DAR Reviews

I can't imagine a more picture-perfect location for my husband and I to have had our special day. The building itself is a historic piece of art, with beautiful, sprawling columns and gorgeous white marble. The outdoor Portico is a perfect ceremony location, allowing couples to have the iconic Washington Monument in the background. The Portico is connected to the O'Byrne Gallery which is just as magnificent looking as the exterior of the building, and helped make the flow from the ceremony to reception absolutely seamless. This venue also has lots of different spots for a variety of photograph locations, such as the rooftop, the library, any of the staircases, and Constitution Hall. Amanda was absolutely amazing to work with - she was so kind, organized, communicative, and brought a sense of humor and self-assurance to ease any couple's concerns. My husband and I found out a few weeks before the wedding that the street that DAR is on would be closed for a movie shoot, but Amanda was quick to inform us, as well as our vendors, of this new information and to assuage any of our worries. I truly can't imagine a more beautiful location in DC for a wedding and would recommend DAR wholeheartedly for any couple still deciding on their wedding venue.

The most naturally beautiful venue - multiple wedding guests said the same thing! Communication was easy, and they very kindly and generously compensated for the unforeseen construction that affected my wedding day. Security on the day of was TIGHT (which was much appreciated considering the downtown DC location) and all the staff and personnel we encountered throughout our time planning were kind and professional.

We used the DAR venue for our 2023 September wedding and it was everything we could have wanted and more. The venue itself is breathtaking and you honestly hardly even need to add your own touch to it because it's gorgeous as is (which could help you save on some decor/florals). So many of our guests throughout our wedding were complimenting the venue and we still hear about it sometimes to this day!

We also had such a great experience working with Amanda and her team. Not only were they accommodating and flexible, but they had excellent communication throughout. Highly recommend using DAR as your wedding venue because it's an experience you or your guests will not forget!

5 Stars all around. DAR was the Wedding venue of our dreams! Even with the last minute change of plans with torrential rain on our "BIG" day, our event was seamless. Big thanks to the venue coordinator - Amanda for her help from the start to finish in the process. This place is so special & so unique. The architecture & history, as well as the iconic location in the heart of DC next to the White House & overlooking the Washington Monument - its all magic!! Highly recommend & can't wait to go back & visit in the future to reminisce the best night of our lives!

Wonderful communication and beautiful venue!

The DAR was our dream wedding venue, and Susan (and the rest of the team) was wonderful to work with. From the initial tour to view the space, to the day-of execution, the team at the DAR really knows how to do a wedding and we felt 100% confident putting our big day in their hands. The Portico and the O'Byrne Gallery had a real wow-factor for our guests. Even though we didn't need to use the rain backup plan, the additional spaces that would have been available in case of bad weather were just as lovely as the outdoor spaces. We'd recommend the DAR to any future couples who are looking for a beautiful venue with a great team behind it.

Love, love, love. This space is just beautiful and so multi-purpose. If you haven't toured the site in person, DO! Their website photos don't do it justice, the location is gorgeous in person and right in the heart of DC. The DAR has several spaces that rent by the hour so you can mix and match your spaces to fit your event. The portico is a fab covered space for an outdoor dance floor (even into the late fall!). Plus you can dance under the towering Washington Monument (Doesn't get much more DC than that.). The event staff at the DAR are very responsive and are delighted to have you. We loved having our wedding here and the ability to come back and visit the historical site whenever we want for years to come. (We even had DC food trucks pull up right outside which made for great catering.)

Beautiful venue for our wedding. Elegance meets class, meets beautiful memories!!! Mrs Blankenship was easy to work with and made it easy for us to plan our DIY wedding. Our guests were amazed at the beauty and enchantment of the building and we had tons of room for getting ready. We used the portico and obynre for our reception and dancing and the fornt pation for our ceremony. Awesome venue!!! Definitely recommended!!!

We had our wedding on the portico and O'Byrne Gallery and it was gorgeous. We also used the portico balcony for the first look that had great views of the Washington Monument. The staff at DAR were very friendly and accommodating.

DAR is a spectacular venue for any event. We held a wedding the evening of rain and thunderstorms and the team worked so effortlessly with our caterer (Main Event) to achieve the perfect evening. Susan was consistently responsive and flexible to our needs. Strongly recommend this venue!

