Baby Shower

[jberg]

Where can I find the best Metro accessible space (in DC) for a babyshower for a 1st time mom? I am throwing a shower for a good friend and everyone wants to have it at another girlfriend's home. I want to throw it in a really nice restaurant/lounge where there will be staff to take care of food and bev versus missing out on the fun of showering the new mom w/gifts and love.

[Anonymous]

I had my bridal shower at Bistro Bis. It was very nice and everyone loved it. They are $34 per person, just to give you an idea of cost but don't have any food or beverage minimums. Alot of places do, so be careful of that. We looked at Art and Soul which unfortunately had a food and beverage minimum of $850 and Mon Ami Gabi in Bethesda which had a minimum of $650. Good luck on your search!

[Anonymous]

I had my shower at the Mansion on O Street in Dupont Circle. It was wonderful! I have no idea how much it costs (wasn't privvy to those details). we had a delicious sunday brunch. the building is beautiful and really one of a kind.

I have to warn you -- their website SUCKS. it completely misrepresents the kind of place it is:

http://www.omansion.com/

Look at the pics here to get a better feel of the place:

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/6RDc_seSx8i3EBHCU3XGGw?select=852S98A9nASKkKhAOpUhLw

Have fun!

[Anonymous]

if you are the lone friend who wants to shell out bigger bucks to have it in a "nice venue," prepare to get hated, whether overtly or covertly. this is one of those things that always brings out the drama because more expensive digs means that more people will have to pay more, period. are you going to cover all the costs? are you splitting costs with co-hosts? are you expecting guests to pay their own way? if you are generously covering all the costs, then that's great, but if you're going either of the other two routes, i would say you should let the group decide. and if "everyone wants to do it at someone's house," then that is how you should go. don't turn it into a contest about who loves the mom-to-be more or less.

just a warning, because i have seen how this has played out before.

[jberg]

Anonymous wrote:I had my shower at the Mansion on O Street in Dupont Circle. It was wonderful! I have no idea how much it costs (wasn't privvy to those details). we had a delicious sunday brunch. the building is beautiful and really one of a kind.

I have to warn you -- their website SUCKS. it completely misrepresents the kind of place it is:

http://www.omansion.com/

Look at the pics here to get a better feel of the place:

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/6RDc_seSx8i3EBHCU3XGGw?select=852S98A9nASKkKhAOpUhLw

Have fun!

Thanks for the info! The photos are gorg!!

[jberg]

Anonymous wrote:if you are the lone friend who wants to shell out bigger bucks to have it in a "nice venue," prepare to get hated, whether overtly or covertly. this is one of those things that always brings out the drama because more expensive digs means that more people will have to pay more, period. are you going to cover all the costs? are you splitting costs with co-hosts? are you expecting guests to pay their own way? if you are generously covering all the costs, then that's great, but if you're going either of the other two routes, i would say you should let the group decide. and if "everyone wants to do it at someone's house," then that is how you should go. don't turn it into a contest about who loves the mom-to-be more or less.

just a warning, because i have seen how this has played out before.

You know...u just might have a point! I have been met with some resistance along the way. I am the one that was going to pay for the entire shower, but everyone seems to be opposed to that idea which is why I figured the shower could be at a venue so everyone could enjoy it w/o having to worry about anything other than being a guest. *sigh* I guess u just can't win w/these types of events.

[Anonymous]

i've been to several events at the Darlington House in Dupont (everything from a baptism brunch to a book signing party). the upstairs is adorable and perfectly located! I really like Sonoma as well though it may be hard to serve so many yummy cheeses and wines if the mom to be feels like she can't partake?! Ask the mother to be which location she likes - there will be haters no matter how you structure it. I think it's really lovely that you want to do this for your friend!

[Anonymous]

jberg wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if you are the lone friend who wants to shell out bigger bucks to have it in a "nice venue," prepare to get hated, whether overtly or covertly. this is one of those things that always brings out the drama because more expensive digs means that more people will have to pay more, period. are you going to cover all the costs? are you splitting costs with co-hosts? are you expecting guests to pay their own way? if you are generously covering all the costs, then that's great, but if you're going either of the other two routes, i would say you should let the group decide. and if "everyone wants to do it at someone's house," then that is how you should go. don't turn it into a contest about who loves the mom-to-be more or less.

just a warning, because i have seen how this has played out before.

You know...u just might have a point! I have been met with some resistance along the way. I am the one that was going to pay for the entire shower, but everyone seems to be opposed to that idea which is why I figured the shower could be at a venue so everyone could enjoy it w/o having to worry about anything other than being a guest. *sigh* I guess u just can't win w/these types of events.

If you're going to pay for the whole thing, and you've made that clear to the other friends, they'd probably put up less resistance! But they also may feel like they are being shafted out of their co-hosting privileges. (People get really weird and territorial about this stuff.) I think that's very generous of you.

[Anonymous]

I attended a brunch baby shower at a hotel downtown -- I wish I could remember which one! It was a little awkward, b/c there were a bunch of other people having brunch there, and we were all seated along a long table (several tables end to end), and most of us could barely even see the mom-to-be, and certainly couldn't talk to her. There also wasn't a lot of room for her to open presents. I would definitely look into the seating arrangements if you're going to do a restaurant -- circle table would be ideal if you're a small enough group. For a bigger group, a private room or someone's house might be better.

A friend threw me a shower in her home, and she had snacks and beautiful cupcakes from G-town cupcakes out, along with drinks, and people could just help themselves, which allowed everyone to focus on chatting and getting to know the different groups of people there (DC friends, work friends, college friends, etc.) and playing shower games. It was all very beautiful and well done, and I much preferred it to a formal catered affair. I had a lot more fun than if we'd had a sit-down meal.

[Anonymous]

jberg wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had my shower at the Mansion on O Street in Dupont Circle. It was wonderful! I have no idea how much it costs (wasn't privvy to those details). we had a delicious sunday brunch. the building is beautiful and really one of a kind.

I have to warn you -- their website SUCKS. it completely misrepresents the kind of place it is:

http://www.omansion.com/

Look at the pics here to get a better feel of the place:

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/6RDc_seSx8i3EBHCU3XGGw?select=852S98A9nASKkKhAOpUhLw

Have fun!

Thanks for the info! The photos are gorg!!

I had my wedding there.. love love love!