Growing up, I only ever knew the kind of parties you throw at home. Potluck dinners. Birthdays on the front lawn. And while that setup was perfect for no-responsibilities-Maddie, the hasn’t-cleaned-the-bathroom-in-weeks version of myself recoils any time I think about prepping my home for a large group of guests. Which is why, when it comes to hosting things like wedding showers, engagement parties, and bachelorette parties, I am all for outsourcing that sh*t.
The easiest way to save yourself a lot of time and money on wedding related events is to host them in a cute space, so all you have to do is roll up with some snacks, a few inexpensive decorations, and your person of honor. But I’ve learned from too much googling that the more stylish the location, the more dollar signs it costs to rent by the hour. That is, unless you’re in the D.C. Metro Area. Thanks to the recently opened BUREAU, you can rent a gorgeous, modern studio perfect for parties for just $100 (Monday through Thursday) or $150 (weekends) an hour for up to 65 guests. (All the nitty-gritty is outlined in their FAQ’s right here.) And maybe even more importantly, you’ll be supporting a small woman-owned business in your area.
And when I say woman-owned, I really mean it’s owned by our people. When we needed a last-minute venue for our D.C. plus size wedding dress popup and put out an SOS all over our networks, the owner of BUREAU came to our rescue and was like, “I couldn’t just leave you guys hanging!” And as anyone who’s been planning a wedding for more than a minute knows, that’s a rare and beautiful personality in this industry (I low-key want to be friends with the owner).
The style inside BUREAU (which is conveniently located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of NW Washington, D.C.) is eclectic and modern, with a good sense of humor. Aka peak APW. The owner and designer, Kerra, has major chops and has been featured on HGTV, The Today Show, CNN, Domino, The Washington Post, and Huffington Post. And speaking of humor, here’s a little behind the scenes of a recent toast-themed shower at BUREAU. (Get it? Toast. 😂)
So if you’re D.C. based and have been looking for a space to host your engagement party, wedding shower, bachelorette festivities, small wedding, or heck, even your company holiday party (because yes, they do still have some availability for this winter!), head over to BUREAU and book your event right now. It’s about as close to having us personally design an event venue as you’ll get.