We used DAR Continental Hall for our wedding reception on 08/2015, and couldn't recommend it more! We worked with Susan Blankenship, and Susan made the entire process painless. Susan provided a list of vendor's that were familiar with the layout at DAR, but was also open to us selecting alternative vendors. Moreover, Susan went above and beyond on numerous occasions to help make our reception painless and amazing.

The venue itself is stunning, especially the patio with the views of the Washington Monument. Our guests loved the blend of history and intimacy that DAR provided, and the space accommodated our 100 guests comfortably.

We'd recommend DAR and Susan to anyone who wants a beautiful reception in the heart of DC!

DAR is an absolutely beautiful wedding venue. We held both our ceremony and reception at DAR Memorial Continental Hall. The ceremony was outside on the Portico area, with a cocktail hour in the Library, followed by dinner in the O'Byrne Gallery and then back out to the Portico for dancing. DAR is located right on 17th Street and overlooks the National Mall. There is a fantastic view of the Washington Monument in the background. It is a classic venue for a DC wedding. The entire building is beautiful. And, the event staff at DAR are professional, responsive, friendly, and accommodating. Everything went flawlessly. If you're looking for a unique, beautiful, and historic venue then you should visit DAR.

My husband and I got married on the Portico and had our reception in the O'Byrne Gallery with dancing on the Portico and it was perfect. The building has stunning architecture which is very photogenic, the O'Bryne Gallery is gorgeous and the location is great. The event coordinator Peggy, who gave us suggestions on vendors and was very helpful throughout the process, retired just before our wedding, so I was worried something would go wrong. But the woman who helped us in her absence, Paula, was wonderful also. Everything went smoothly on the wedding day and our guests seemed to really enjoy the venue.

A couple notes about the location: the Washington Monument is visible from the Portico and makes a great backdrop for photos. We had our guests stay at the Willard, which is a short walk (or cab ride) away, and the walk between the hotel and the venue took guests right past the White House, so it was all very "DC." One thing I did not anticipate about getting married in the middle of DC though is that there is a lot going on right outside the venue which you can't control. For instance, a raucous concert started in the park nearby just before our outdoor ceremony and drowned out our harp music and readings at a few points during the ceremony. All we could really do was laugh about it! And, when we took photos on the front steps before the wedding, lots of tourists stopped to take photos of us. No big deal, but something to keep in mind.

Also note that because of the marble on the Portico, you cannot serve red wine or other red drinks (you can have red wine served with dinner in the Gallery but there is an extra fee).

Overall, it was the perfect venue for us and we have no regrets.

I had my wedding at the DAR recently and it was amazing. Peggy Martz is the venue coordinator and she was excellent. We are based overseas and she was flexible and worked with us when we were in town to visit the venue and make plans with vendors. She has great recommendations and contacts in the DC area and is more than happy to help out any bride who is having trouble finding the right vendors. She is very astute and caught on to a family member who was upset at our no-children policy and informed us of the situation so that we could manage the situation. Her kindness and professionalism is great and I highly recommend this venue to any bride who wants a formal and totally DC wedding.

Peggy and Paula at the DAR were outstanding. The venue was beautiful, and they helped execute our rain plan perfectly. We used the portico and the OByrne Gallery and set up our photo booth in the Pennsylvania foyer and they all were beautiful spaces. You have a gorgeous view of the Washington Monument and that's pricelesss. They definitely earned 5/5 stars - one thing to note, though, is that there's no restrooms on the first floor so guests have to walk (or elevator) to the 2nd floor to use the ladies/men's rooms... Just something to note, but it doesn't take away from the beautiful backdrop and gorgeous interior!

To have my wedding reception at DAR was a "pinch me" moment. Our cocktail reception was held in the O'Byrne Gallery with dinner in the National Library and it couldn't have been more splendid. Our guests kept raving about the location and said that DAR "set the bar for DC wedding receptions" -- We couldn't agree more! Peggy was a joy to work with. She and her staff were so helpful and attentive during the entire planning process. We loved having our reception at such an iconic location and would recommend it to any bride and groom!

This is the best value in downtown Washington DC! We had a church service in downtown as well and for its location, views, and amenities it can not be beat. We used the balcony for a reception, the Gallery for a seated dinner, and the went back outside to use the Portico and balcony for dancing and entertainment. The architectural beauty and installed lighting require no additional decoration or needed cost. This can be used in both fantastic weather and rain without the need of a tent.

