Dumbarton House — Attraction in Washington

Do not book this venue

My spouse and I booked this venue for our wedding a year in advance. We are extremely busy attorneys and wanted to stay ahead of schedule. Three months out from our wedding day - having put down thousands of dollars in non-reimbursable deposits and friends and family from around the continent planning their travel - Dumbarton sent us an email in the middle of the work day to say our wedding had been cancelled. Not even the courtesy of a phone call. The reason? The HVAC needed to be replaced. Dumbarton claimed to be invoking the force majeure provision of the contract. As attorneys, we know that this is not a proper invocation of such a provision. Dumbarton failed to take account of the age and state of their HVAC system and booked events it could not in fact host due to these issues. Just because Dumbarton failed to foresee the need to replace the HVAC does not mean this was unforseeable. This was negligence. And it was a breach of our contract.

Through our own extraordinary effort and extreme luck, we ended up securing another venue for the same date. That other venue, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, was extremely sympathetic and made accommodations for us, which was the only reason that this last minute change worked out. This was also the only reason Dumbarton avoided a lawsuit from us.

After we had secured a new venue, Dumbarton attempted to backtrack and said that we might still be able to host our event at their venue, but we would have to sign additional waivers related to the HVAC system. Obviously our confidence in Dumbarton to host this most important event had been completely destroyed, and we had no interest in waiving any rights we had against them. Nor do we think it was appropriate for them to say that they would only honor our contract, which they had already breached, by signing additional waivers.

Making matters worse, it took Dumbarton over a month to return our several thousand dollar deposit to us after this debacle. First, they claimed their online payment system was not working--something we had to point out to them after the money never came to us. Then they said they would mail us a check. After more weeks went by, we asked where our money was. Only at that point did they actually bother to send us the check.

In the time we were in contact with Dumbarton, they went through at least two event managers, both of whom were fresh out of college when they started working there. I cannot stress enough the importance of booking a wedding venue with an experienced event manager. The fact that Dumbarton cannot seem to keep one longer than a few months is telling. (And to be clear, the fault went straight to the top, including the Executive Director who emailed us about these "updates.")

As a final warning - when we first looked at this venue, we looked at reviews online and we noticed some saying that their event management staff were disorganized and inexperienced. When we brought these reviews up to staff when we visited the venue, they assured us that those reviews were not by the couples themselves. Well - let me be absolutely clear: I am half of a couple and Dumbarton was a nightmare. Do not book this venue if you actually want your...

Dumbarton House is a historic house in Georgetown built in 1800 when the federal government was in Philadelphia and not D.C. It was a private residence until 1928 when it became the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America HQ. Four years later, they opened a house museum inside.

They offer tours for $10 and it takes you through the house museum on the ground floor and the exhibit on the second floor, which rotates every six months. There's also a large garden on the property as well.

Dumbarton House also hosts some of the most unique events in the city- 1) The Dumbarton House in Georgetown hosts some of the most unique events in the city- 1) Jane Austen movie nights on July Wednesdays in the garden, 2) Ice cream making on the lawn in honor of First Lady Dolley Madison, 3) Afternoon tea for families, and 4) Chamber music concerts.

If you love events and history, it's worth a visit. The staff are also very friendly and very knowledgeable about D.C. and the...

Small but enjoyable bit of history. This is a a small historical home built in 1799, which has been restored with furnishings, wall paper and other period pieces. The docent, Dwayn, was knowledgeable and gave an excellent tour full of information and ready to answer questions. Upstairs was a special exhibit on the way they used science to determine the composition of the paints, flooring and to produce the replica wall papers, and information about the National Society of Colonial Dames who bought the house in 1928 and restored it to its federal style origins, opening it to the public in 1932. As a plus, the azaleas were out, in the small...