S7E14: What Makes Your Wedding Yours? From a Venue's Perspective
What's your vision for your wedding?
Figure out what your ideal day looks like and bring together the right vendors to make that happen.
From the perspective of your wedding venue.
This week, we're dishing about unique wedding experiences for off-beat couples in the heart of Washington, DC.
Guests: Al and Jordan, Mess Hall
This week, we’re dishing about…
Guest experience
Fantastic food
what makes your wedding yours?
… and more!
Meet Al, the human behind Mess Hall!
Al Goldberg has spent over 25 years in the DC food and beverage industry. As a passionate supporter of small and local businesses, he recognized the need for legal affordable commercial kitchen space and founded Mess Hall in late 2014, a project that took 4-years to come to fruition.
Mess Hall is an established culinary incubator in the Brookland/Edgewood neighborhood of Washington, DC that supports up-and-coming food entrepreneurs in a unique venue designed to foster a vibrant and diverse local food community. By providing mentoring and a variety of business services, Mess Hall has launched and helped accelerate over 200 businesses to date, more than 80% of which are women and/or minority-owned. Mess Hall doubles as a unique event space, incorporating up-and-coming culinary talent with an authentic mid-century warehouse vibe. It features unique food and beverage-related ticketed events that are open to the general public, and is also available for weddings and other private events. Mess Hall was a 2020 RAMMY Finalist in the category of Festive Foodie Experiences. Other accolades include Most Innovative Companies in the Washington Metropolitan Area (Washington Business Journal, 2016); Top Accelerator, (United States, SBA, 2015); Mayor’s Sustainability Award (The Mayor of Washington, DC 2015).
Al is a graduate of The George Washington University and currently resides in Northwest DC with his wife and two children.
Details…
What type of events do you attract to your venue?
Given our lofty ceilings, customizable spaces (indoors and outdoors), and an open "show kitchen" that facilitates amazing food experiences, we do it all. Mess Hall is available for private rentals, weddings, milestone birthdays, bar and bat mitzvahs, culinary demonstrations, cooking and butchering classes, cocktail classes, and even Embassy dinners. We always try to incorporate unique non-traditional aspects. Each event is it's own and is always fun.
What makes Mess Hall such a unique space?
The crown jewel of our event space is our Demo Kitchen. This open show kitchen allows guests to have a completely interactive experience with the food they will enjoy.
What are some of the unique celebrations you've seen at Mess Hall?
It's hard to pinpoint just one, but Mess Hall is all about the food. Whether a sushi chef is taking a whole 170 lb Blue Fin Tuna down to the most amazing sushi and sashimi, right in front of the guests.... or a wood fire pies are coming out of a Neapolitan wood fire oven trailer while live music plays outside.... the guests are going to eat well and it's going to be highly experiential. Each event has its own unique vibe and we try to put food and local beers and spirits at the center of it all.
What's the most memorable thing you've seen happen at a wedding or celebration?
Having the opportunity to host Michelle Obama was a standout.
What advice could you offer to couples who are looking for a wedding venue?
Think about how you want to spend your ideal day. Involve the people who you most want to be surrounded by. Eat your favorite foods. Forget about wedding rules/expectations, and make your day about you (as a couple) and your special bond.
Mess Hall is hosting our Couples Social on January 22, 2023.
We are so honored to be working with their incredible team and showcasing this authentic, unique, and experiential space!
Not Your Traditional Wedding Expo
At The Wedding Dish, we work with a team of incredible wedding professionals to build a wedding-style event.
Our Couples Social is an engagement celebration that allows couples to get some insider tips on wedding planning from a handful of DC’s top wedding pros.
It’s all happening on Sunday, 1/22/23 from 4:00 - 6:00 PM at Mess Hall in DC.
It’s totally free to attend and it’s going to be a blast!
This is not a wedding expo. You won’t find booths of vendors — and you certainly won’t find awkward, hard-selling vibes.
Our Couples Social is a fun, welcoming space to celebrate, gather inspiration, check out talented wedding professionals’ work, and get some education about the wedding planning process!
It's time to...
Check out amazing wedding professionals in the DC area
Gather tons of inspiration for your wedding
Learn some insider tips to make wedding planning a breeze while saving money and having fun!
No matter where you are in your wedding planning journey, this event is for you!
Join us on Sunday, January 22, 2023, at 4pm at Mess Hall in DC. See you there!
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This episode is brought to you by:
Photos from the Harty, internationally acclaimed wedding photography
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