Ohio-Cincinnati

Vendor Reviews/Recap From My 9/4/11 Wedding in Oxford!!!

I live in Chicago but had a "Miami Merger" wedding in Oxford a few weeks ago. It was truly a perfect day and I have my awesome vendors to thank for that. As an OOT bride, I relied on this board pretty heavily when it came to vendor selection. I hope these reviews help other BTB!

Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Kona Bistro, A

My in-laws chose this place because, of all the restaurants they considered, Kona seemed to have the most experience with serving large groups/hosting events. We rented out the Mezzanine (upstairs) level and were provided with servers who worked solely with our party. Space was a little tight (we had about 30 people) but they were very accommodating and even added an extra table to give us a little more room.

The food was FANTASTIC. They allowed my mother-in-law to create a menu with several selections from which the guests could choose. She picked a good variety and everything was phenomenal; even the picky eaters enjoyed it! They also have a great beer selection, which is very important to my husband (man, that still sounds weird...) and I.


Ceremony Site: Conrad Formal Gardens, A

Having our ceremony at Formal Gardens was the first wedding-related decision we made. We spent a lot of time walking the gardens (and hiking in the nearby woods) when we were in undergrad so it is a very special place to both of us. The space is managed by Miami University's Campus Services department and they handle all reservations. Rental is pretty reasonably priced but it only includes the space. Chair rental, delivery, and setup is left entirely up to the renter. Also, they don't allow any stakes in the ground or tents so it's important to have a back-up ceremony space in case of rain. It poured the morning of our wedding but, luckily, slowed down to a drizzle a few hours before the ceremony. We went ahead with the outdoor ceremony, despite the drizzle, because getting married in Formal Gardens was important to both of us. Our guests didn't seem to mind too much and, almost magically, the rain stopped and the sun started to peak through the clouds as soon as the ceremony started. It was pretty amazing!


Reception Site: Oxford Community Arts Center, A+

This is a historic building right on the corner of College Avenue and High Street. We were initially going to have our reception at the Marcum Conference Center and heard about the Arts Center through a friend. After being impressed with the photos on their website, we took a tour and were blown away by the building’s beauty and charm. We rented out the entire first floor (North Parlor, South Parlor, and Ballroom) and cannot imagine having done it any other way. The North Parlor was used for the cocktail hour, the Ballroom was used for dinner and dancing, and the South Parlor was used for the bar, candy buffet, and dessert/coffee station. Our guests loved the freedom of being able to walk around and mingle in different rooms instead of being confined to one space.

Donna Stevens, the Event Coordinator at the Arts Center, is WONDERFUL. She has an incredibly positive attitude and was beyond helpful throughout the entire planning process. She always responded to my emails promptly and was very instrumental in making sure that our setup went smoothly. Morning rain threatened our outdoor ceremony and, without me even asking, Donna made subtle changes to the Ballroom setup that would allow the space to accommodate both our ceremony and reception. Luckily, the rain cleared up just in time and we were able to move forward with the outdoor ceremony!

Another great thing about using the Arts Center is having the ability to pick all of your vendors and even provide your own alcohol. Tables and chairs are provided with space rental but, other than that, it is up to the renter to provide everything else. As a self-proclaimed “DIY Bride,” this was wonderful because it gave me complete control of all the little details. Also, when compared to other spaces that we considered using, I feel that this saved us a ton of money. We purchased/provided all the linens (tablecloths, chair covers, and napkins), centerpieces, alcohol, candy buffet items, etc. In regards to vendors, using the Arts Center to not only gave us the opportunity to shop around for the best prices, it also allowed us to find people/vendors whose personalities were congruent with ours. I found that to be critical to the success of our wedding day.

 

Transportation: Miami Metro/First Transit, B

We wanted our guests to enjoy themselves, and not have to worry about driving or walking long distances, so we rented a Miami Metro bus to shuttle people from The Elms Hotel to the ceremony and reception. The Miami Metro is managed by a company called First Transit (not at all affiliated with Miami). While the reservation process was pretty easy, they could really stand to improve upon their customer service. When communicating via email with the General Manager regarding changes to our itinerary, it would sometimes take her a few weeks to get back to me. This was a little stressful because I needed to finalize the bus schedule before I could print the welcome brochures we left at the hotels for our guests.

The day of the wedding, the bus arrived on time and stayed on schedule with all the pick-ups and drop-offs to the ceremony site. Unfortunately, instead of staying at the ceremony site after the last drop-off (as they were instructed to do), the bus left! Luckily, my DOC was able to contact them and get them back to the ceremony site to transport our guests to the reception.


Prime Time Party Rental, A

We rented our ceremony chairs from Prime Time. They had the best prices, by far, and were willing to set up and tear down on the same day. I communicated with them via phone and email during the planning process and everyone I spoke to was extremely helpful and professional. On the day of the ceremony, they arrived on time and did a great job of setting everything up. I definitely recommend this company.


