What kind of venue fits?
It mostly comes down to how many people and how far they’ll drive.
- A restaurant’s private room. Good for a team or a department. Wildfire at Tysons Galleria has private rooms in a range of sizes.
- A hotel. The easy option for a bigger crowd, with food and the room handled. The Watermark Hotel at Capital One Center in Tysons has its own event space.
- A hall. Capital One Hall in Tysons hosts holiday parties along with everything else it does.
- An estate or a winery out in Loudoun. Oatlands in Leesburg opens its old greenhouse for small dinners from October through December, and wineries like Stone Tower host groups. Worth it if people don’t mind the drive.
This is a list of options, not places I’ve worked. Every one of them can make a good night.
How does each one photograph?
Restaurant rooms are close and warm, which is great for faces and tight for groups. Hotels and halls are big and often dark, so the toast needs a light on it. Estates look best when guests arrive before the sun’s fully down.
Colored uplighting looks fantastic in person. In photos, a little goes a long way, and a room that’s all purple turns everybody’s skin purple too.
What should we ask the venue?
- Where will the toast happen, and is there light on that spot?
- Can we see the room set and empty before guests arrive?
- Where’s a good spot for group photos, away from the bar line?
- When can the photographer get in?
When should we book?
As soon as you’ve got the venue. Holiday parties crowd into the first three weeks of December, and the Thursdays and Fridays go first.
I photograph company events around Northern Virginia, and this time of year that means holiday parties. Photographing the company holiday party covers what to get on the night, and more of my company work is on Corporate Events.
