gorgeous and provided just the write atmosphere for the rest of our vendors. However, the site staff could have been much better. On occasion we were given wrong information that caused inconveniences during planning. Also, there were charges we weren't told about until the last minute. I'd expect better service for the price.
• Brandon Sent on 06/30/2014
  2.8 out of 5 rating

  2.8
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    3.0
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    2.0
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    3.0

  The Venue: Carnegie Library is an exquisite venue and was perfect for our event. The location is right in the heart of DC, it is near a number of hotels, and is metro accessible. The architecture is one of a kind, the dance floor lights up, and the staircase made for some wonderful photographs. We were very glad that we held our wedding reception at Carnegie Library.
  
  The Staff at Carnegie Library (EventsDC) - While the venue was wonderful and the day of staff was excellent, working with EventsDC to plan our wedding was a challenge. The EventsDC staff took weeks to respond to emails and weeks to schedule planning sessions. The administrative staff created a very stressful and unnecessary last minute situation involving our event insurance that could have been addressed months in advance - playing middle man between your insurance agent and EventsDC is not something you want to deal with 7 days before your wedding, especially when you’ve already been told that all the insurance information is adequate. All in all, EventsDC needs to work on its internal corporate processes and external communication practices. While the venue is wonderful, the EventsDC staff required much more hand holding from us than should have been necessary, particularly given the amount of money we paid for the venue.
  

  The Venue: Carnegie Library is an exquisite venue and was perfect for our event. The location is right in the heart of DC, it is near a number of hotels, and is metro accessible. The architecture is one of a kind, the dance floor lights up, and the staircase made for some wonderful photographs. We were very glad that we held our wedding reception at Carnegie Library.
  
  The Staff at Carnegie Library (EventsDC) - While the venue was wonderful and the day of staff was excellent, working with EventsDC to plan our wedding was a challenge. The EventsDC staff took weeks to respond to emails and weeks to schedule planning sessions. The administrative staff created a very stressful and unnecessary last minute situation involving our event insurance that could have been addressed months in advance - playing middle man between your insurance agent and EventsDC is not something you want to deal with 7 days before your wedding, especially when you’ve already been told that all the insurance information is adequate. All in all, EventsDC needs to work on its internal corporate processes and external communication practices. While the venue is wonderful, the EventsDC staff required much more hand holding from us than should have been necessary, particularly given the amount of money we paid for the venue.
  
• Nina Sent on 05/16/2013
  1.8 out of 5 rating

  1.8
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    1.5 out of 5 rating
    1.5
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    1.0 out of 5 rating
    1.0
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    2.5 out of 5 rating
    2.5
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    2.0 out of 5 rating
    2.0
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    2.0 out of 5 rating
    2.0

  We had our wedding reception at The Carnegie Library this past weekend, May 11th. While the space was very pretty and almost all of our guests very much enjoyed it, the year long process of dealing with the staff at the Carnegie was an absolute headache. We were initially assigned to an event planner there who was extremely unresponsive and unprofessional. I had complained about this individual before, so when I was contacted by her "boss", I received nothing but attitude form her, such as "why didn't you contact me before?", "we have never had complaints about this employee before" - she was so rude and unprofessional and didn't even want to acknowledge the problem at hand. The reason she had never received a complaint from me prior was because I had never even heard of her until this phone call!
  We then learned that only a month and a half before our wedding that this event planner had unexpectedly quit. We were then assigned to another planner, which required us to have to go over everything again, do another walk through with all of our vendors, etc. There were other issues that we encountered there as well - last minute changes to requirements that we needed to fulfill (i.e. we needed to partner with another caterer to fulfill out alcohol requirements, we needed to provide our own insurance as well as our caterers, etc.). All of these requirements would have been fine had they been discussed with us a year prior when we signed the contract, however to spring them on us with less than a month before the wedding was an absolute joke and ended up costing us over $1,000 in unexpected costs. With the exception of one employee there, I was extremely disappointed with the "service" we received. I would not recommend using this company to anyone - there were just too many headaches for what it was worth.

  We had our wedding reception at The Carnegie Library this past weekend, May 11th. While the space was very pretty and almost all of our guests very much enjoyed it, the year long process of dealing with the staff at the Carnegie was an absolute headache. We were initially assigned to an event planner there who was extremely unresponsive and unprofessional. I had complained about this individual before, so when I was contacted by her "boss", I received nothing but attitude form her, such as "why didn't you contact me before?", "we have never had complaints about this employee before" - she was so rude and unprofessional and didn't even want to acknowledge the problem at hand. The reason she had never received a complaint from me prior was because I had never even heard of her until this phone call!
  We then learned that only a month and a half before our wedding that this event planner had unexpectedly quit. We were then assigned to another planner, which required us to have to go over everything again, do another walk through with all of our vendors, etc. There were other issues that we encountered there as well - last minute changes to requirements that we needed to fulfill (i.e. we needed to partner with another caterer to fulfill out alcohol requirements, we needed to provide our own insurance as well as our caterers, etc.). All of these requirements would have been fine had they been discussed with us a year prior when we signed the contract, however to spring them on us with less than a month before the wedding was an absolute joke and ended up costing us over $1,000 in unexpected costs. With the exception of one employee there, I was extremely disappointed with the "service" we received. I would not recommend using this company to anyone - there were just too many headaches for what it was worth.

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