Officiant: MarriageChaplain.com/Pastor Eastman/Rev. Karen Heaster, A

Neither of us is religious and, initially, had a hard time finding an officiant that was 1.) Reasonably priced and 2.) Willing to perform a non-religious ceremony. We actually learned of this officiant matching service through another officiant we interviewed (who was wonderful but charged much more than we were willing to pay). I completed a form on the website and received a very quick response from Pastor Brian Eastman. We had a phone meeting later that week so that he could get a feel for our personalities and what we were looking for in an officiant. He matched us with Rev. Karen Heaster and we met with her in person during one of our planning trips to the area.

Rev. Heaster is great. She's incredibly laid back and was very receptive to our ideas about the ceremony. We wanted to keep it short and sweet (30 minutes) and she did just that. The end result was a very touching, personalized ceremony that our guests seemed to enjoy (or at least did a very good job pretending to...). Overall, I would definitely recommend going through MarriageChaplain.com if you need help finding an officiant. They are VERY reasonably priced and have officiants from all different backgrounds/belief systems.


Florist: Oxford Flower Shop, A

When we were in undergrad, this flower shop would give away single-stemmed flowers, every day, to patrons depending on the first letter of your last name. Whenever it was “Y” day, my now husband would stop in and get a flower for me. Because of that memory, we decided to stop in to get a quote for wedding flowers when we were in town planning. Kathy was great with helping us pick flowers that worked with our budget. She even delivered all the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages to our hotel on the day of the wedding (we were originally supposed to pick them up). Her prices are wonderful and she was truly a pleasure to work with. If you're getting married in Oxford, support local business and work with Kathy!


Ceremony Musicians: Happy Couple Duo, A

We were set on having live music at our ceremony and are so happy that we found Katy and Zach. We had very specific song requests (some of which were already on their music list) and they were more than willing to learn the songs that they had not previously played. Our guests raved about how much our ceremony reflected our personalities and this was due, in part, to the music.

We did have a slight scare just before the wedding, because of the rain. Since water can warp the wood of string instruments, Katy and Zach informed us that they would be unable to play if the rain increased to more than a drizzle. This was scary because we had no back-up plan for music. Luckily, the rain was minimal and two of our guests offered to stand over them with umbrellas. Outside of that scare, our experience with the Happy Couple Duo was great and we definitely recommend them...just make sure you have a rain back-up for outdoor ceremonies.


Hair: Michelle Marxey, A+

Michelle is awesome! In fact, if I lived in Cinci, I'm sure we would be friends. She has such a great personality and works some serious magic when it comes to hair. I have super thick, curly hair and she actually got it to cooperate! She, an her assistant Desi, did updos for me and all of my bridesmaids. We all looked amazing and our hair stayed in place all night!


Make-up: Heidi McKenna, A+

Heidi gets recommended on this board a lot, and for good reason. She should really be charging a lot more for her services. I rarely wear makeup and did not want to look too made up on my wedding day. Heidi did a wonderful job of highlighting my features without making me feel like I had a pound of makeup on my face. I don't mean to toot my own horn but I looked beautiful (and so did all of my bridesmaids)! In addition, Heidi has the type of personality that puts you at ease, which is great for your wedding day!


Day of Coordinator: Sue Glew, Best Friend Errand Service, A+

At the beginning of planning, I mistakenly thought that I could handle all of the day-of logistics myself and decided against hiring a DOC. Luckily, I came to my senses a few months before the wedding and decided to start shopping around for some wedding day help. I read about Sue on this board and decided to contact her. I am so happy I made that decision!

Sue is WONDERFUL! She recently began expanding her business to include day-of-coordination but, after working with her, you will learn that she is a pro. She helped make my day incredibly stress-free and I cannot thank her enough.

Pre-wedding communication with Sue was easy; she is very quick at responding to emails and phone calls. I gave her a list of everything that I wanted her to take care of on the day of the wedding and she went above and beyond to make sure everything was done to perfection. From helping with ceremony and reception venue setup to coordinating the ceremony timings, she seemed to always be exactly where I needed her and even helped with things that were not previously discussed. She even stayed longer than she originally planned to make sure that the transition between the ceremony and reception was smooth.

If you're the type of bride who wants to do all of the planning but needs someone to help execute your plans, HIRE SUE! Seriously, she is amazing (and very reasonably priced).


Caterer: Funky's Catering, A

Having good food was very important to us and we made a great choice by using Funky's. We had tastings with two caterers and the food at Funky's far surpassed our expectations. Their menu choices are very different from traditional wedding fare (which is a good thing) and they are truly full-service caterers. They were more expensive than the other caterer that we considered but they were worth every penny. If budget is a concern, just let them know and they will work with you to tweak things to make their services more affordable.

