We narrowed it down to two venues:  Glen Echo and The Carnegie Institute (click on links for posts detailing the facilities).
Like apples and oranges, they couldn’t be more different.  One’s an old amusement park with charm and fun in every detail.  The other is a national headquarters for a wealthy, uh, actually I have no clue what they do there…something about science, but the building is elegant.
Here’s the nitty-gritty for each:

Glen Echo:  $3,500 rental, need to rent shuttle buses ($1000 to $1500), 20 min drive from downtown DC, no hard liquor (saves money and prevents our friends/family from making fools of us/themselves), no food restrictions, somewhat exposed to the elements (have to walk from Pavilion through the outdoors 15 yds to get to an restroom), use of carousel ($200/hr, plus the cost of a ticket [$1.25/ride]), easy to personalize, price allows freedom for spending on other expenses, can hold up to 200 guests, unique and comparable to our personalities

Carnegie:  $5,200 rental, in the heart of DC, hotels close by (walking distance or very short cab ride), no food or drink restrictions, can bring in your own booze, all indoors, price does not allow for extra expenses, ballroom (seated dinner location) does not allow clear viewing of dance floor (rotunda where ceremony took place) for all tables (only some can see dance floor), only 170 guests seated, table rental included, need to rent chairs (their chairs only seat 120 and are UGLY), not available Memorial Day weekend (2011), more formal feeling

We put a hold on Glen Echo for Memorial Day weekend, 2011, that expires Wednesday if we don’t put down a deposit.  However, a canceled deposit is fully refunded minus a $200 processing fee.
Even though I claimed outside assistance (thoughts from you, the reader) was no longer necessary, Mike and I have hit a roadblock.  Here’s where you come in:  comment on which place you favor and any reasons why.  In the end we might just go where our hearts lead us, but your input is appreciated.
So, go on – COMMENT!
(and then “follow” my blog, if you’d be so kind!)

Just when DC seemed too expensive and no additional venues exist in our price point, The Carnegie Institute comes through!  With turn-of-the-century, exquisite architecture and a stunning rotunda, The Carnegie manages to impress and inspire, all within our budget. 
Tables and chairs are included, and pricing is a-la-cart for the venue.  You want the rotunda but not the auditorium? You can price it like that.  Or maybe you want the portico added on but not the board room?  They can do that too.  The staff is helpful, pleasant, and agreed to meet with us the same day I requested information.  We even ran into Ralph Nader.  Mike suggested I introduce myself as someone who actually voted for him (story for another time), but I chickened out.
Back to the venue.  It’s gorgeous, in Dupont (an area of DC we frequent and live close to), and does not require shuttle buses, tents or anything extra.  They offer a 2 week courtesy hold, after which you can choose to make a deposit or cancel.  However, now Mike and I are wondering if a Memorial Day weekend wedding might be better for his grad-school schedule? At any rate, we are currently in love with The Carnegie Institute:

Only a few days left to help us win a $100K wedding!
VOTE FOR US! (and then tell your friends)

After visiting The Arts Club and deciding the house’s layout leaved a lot to be desired, we sped over to The Decatur House to check it out again.  You may recall my earlier post about the Decatur House, where we were not entirely in love with the back-and-forth idea of ceremony outside, cocktails inside, and dinner/dancing back outside.  Well The Arts Club makes that arrangement seem like a cake-walk!  Concerned they closed soon, we rushed in and announced that we must see the place again, this time without an open bar and cake samples.  The lady at the desk looked at us and said “sure.”  They stay open until 4 for tours…no need to rush, but somehow we needed  to see Decatur House again.  It HAD to be better than The Arts Club!
It was, or rather, is a better deal than the broken up, multi-level historic house aforementioned. 