DAR is used by movie productions as the White House fo its similar resemblence. Salt with Angelina Jolie was partly shot there and the day after our wedding Transformers 3 was shot there. If anything you can always watch those movies and see where you had your reception!

Peggy was fantastic, refreshingly straighforward, and always took care of us. She has been in the business a while and gave great suggestions on how to utilize the space.

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect wedding reception location! The cocktail hour was held in the Pennsylvania Foyer, followed by dinner in the O’Byrne Gallery, and then guests returned to the Pennsylvania Foyer for dancing and the cake cutting. Although it was a little chilly outside, guests could go outside on the portico and look at the spectacular view of the national mall. We also had photos taken upstairs on a balcony with the monuments and autumn tree foliage in the background. DAR’s Continental Hall is exquisite--our guests are still talking about it (and so are we). From the first day we went to the look at the site up to the wedding day, DAR’s event staff was exceptional. They made recommendations on vendors, provided us options for great photo spots and room set-up, and made the overall planning process simple. We wouldn’t change a thing.

The DAR is a fantastic venue and was great for our wedding. Peggy, who was our contact when we set everything up was incredibly responsive and made it really easy for us to arrange our wedding from abroad. She also let us deliver some things early, which made the day-of SO much easier.

As for a venue, it would be hard to find one more beautiful or so perfectly 'DC'. We had a lot of foreigners at our wedding and they kept asking who we 'knew' to be able to hold a wedding at such an incredible spot with such a cool view. Dancing outside in the portico was also incredibly memorable.

Because its a historic venue there are a few 'rules' such as no red wine out on the portico, but we had it at dinner just fine and it was well worth the sacrifice!

DAR may not be flexible with their rules, but for good reason. The place is perfectly maintained and a beautiful place for a wedding. The coordinators are wonderful and professional and I could not have been happier with the venue.

The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution is the perfect place to host a DC wedding. You can't ask for a more beautiful building or backdrop. The event coordinator at DAR is another major reason we chose to go with this venue. She is professional, responsive, but most importantly knowledgeable. Because it's a historical building, DAR does have several restrictions for hosting a wedding. However, the event coordinator was very willing to offer alternative suggestions for creating the wedding of our dreams (ex. no cranberry juice mixer; use white cranberry, etc.) She is well connected to area vendors and knows how to organize wedding day logistics. I felt very reassured knowing she and her team were running the show (especially because we did not hire a wedding planner.) The event team at DAR is well worth the money of renting the space!

There are a ton of ways you can organize the space at DAR to suit your wedding design. We used the Portico and Gallery areas for our ceremony and reception. Since we had a large guest list, we chose to do a cocktail reception which opened more space for dancing and mingling. I highly recommend this option especially during the warmer months when people can enjoy the view of the Washington Monument and relax outside. Overall, we had a great experience at DAR and highly recommend this vendor.

I had my cocktail hour in the library, the dinner in the O'Byrne Gallery followed by dancing under the Portico. Even though it rained, all of the guests remained dry under the portico. The rain really provided a more intimate feeling. This location is absolutely stunning and is a secret gem of Washington, DC. We looked high and low for the perfect location and not only did we find it at D.A.R., but the staff was very helpful and always willing to answer questions and provide direction. I would recommend D.A.R. to anyone looking for a classic Washington, DC feeling with charm and history. It was the perfect backdrop to our military wedding, the pictures were beautiful!

The DAR may not be perfect for everyone, but it was perfect for us. The classical beauty, the rich history, the everpresent patriotism, the 'DC-ness', the variety... It was such a special venue, one that lives up to the grandness of the day and one that lasts in the photographic evidence.

We used basically every space we could! People were particularly impressed by the library. And the Washington Monument as a backdrop to the ceremony couldn't be beat.

Peggy was just fantastic. She is straightforward and no-nonsense and extremely kind and helpful. And she has seen enough weddings to have good tips and suggestions.

This is one of the most beautiful venues in DC. I loved that we could get married and dance out on the portico. The setting is just wonderful and gives your affair an elegance that I had not expected. Peggy at DAR is helpful and great to work with. Like others have said the venue does not provide tables and chairs etc. and is not exactly flexible with its parking arrangements. The venue also has strict arrival times and although we arrived when we were allowed to be there the building manager interfered with our photos because the set up was going on. We were aware of the set up and were safely out of the way and wanted a few photos that took advantage of the venue's beauty and natural light. Despite this annoyance, we had a wonderful time and the venue was just perfect for us.