After the initial planning stages with Jerin and Sharon, they assigned Katy as our event captain. She came highly recommended by our Reception Coordinator at the Arts Center and definitely lived up to the expectations that were set. She is extremely knowledgeable and organized, which really helped in the final reception planning stages. She always answered my phone calls (even when I called at odd times) and was very accommodating to all of our needs. At the reception, she made sure that we had everything we needed and was always two steps ahead of me. For example, during the reception I realized that I forgot to purchase champagne for the head table. When I mentioned it to Katy, she told me that she not to worry because she brought some just in case!

Similar to Katy, every server and bartender at our reception exuded professionalism. Our plated dinner was served at a rapid pace and they did a great job of providing wine service during dinner. Several wedding guests told us that their meals were the best wedding food they've ever had!


Cake: The Flying Buttercream, A

Our cake was beautiful and delicious! Tiffany was very easy to work with and her prices were better than any other baker we researched. Unfortunately, I heard that she's getting out of the wedding business after this season.


Photographer: Mike Bresnen, A

Having great wedding pictures was important to both of us so we splurged a bit on our photographer. We haven't gotten our pictures back yet so I'm rating Mike on our engagement session and overall experience working with him on the wedding day. After meeting with a few photographers, we chose Mike because of his easy going personality and beautiful work (check out his website (www.mikebresnenphotography.com). Our engagement pictures turned out great and we can't wait to see the wedding shots. A lot of our friends and family commented on how he seemed always be around for the picture-worthy, candid moments. I'll be sure to add to this review once we have our photos back.


DJ/Lighting/MC: Ur Way Light and Sound, A+

Kim and Brandon are, in my husband's words, unbelievably awesome! From the planning stages through execution, they were incredibly organized, personable, and just plain fun to work with. They truly went above and beyond to make our day great. For example, they attended a planning meeting at the Arts Center so that they could meet us in person to discuss logistics and scope out the venue (since they had not worked there prior). They also arrived early the day of the wedding, just in case we needed to start a little earlier (because of the rain).

Music is very important to us and they allowed us to play a large role in creating the play list for the night. During the reception, they did a great job of balancing this play list with guest requests.

The uplighting they provided at the reception was AMAZING! The Arts Center is a beautiful space without decoration but the uplighting was a tasteful touch that enhanced it's beauty. In addition to the uplighting, they also created a custom “Gobo” image for us that corresponded with our wedding theme. It was displayed over our place card table and read “All You Need is Love” (our wedding theme) along with our names. It was perfect.

In all, we very highly recommend Ur Way Light and Sound. Kim and Brandon are fantastic and their prices are extremely competitive.



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Re: Vendor Reviews/Recap From My 9/4/11 Wedding in Oxford!!!

  • utegogglesutegoggles member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    It sounds like it was beautiful with all of the A's! Congrats!!
  • edited December 2011
    We're using Ur Way Light and Sound too- glad to hear the great review!
    image
    Married! :) 5/19/12 The Domesticals

  • dori851dori851 member
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Congratulations & thanks for the reviews! It sounds like you had a fabulous day!

    And I'm glad to hear such great things about Funky's; we're also using them to cater our wedding!!
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  • edited December 2011
    Happy wedding Miami Mergers! We are mergers too and getting married in Oxford was our first thought but didn't know we could get married at formal gardens! So beautiful. Congrats! So jealous you get that MM valentine's card! lol
  • edited December 2011
    Congratulations!  I'm a Miami grad too.  So glad that you had a great day!
  • edited December 2011
    Mieka, 

    Thank you for the wonderful review.  I loved all of your vendors and choices too!  Everyone was so wonderful and the day turned out to be perfect.  I was so happy to be able to be there to share the joy

    Sue Glew
    Best Friend Errand Service
  • edited December 2011
    Just out of curiosity... what did your guests think of the shuttle bus? 

    We're trying to decide if offering our guests transportation is worth the cost and hassle.

    TIA!
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-cincinnati_vendor-reviewsrecap-9411-wedding-oxford?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:108Discussion:a0d6e0d4-807b-4dd6-a41e-a5b1ba582407Post:094a4a14-389a-471d-a2e8-93714fbec387">Re: Vendor Reviews/Recap From My 9/4/11 Wedding in Oxford!!!</a>:
    [QUOTE]Just out of curiosity... what did your guests think of the shuttle bus?  We're trying to decide if offering our guests transportation is worth the cost and hassle. TIA!
    Posted by julialynnjones[/QUOTE]

    Shuttles are definitely worth the money. We had brochures at every hotel that included departure times, which allowed our guests to leave at their leisure. From what I've heard, they all had a great time mingling on the bus to and from the ceremony to reception and were grateful for not having to drive.

    Thanks for all of the congrats everyone! Feel free to send me any questions you may have on the vendors we used! :)
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