So here’s a picture montage of the venue for your viewing pleasure.  While we were very excited about this place after seeing it again, the tent rental is the main drawback.  Sugar Plum Tent Company has the exclusive rights as the tent vendor for Decatur House, which is great because of the discount.  Did you know that tent rentals are ridiculously expensive?  And did you know that if you want the poles covered, or tent lined with pretty poofy stuff, or sparkly lights added – it costs a pretty penny, to boot?
While the rental cost of the actual space is reasonable, the required addition of the tent is $3,000.  Put together, Decatur House will cost the same to rent as The Women’s Museum.    The Women’s Museum holds more of my heart than The Decatur House.
Decatur House, you’re a beauty, but you’re out.

Simply by checking out  the website for The Arts Club of Washington, you will understand everything at once.  Instead of boring you with details of how the historic house requires splitting up the entire party (for a 150+ wedding) into different rooms of the house and guests cannot all be seated for the ceremony, I inundate you with photos.  This venue is wonderful for an amateur photographer. 
While “standing room only” does conjure up images of a popular event that many are dying to attend, it simply is not the environment desired for my wedding vows.  I think “comfortably seated” or at least guaranteeing my guests a place to plop their rear is a nice gesture.  The Arts Club thinks otherwise.   We could look to their courtyard for extra space, except the quaint hotel next door requires all live music to cease after 10pm.  The Arts Club prefers all live music inside only, to avoid confrontations with neighbors.   Also, you must work with their caterer, but at least they provide tables, chairs, and linens as part of the cost.  The cost is reasonable, at $3,000 after joining The Club ($500), and begins at $85/person, drinks extra.    However let’s not forget that as an Arts Club there are museum floors where red wine is not permitted.  Oh and again, everyone is assigned to a different room.  I feel like I would wander around searching for people and never find them.
Enjoy the photo montage, because once we found out their coordinator phoned in a no-show for our meeting, we nixed this place:

We need help getting to 500+ votes!

We showed up a day early at the Nat’l Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) for the Weddzilla Rock the Launch party, which turned out a good thing.  [We'll get back to Weddzilla].  As we rushed in I noticed wayyyyy tooo many men in suits.  I asked someone official about the Bridal Open House.  That was tomorrow.  Oops.
But, Oh. My. G-d:
the marble floors, the double-Cinderella staircases, the super-high ceiling, the columns, the lighting…
Mike and I audibly gasped at the beauty.

And back again for the Weddzilla Rock the Launch party the next night, we were greeted with a line OUT THE DOOR.  [BTW, The Weddzilla website was still in the works last I checked.  Ironic that I already attended the launch party.]  Weddzilla is the alternate to TheKnot.com, with a kick and more flair, from what I understand.  We will need to wait and see about that, though.
When we finally entered the par-tay, the women all received a little tote bag filled with fliers, business cards, and the like.  Oh, and a Mervis Diamond or CZ — mine was CZ.  The mile-long line for the two bars took only ten minutes for my 3/4 cup glass of wine.  No worries though; I had more by the time the evening ended.  We stayed for awhile because of all the venders to see and food to eat.  We must not forget the silent auction, either.  Or Steve Kemble.  Who, you ask?  My thoughts exactly.  This evening he wore a sequened-studded suit jacket and offered a 30-minute phone consultation featuring his expert services.  When I saw no one bid on him, I wrote down the opening bid, to get things going and because I felt bad.  [Do not bid on things because you FEEL badly.] Honestly, I thought that if I won the worst would be I donated $95 to Children’s Hospital in exchange for advice from a very flamboyant gay man who has Red-Carpet Fashion Police status.  Well that is exactly how it happened.  I am $95 poorer and hope to eventually receive some great insight into planning TBD (the big day).
We were impressed by the service at this venue.  It only took asking one person who might help us and we found ourselves in the freight elevator with Kelly, representing the Women’s Museum.  She fantastically whisked us away to her office, provided us with pricing sheets and a list of preferred vendors.  She even mentioned the “off-season” price could be applied to our March date. 
The advantages to this site:  GORGEOUS, all indoors, metro-accessible, centrally located, stunning, can easily hold 150-200 guests
The things that make me cry: price, price, price ($10K for space ONLY), that’s all!